RinkWise podcast: Analyzing the MIAA championships

Pope Francis senior defenseman Colin Foyle hoists the MIAA D1 trophy. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)

On Sunday, March 19, six state titles were won at TD Garden.

All six MIAA championship games provided something different. There were upsets, like No. 11 Nashoba over No. 1 Scituate on the Division 3 boys side and No. 3 Shrewsbury over No. 1 St. Mary’s in the Division 1 girls. Two games needed overtime.

It was an exciting day for high school hockey fans in the Hub.

On the latest RinkWise podcast, host Stephanie Wood sat down with editor Evan Marinofsky to discuss the six championship games and each team’s road to getting there.

On Pope Francis and Xaverian getting great goaltending: 

Marinofsky: “A hot goalie changes everything. And Cole Pouliot-Porter was that. That is how [Xaverian] beat Catholic Memorial. If Pouliot-Porter was not as great as he was in that game, they lose 100 percent and CM moves on. So that was that. On the other side, St. John’s Prep goes down to Pope Francis in the Final Four. And that was another instance of really good goaltending. Pope Francis has a sophomore, Nick Ritchie — small kid, not big at all. From up above, looks barely bigger than the crossbar. I think he’s a little bit taller than that. He just played a terrific game and Pope Francis, by the way, played a really good game in keeping SJP off the scoreboard.

On Canton’s controversial first goal of the game against Hopkinton:

Marinofsky: “I was surprised. Canton scored a goal at the end of the second period and it was their first goal of the game. It looked like a kicking motion. They never looked at it, they never did anything about it. The puck went off the post and then it kind of went off [Brendan Tourgee’s] skate and in the net. On video, it’s hard to tell if he kicked it or it was kind of his motion going that way anyway, but no one looked at it and they just continued play.”