Central Mass. Top 10 Poll
| Rank | Team | [tooltip text="PR*" gravity="ne"]Previous Ranking[/tooltip] | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shrewsbury | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Wachusett | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | North Middlesex | 3 | 9 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Algonquin | 5 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Groton-Dunstable | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | Lunenburg/Ayer | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| 7 | Nashoba | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | Grafton/BVT | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Worcester | 8 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | Littleton | NR | 8 | 2 | 1 |
No. 1 Shrewsbury is the lone unbeaten team in Central Mass. and remains atop the HNIB News weekly Top 10 poll. Shrewsbury stayed perfect at 13-0 following an 8-4 victory over No. 7 Nashoba Regional. Matt Ward and Tyler Borys each had two goals for the Colonials.
Nashoba faces an uphill battle to claim its first D3 tournament berth at 7-8. The Chieftains have moved up a division and have endured an uneven season, but a late season push could enable them to qualify. Bryce Chaput remains a scoring force for Nashoba and he’s hardly alone. Dean Anastas produced a hat trick against Shrewsbury, which has allowed only 19 goals in 13 games.
Matt DeVito converted a feed from Matt McCarthy late in the game to enable No. 3 North Middlesex to tie Mass. D1 foe Bishop Fenwick, 3-3. McCarthy had two goals in addition to his assist. Matthew McCarthy had a goal and two assists, including the helper on Matthew DeVito’s tying goal late in the third period for the Patriots. North Middlesex netminder Joe Sheridan continued his solid play following a 30-save performance.
No. 4 Algonquin beat No. 5 Groton-Dunstable, 2-1 in what could be a playoff preview.
No. 7 Grafton hit a bump in the road following a 5-1 loss to Oakmont. Jake Hewitt had a hat trick for Oakmont. Tyler Hart scored the lone Grafton goal.
No. 10 Littleton moved into the weekly poll after beating Assabet and tying No. 6 Lunenburg. The Tigers could be the team to beat in Division 3A. Joe Mitchell, who has 16 goals and seven assists, leads the Tigers and is among the scoring leaders in his division. Balance has been the key for the Tigers, who have received scoring from all three lines.
