Massachusetts Division 1 Boys Poll
| Rank | Team | W | L | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Springfield Cathedral | 15 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Malden Catholic | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | B.C. High | 14 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Austin Prep | 13 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Central Catholic | 16 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Duxbury | 16 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | St. Mary's | 14 | 6 | 2 |
| 8 | Xaverian | 11 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Archbishop Williams | 12 | 5 | 3 |
| 10 | Braintree | 13 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | St. John's (S) | 10 | 5 | 7 |
| 12 | Catholic Memorial | 9 | 7 | 4 |
| 13 | Arlington Catholic | 13 | 6 | 1 |
| 14 | St. John's Prep | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| 15 | Marshfield | 15 | 7 | 0 |
| 16 | Reading | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| 17 | Winchester | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| 18 | Wilmington | 12 | 3 | 7 |
| 19 | Melrose | 12 | 4 | 5 |
| 20 | Milton | 16 | 4 | 2 |
* Updated 2/22/14
Funny, isn’t it, how what goes around eventually and inevitably comes around? One year ago, Springfield Cathedral stood on the cusp of an unbeaten regular season – but lost to Malden Catholic in the championship game of its own tournament. Then SC fell to the Lancers twice again in the 1-A quarterfinals and, just like that, a stellar season came to a screeching and a premature halt.
Which brings us back to this year and No. 1 Cathedral’s (16-4-0) sound 5-2 win against MC in this year’s Cathedral Tournament title game earlier this week. Whether it serves as a springboard to something more will be played out during the next couple of weeks – but it is surely enough to place the Panthers on top of the final Hockey Night In Boston Massachusetts Division One regular-season poll.
No. 2 Malden Catholic (16-4-0) preceded the loss to Cathedral with dominant decisions of No. 15 Marshfield and No. 7 St. Mary’s of Lynn. The Lancers now go about the business of trying to send their seniors out as four-time Division 1A champions – a feat previously accomplished twice by Catholic Memorial in the tournament’s 24-year history.
After spending most of the regular season on top, No. 3 B.C. High (14-2-4) drops a notch for the second straight week after its unexpected loss to Duxbury in the Buddy Ferreira Classic championship game. The Eagles stopped Falmouth and Austin Prep earlier in the week and remain a prime 1A contender.
No. 4 Austin Prep (13-4-4) sandwiched wins against Waltham and Hingham around a loss to B.C. High at the Ferreira. The Cougars were 6-2-2 over their final 10, including a number of impressive third-period rallies.
No. 5 Central Catholic (16-3-3) has regained some serious momentum heading into tournament play. The MVC/DCL One champion Raiders swept four games in the final week and closed on a 6-0-1 roll.
Patriot League Keenan Division champion No. 6 Duxbury (16-2-3) stamped itself as the division’s premier public school team with its upset of B.C. High at the Ferreira. The Green Dragons are now officially one of those teams nobody wants to draw.
No. 7 St. Mary’s (14-6-2) bounced back nicely from its Cathedral Tournament semifinal loss to MC by polishing off Needham. They Spartans will be tourney-ready as 12 of their games were decided by two goals of less.
No. 8 Xaverian (11-3-6) capped its regular season with an impressive 9-2 dismantling of St. John’s of Shrewsbury and gathered momentum with a 4-0-2 stretch run.
No. 9 Archbishop Williams (12-5-3) had a strong showing at the Ferreira Classic and closed 7-2-1 over the second half after a slow start to the year.
No. 10 Bay State Carey Division champion Braintree (13-4-3) wrapped up what had been a rather pedestrian final week by shutting out Catholic Memorial in its regular-season finale.
(This will be the final HNIB News D-1 poll until after the state tournament.)
Check back soon to www.hnibnews.com for tourney pairings and previews…
