RinkWise podcast: Previewing the MIAA tournaments

Bella Freitas (middle) has had a prolific freshman season at St. Mary's. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)

It’s officially tournament time in Massachusetts.

The MIAA playoffs began earlier this week with some preliminary-round action, but most of the teams across each boys and girls tournament will kick off their postseason runs on Wednesday and Thursday.

In Division 1 boys, St. John’s Prep (17-3-0) is the top seed, while Notre Dame (Hingham) is No. 1 in Division 1 girls at 14-4-2. Meanwhile, Duxbury (19-3-0) is the first seed on the Division 2 girls side, and Tewksbury (17-3-0) is the top seed for the Division 2 boys. Rounding out the No. 1 seeds are Nauset (18-1-1) in Division 3 boys and Winthrop (15-3-2) in Division 4 boys.

New England Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly take stock of the top teams and storylines in the MIAA tournaments, emphasizing D1 boys, D1 girls and D2 girls. They also discuss some potential matchups they’d like to see and possible upsets.

RinkWise podcast: MIAA playoffs preview

What potential matchup in D1 boys is most intriguing?

Marinofsky: “You have Hingham at No. 8. So, to me, the real interesting part of this bracket is a potential Elite 8 matchup between Hingham and St. John’s Prep. I think coming into the year, we expected Hingham to be probably one of the No. 1 seeds somewhere in the bracket, and instead Hingham is the No. 2 seed in the No. 1 section of the bracket. So that’s going to be a tough matchup for St. John’s Prep if Hingham makes it all the way there, mainly because Hingham beat them opening night. Now, it’s hard to beat a team twice, especially when it’s two really good teams, in a single season. A lot has changed since December, but I still think that’s tough.”

What could a potential D1 girls championship look like?

Donnelly: “From an entertainment standpoint, I think a Notre Dame-St. Mary’s final could be a tremendous game because it’s two teams that feel like they’ve gotten it done in different ways. St. Mary’s had a lot of new pieces this season, but they haven’t missed a beat offensively. Bella Freitas has had a tremendous freshman year. Vanessa Hall is obviously doing her thing as an eighth-grader on defense, and both goalies have been good. Then you look at Notre Dame. They also have a really experienced defense group. They lost Morgan Brady up front, but Devon Moore is having a huge season as sophomore. … And Ava Larkin, as far as goalies go, might be the best in the state. I believe NDA’s only fiven up 20 goals this year, so one per game.”