Mass. Girls D1 Top 10
| Rank | Team | W | L | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Prep | 22 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2 | St. Mary's | 16 | 3 | 4 | |
| 3 | Arlington | 15 | 3 | 5 | |
| 4 | Woburn | 19 | 2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Needham | 15 | 6 | 2 | |
| 6 | Duxbury | 12 | 8 | 3 | |
| 7 | Hingham | 12 | 12 | 0 | |
| 8 | Waltham | 13 | 4 | 5 | |
| 9 | Andover | 10 | 7 | 4 | |
| 10 | Peabody/Lynnfield/NR | 15 | 6 | 1 | |
 | |||||
The 2020-2021 MIAA Girls HS Hockey season is now underway. While it won’t be a full season, the vast majority of teams have been able to schedule 10-14 games, which is good to see. Hopefully, most teams will be able to get all games in.
Here is our first HNIB News Massachusetts Girls Division 1 Top 10 of the season. With the dearth of non-league games and no state tournament at the end, it is going to be a somewhat different process this winter updating rankings on a weekly basis, as in the past there were lots of non-league games to use as a barometer. Here goes:
#1 Austin Prep (22-1-2), like most teams, lost some key players to both graduation and transfer from last year’s co-state champion club. But the Cougars reload and not rebuild. It will be interesting to see how the new players perform this winter.
#2 St. Mary’s (16-3-4) is well into the new season already, having played three games to date. The Spartans have a solid group of scorers.
Not much separates #3 Arlington (15-3-5) and #4 Woburn (19-2-2). The Middlesex League Liberty Division co-champs from a year ago faced off to begin the season this past weekend and guess what?, They played to a 2-2 standoff and are scheduled to play again Wednesday. They should battle all winter for Liberty supremacy.
#5 Needham (15-6-2) returns the majority of its key players from its Bay State Herget Division club. #6 Duxbury (12-8-3), perennially one of the state’s top programs, looks to rule the roost in the Patriot League, where #7 Hingham (12-12-0) projects to be one of the Green Dragons’ biggest obstacles.
Primed for a big year in the stand-alone Dual County League this season is #8 Waltham (13-4-5). The Hawks return the bulk of their lineup from a club that went two rounds in last year’s state tournament, including senior goalie Kaitlyn Burke.
#9 Andover (10-7-4) looks to have enough in the what should be a rugged Merrimack Valley Conference. Two-time defending Northeastern Hockey League champion #10 Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading (15-6-1) returns all but three players.
TEAMS TO WATCH: Belmont, Barnstable, Boston Latin, Lincoln-Sudbury, Braintree, Shrewsbury, HPNA
