The Super 8 is back.
The MIAA's board of directors voted Wednesday morning to approve the Division 1A tournaments in boys and girls hockey, as well as baseball. It was by a 20-3 margin.
The hockey Super 8s will go into effect for the 2027-28 season, meaning next season (2026-27) will still feature boys tournaments in Divisions 1 through 4, in addition to the usual Division 1 and 2 girls tournaments.
Each Super 8 field will feature the top eight teams by power ranking, regardless of division. The opening round will consist of three pool-play games with the top four teams advancing to single-elimination semifinals before the state championships at TD Garden. Schools won't be able to opt out, either.
The 2027-28 return of the Super 8 will also correspond with the MIAA's next alignment cycle, which could reduce boys hockey from four divisions to three and girls hockey from two to one. So, there would still be six championship tilts at the Garden with the two Division 1A bouts, boys Divisions 1 through 3 and girls Division 1.
In 2021, the MIAA voted to pause the Super 8 for equity reasons. The boys had a Super 8 (which ran from 1991-2020), while the girls didn’t, and the MIAA’s Blue Ribbon Committee recommended the MIAA make it equitable.
So, what does the return of the Super 8 mean for Massachusetts high school hockey? Let's dive into some takeaways.
1. No major surprises here
The return of the Super 8 felt inevitable.
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It gained even more traction in the last several months after the MIAA ice hockey committee voted unanimously in favor on Jan. 28. It cleared the tournament management committee by a 9-2 margin on April 16. The final hurdle was at Wednesday's meeting, which it cleared with ease.
It's been a popular talking point on the boys side ever since it stopped. On the girls side, there has hardly been a drop off between the top contenders in Divisions 1 and 2 in recent seasons. It makes sense to bring in a girls Super 8.
2. More best-on-best hockey is a win
The more the best teams in the state play each other, the better, in my opinion. I'm all for best-on-best hockey. It makes for the best theater.
On the girls side, many non-conference matchups, plus in-season tournaments like the Tenney Cup, feature some of the top contenders. They always make for entertaining games. That will only be amplified in the Super 8 when the stakes are even higher.
I would've loved to have seen the likes of Duxbury (Division 2) and Div. 1 powers Notre Dame (Hingham) and St. Mary's battling it out in 2024 when they were among the state's most formidable squads. The same goes for the contenders this past season and in 2025.
Here's how things would've shaken out if there were a Super 8 this past season.
Boys
- Catholic Memorial
- Xaverian
- St. John's Prep
- Arlington
- Reading
- Hingham
- Pope Francis
- Canton
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Girls
- Notre Dame (Hingham)
- St. Mary's
- Algonquin
- Bishop Feehan
- Archbishop Williams
- Methuen/Tewksbury
- Westwood
- Hingham
All but one team in each field would've come from Division 1 this season — the eventual Div. 2 boys champ, Canton, as well as Westwood, which was the top-seeded Div. 2 girls team. It's impossible to forecast the number of non-Division 1 squads in future Super 8 fields, but seeing those teams with a chance to prove themselves is an exciting possibility nonetheless.
3. Pool play is the most logical first-round format
While pool play doesn't exactly have the same ring and drama as single-elimination or a best-of-three series, it does make the most sense. Plus, we'll get the high stakes of single-elimination following the first round anyway.
In its prior form, the Super 8 opened with a best-of-three series in the first round. If it ended up being a two-game sweep, the paid ice time for a potential Game 3 would go to waste. It's no secret that ice is expensive, so avoiding a sunk cost there is a major win.
Pool play also means an eventual champion plays five postseason games, aligning with the other state tournaments.
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I'll be curious to see how tiebreakers shake out when it comes to the pool play standings. Will it be goal-differential or another avenue?
There's also no doubt we'll see some fantastic games as the first round continues. Imagine the desperation of a team that lost its first game as it fights for its life in the second or third game. If there is a goal-differential tiebreaker, you could get some wild finishes with teams either trying to pack it in or push for more offense.
4. Any drawbacks?
No format was going to be perfect.
One thing that immediately stands out is no opt-outs. While any given team outside of Division 1 would likely want to prove themselves in the Super 8, there may have been the chance they'd view the Division 3 tournament, for example, as their best path to a title.
Another concern could be the changes coming to the power rankings, which combine a team's average margin of victory with its average of opponents' ratings (strength of schedule) for an overall power rating. On April 16, the tournament management committee voted to reduce hockey's maximum margin of victory from three goals to two. For teams in weaker conferences, the strength of schedule becomes even more pivotal. It means taking advantage of non-conference matchups and in-season tournaments, while hoping the rest of one's league has a strong season. A lot could be left up to chance.
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The return of the Super 8 could also mean a decrease in the amount of upsets we see across the MIAA tournaments, particularly in Division 1. Selfishly, that's a bit disappointing, because upsets make the tournament more fun as a spectator. There have been Cinderella runs from the likes of Winchester as a No. 11 seed in the 2024 boys Div. 1 tournament. In 2025, 13th-seeded Medfield won the Div. 2 girls title, and No. 15 Bishop Stang reached the Div. 1 girls final. Those scenarios could still very well happen, but so could those fields just going chalk more often.
Another hypothetical: assuming the chance to play for a Super 8 title is a big enough draw, would the usual Catholic school powerhouses become even more popular destinations? Since the Super 8 originally stopped, the Division 1 title has gone to St. John's Prep (twice), Pope Francis and Catholic Memorial. The only public runner-up was Winchester in 2024, too. Would the Division 1A field just become a de facto Catholic school tournament?
