The 2023-24 Division 1 MIAA boys hockey season ended in chaos.
With 4.1 seconds left in the game and the Division 1 state final knotted, 2-2, St. John’s Prep senior defenseman Brady Plaza threw the puck toward the Winchester net.
It bounced off Winchester goalie Aiden Emerick’s right pad and onto the stick of St. John’s Prep senior Johnny Tighe, who rifled in the rebound.
One problem: It went in after the clock hit zero. Still, the goal stood and St. John’s Prep took home the championship.
To prevent this from happening again, the MIAA voted 18-1 to allow the use of video replay of goals at MIAA state finals at TD Garden.
Now we’re onto this season, and it should be interesting. One early observation is that a lot of the top teams lost legitimate players, both to graduation and to prep. As we’ve seen over the past several years, play continues to slowly deteriorate in the MIAA.
Still, the MIAA isn’t short on rivalries. The battle for a championship come March will be tight.
Here is our preseason top 10.
