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By Kevin Doyle • HNIB News
The Catholic Conference championship is tucked away, courtesy of a 5-1 win against archrival BC High in the Edward M. Wright Memorial game this past Saturday night at Boston University. Now No. 1 Catholic Memorial (12-3-1) can turn its attention to that which matters most - defending the 1A Tournament championship.
The Knights started the process of honing their game for the grueling 1A gauntlet with their final league game against St. John's Prep Monday night. Regular-season games remain against potential 1A foe Central Catholic, Rhode Island power Mount St. Charles and Connecticut stalwart Fairfield Prep.
Through February 6th, CM had not lost a game to an MIAA opponent, yielding only a single point in an early-season tie with league rival Malden Catholic. Their losses this season have come against teams of a higher caliber than any they will face in the post-season - Independent School League standard-bearers St. Sebastian's and Thayer and New Jersey juggernaut Delbarton.
No. 2 Needham (15-1-1), the Bay State Conference's Carey Division champion, hasn't surrendered a point since December. The Rockets' 11-0-0 run since the calendar turned to 2010 has been fueled by the division's highest-scoring offense, which averages just a shade under six goals per game. Needham put the exclamation point on its surge with a 6-0 whitewash of Framingham, its chief competition in the BSC Carey, on February 6th and has positioned itself well when it comes to 1A consideration.
No. 3 Hingham (15-1-2) is actually the only team to have defeated Needham, having done so back in December. Hingham's lone loss came to CM and it has tied Springfield Cathedral. However, the Harbormen also tied a Framingham club Needham twice defeated. Hingham has negotiated its way nicely through a schedule that, as it turns out, wasn't particularly taxing. Nevertheless, a 1A berth should still be in the offing.
Checking in at No. 4, Malden Catholic (10-3-1) has rebounded nicely from back-to-back losses to St. John's Prep and CM in mid-January. Since then, the Lancers' 4-0-1 stretch includes wins against Xaverian, New Hampshire stalwart Bishop Guertin, and St. John's Prep in a rematch. MC had a key date against Hingham this past Monday night and closes the season with its annual appearance in the Springfield Cathedral Tournament that could determine its 1A fate.
Catholic Central Large champion and No. 5 Austin Prep (12-1-3) has wrapped up its first league crown since 2007 and has gone 8-0-2 since its only loss to Malden Catholic on December 30th. The Cougars boast the league's three leading scorers in Brandon Hartt (11-20-31), Brendan Silk (18-12-30) and Casey Miller (10-20-30) as well as its top goalie in Brendan Leahy (4 SO, 1.60 gaa). The Cougars have key non-league wins against Central Catholic, St. John's Prep and Winchester as well as a tie with Springfield Cathedral.
No. 6 Springfield Cathedral (12-2-4) hasn't lost since December 30th, a stretch during which the Panthers have gone 7-0-3. The reigning Div. 1 champs tied Hingham last Saturday night and their only losses came in December at the hands of CM and Fairfield Prep of Connecticut. They also own a quality tie with Austin Prep. However, they had a surprisingly tough go of it recently in one-goal wins against reigning Div. 3 State Champ Longmeadow and a sub-.500 East Longmeadow squad. They'll look to close with a flourish in their own tournament.
By the time you read this, No. 7 Central Catholic (12-3-2) is likely to have wrapped up another Merrimack Valley/Dual County Large championship. The Raiders own a quality win against St. John's Prep and games against CM and Weymouth remain. Fourteen wins may be enough to earn a 1A return trip.
One year after advancing to the 1A title game, No. 8 Burlington (11-4-1) put itself into position to claim at least a share of the Middlesex crown with its 5-4 win against Woburn this past Saturday night. If the Devils close strong and claim a season-ending Cahoon Tournament championship, they could nudge their way back into the 1A.
No. 9 Woburn (12-3-1) missed the opportunity to seize control of the Middlesex. The Tanners' impressive non-league decision of St. John's Prep is countered by curious losses to Middlesex middle-of-the-packers Melrose and Belmont. A key road game against Braintree Monday night kicked off a closing stretch against Reading, Winchester and the Irish American Tournament.
By now, everyone's used to No. 10 St. John's Prep (8-7-1) closing with a rush. The Eagles shut out Xaverian for the second time this season on Sunday and are on a 6-2-0 tear. The Eagles have a tough finish as they faced CM, Arlington Catholic, Springfield Cathedral and St. John's of Shrewsbury in a one-week span that started Monday night.
No. 11 Framingham (10-3-4) of the BSC's Carey Conference has pretty much handled everyone except Needham and will ride goalie Cam Chassie as far as possible in the post-season.
No. 12 Winchester (9-4-2) hurt its 1A status with non-league losses to Hingham and Austin Prep. The Sachems, though, still remain in the Middlesex League title fight.
After an impressive start, No. 13 Xaverian (8-5-3) has stumbled through a 1-4-1 stretch during which it has scored just eight goals and has been shut out twice by St. John's Prep.
No. 14 Wellesley (11-3-1), the Bay State Herget Division's champion, has allowed the second fewest goals (21) of any Div. 1 team, making it a legitimate post-season threat.
No. 15 St. Mary's (10-7-0), the Catholic Central Large runner-up, has benefitted from the stellar play of goaltender Don Hesse (4 SO, 1.98 gaa) and projects as a factor in the North Sectional.
No. 16 Archbishop Williams (11-4-1) has won all seven of its non-league games and has taken 3-of-4 points from Arlington Catholic in Catholic Conference Large place.
No. 17 Waltham (8-3-4) picked up a key MVC/DCL Large win against Central Catholic last Saturday and owns the division's stingiest defense (16 goals allowed).
With an invitation to the 1A Tournament hanging in the balance, No. 18 Arlington Catholic (8-5-4) mayhave to settle for a run at the Div. 1 State title. The Cougars need a big week at the Falmouth Tournament.
No. 19 Billerica (9-5-2) split a non-league set with Middlesex power Burlington and bears watching. Old Colony champion No. 20 Bridgewater-Raynham (12-2-1) rounds out the poll.
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