MIAA Boys Division 2 State Tournament Preview: Top Seed Tewksbury Looks For Repeat; Duxbury, Canton, Walpole Want To Have Their Say

The MIAA Boys Division 2 State Tournament bracket is the biggest, with 36 teams qualifying. Defending state champ Tewksbury is the #1 seed.

Play begins with four preliminary round games Monday. Round of 32 play commences on Wednesday.

Here is a look at the field:

#1 Tewksbury (18-1-1)

The reigning D2 state champions showed no signs of slowing down this season finishing with a record (18-1-1), going 9-0-1 in their final 10 games of the season. The Redmen are going into the postseason hungry for another title and they have all the key parts to do so.

“We need to continue working hard and give a strong effort for every game we play in the tournament,” said Tewksbury assistant coach David DeRoche. “Our mind-set is to stay positive and to reach our goals we set as a team in the beginning of the season.”

Tewksbury has plenty of potent offense up front with juniors Matthew Cooke (16-18-34), Jeremy Insogna (17-18-35) and Tyler Barnes (12-17-29).  The Redmen are deep and also have seniors Conor Cremin (6-11-17) and Brady Chapman (6-9-15) who will both be key.

On the blue line, the Redmen have one of the top defenseman in the state in senior captain Nick DiCioccio (6-24-30) as well as junior Cooper Robillard and sophomore Anthony DiFranco. Not only do the Redmen have all of that, but they also have one of the top goalies in the state in senior captain Ben O’Keefe (1.03 GAA, 20 GA) who notched eight shutouts on the season.

#2 Duxbury (15-5-2)

Duxbury is coming into the postseason riding a high after a great showing in Falmouth at the Buddy Ferreira Classic. The Dragons have what it takes to go all the way this reason and having played on the most difficult schedules in the state, second year head coach Mike Flaherty knows his team has what it takes.

“We need to be strong defensively,” said Flaherty. “If we take care of our own end first, our division is deep and minimizing our mistakes will be a big focal point. Our mindset is really good right now. Our schedule was one of the toughest around and we feel we are battle-tested for what will be a very tough tournament.”

Offensively Duxbury has plenty of fire power up front in senior captains Aiden Harrington and Brendan Bonner as well as senior Connor O’Connell, all who have had terrific seasons. Also look for Wyatt Glass, Brady Walsh and freshman Anderson Kilbourne to play significant roles.

On defense, junior Mike Hussey will lead the way along with junior Colin Hulett and senior Wick Ross. The Dragons have veteran senior captain Sam Mazanec in goal who has been terrific all season.

#3 Canton (17-4-0)

Canton is no stranger to the postseason as they are always a top contender. Most recently, the Bulldogs made it all the way to the state final last season ultimately falling to Tewksbury so they are eager for another trip back this time around. They have had a tremendous regular season and looking to make a splash in this year’s run.

Leading the charge offensively for the Bulldogs will be senior captain AJ Thomas and junior captain Brendan Tourgee. Also key offensively are senior Jack Digirolamo and juniors Brian Middleton and Colin Blake.

The blue line will be anchored by senior captain Leo Owens as well James Young, Griffin Hughes and Jack Lauro. Sophomore Colin Davis has been a huge asset for Canton all season in goal and look for no different in the post season.

“The boys D2 tournament features an incredibly competitive bracket,” said coach Brian Shuman. “If we are going to have any success, we need to focus on one game at a time and bring our best effort for 45 plus minutes. We play well when we work hard in all three zones and take pride in our team defense. We need to trust what we have been doing all season long and not drift away from our identity as a team.”

#4 Walpole (12-6-2)

Walpole certainly can’t be overlooked going into this year’s tournament as the Timberwolves played a tough schedule against a lot of D1 teams had a strong showing and are eager to show what they can do.

“We need to play as a team,” said coach Ron Dowd. “We need timely scoring, good defense and to be disciplined. We are looking forward to it. It is a great challenge with many outstanding teams.”

Walpole’s offense will be led by senior Jason Finkelstein, Griffin Curran, Joe Cox and Eddie Jackson as well as juniors Mike Bisceglia and Nate DiMartinis. On defense Matt Bianculli has been a strong asset all season as well as Tim Donahue and Drew Naughton.

#5 Silver Lake (14-7-1)

After starting the season (9-1-1), the Lakers went through a little bit of tougher time down the stretch, but the finished out the season winning four of five and are eager to get back into postseason play.

“We need to take care of our own end first and play some solid defense in front of our sophomore goaltender Strummer Beals in order to advance in the tournament,” said coach Dan Scott. We are looking to get some secondary scoring from sophomore forwards Cam Cardarelli, Shane Hackett and Jason Katapodis. We have been clicking as of late and that is a good sign. We must compete in all three zones to be successful.”

A big part of Silver Lake’s success this season has been senior captain Aiden Dunphy (13-31-44) who leads a strong defense core consisted of Liam Tompkins (3-7-10) and Connor Donohue (4-8-12) as well as sophomores David Solari and Toby Morin.

The offense will be led by seniors Ben Cronin (11-9-10) and Brandon Cavicchi (16-17-33) as well as junior Pat Murphy (12-8-20). Connor Finn, Nathan Hicks and Mason Connor will also be key up front for the Lakers.

#6 Newburyport (9-9-3)

Despite an up and down season for the Clippers, they played their best hockey when it mattered the most and are ready to show what they can do in the postseason.

“We need to play to our strengths, be good at the blue lines and let our goalie see the puck,” said coach Paul Yameen. “We did not finish the way we wanted to losing a tight game to Andover, but we are battle tested team and believe if we bring our best, we can compete with anyone.”

Senior captain Zachary McHugh (7-7-14) along with senior Charlie Forrest (5-9-14) have been key offensive assets for the Clippers. Also chipping in up front has been juniors Kane Brennan (4-8-12) and Jackson Devivo (7-3-10). The blue line is anchored by two veterans in seniors Max Puleo and Cameron Caponigro and Ryan Philbin.

Senior assistant captain Jamie Brooks (2.04 GAA) has had another strong year in net and will be key in the postseason for the Clippers.

#7 Algonquin (13-4-2)

Algonquin has been one of the key threats to come out of the Quinn Conference in Central MA this year and are proving to be a tough out come postseason.

The Titans have had solid goaltending from senior captain Jack Stiles all season and he will be key. They have had a number of key offensive weapons under head coach Greg Cappello including captain Andrew Hodge, junior Owen Cacciatore and sophomore Ben Yosca.

Junior Jack Gulachenski has put up some key numbers from the blue line for the Titans. Sophomore Dylan Beard and juniors Jackson Redfern and Jack Doolan have also been strong assets.

#8 Hopkinton (16-4-0)

The Hillers have been impressive to say the least this season winning nine of their final 11 games to show they are a legitimate threat in this competitive Division 2 bracket.

“We have been building all year to play in the state tournament,” said coach Scott Hayes. “Supreme focus and unwavering commitment is paramount. We believe in our skating and must use it to our advantage. Mental toughness is on center stage. We are looking forward to this week.”

Coach Hayes has had plenty of scoring this season led by senior Pavit Mehra (32-22-54) who had a monster year. Following him are senior captains Joe Scardino (10-9-19) and Joe Carrazza (15-12-27 as well as senior Ryan Teitel (4-6-10) also will be key. Can’t forget about freshman Cam MacPherson (12-25-37) who had a tremendous campaign for the Hillers.

Dylan Mansur (8-13-21) and Drew Morse (4-8-12) make up part of what is a strong defensive core along with Ryan Brennan and Parker Winn. Senior Jack Lang has been a rock all year in net and look for that to be no different. 

#9 Whitman-Hanson (10-9-1)

Coming out of a strong Patriot League, Whitman-Hanson played one of the tougher schedules and proved they can compete with anyone.

“Playing a tough league schedule has prepared us all year to take the season one game at a time and worry about us over anything else,” said coach Rob Peters. “There are a lot of emotions with tournament games so we can’t let the highs get too high and the lows get too low. We just need to keep competing and fighting through out every game for the whole game.”

Whitman Hanson’s top line has been dynamite this season. The trio of seniors Matt Solari (14-18-32) and Joe Culley (18-6-24) and junior Luke Tropeano (12-18-30) have led the offensive attack. Junior forwards Alex Ethier (12-0-12) and Zakk Spano (5-6-11) have also stepped up for the Panthers.

On defense, junior David Osis (2-8-10) has been key all season as well as freshman Zach Boss (3-11-14).

“Special teams can be a huge part in playoff play and those are two fields (power play and penalty kill) that we work on a lot,” said Peters. “We have seen success with it this year and we have a well-talented first line matched with a lot of speed down our line-up.”

#10 Wakefield (11-7-2)

Wakefield who plays in the always strong Middlesex League, navigated their way through some tough games and showed why they belong in the postseason.

“We need to continue to do what has made us successful,” said coach Mike Geary. “Good team defense and good leadership. We are very excited to be playing in the tournament. We are led by our captains and senior class who have been great role models all season.”

The Warriors should get plenty of offense from senior captains Matt Elwell (15-14-29) and Bobby DeFeo (8-8-16) who led the charge this season. Freshman Andrew Martin (9-6-15) has also been a key asset up front. The defense will be anchored by captain Joe Colliton and senior John Regan.

In net, Geary will turn to senior Dom DeAngelis (2.21 GAA) who has been key all season.

#11 Plymouth South (12-7-1)

Plymouth South had a strong regular season under coach Stephen Whyte and despite losing their final three games of the season, they are ready to come out and compete.

“In order to have success the boys will need to manage their emotions under the pressure of the tournament and be able to execute the little things that made us successful throughout the season,” said Whyte. “If each individual prepares with a purpose, embraces their role, and plays for the guy next to them, our team is capable of having success.”

The Panthers have had plenty of offense this season led by junior Sean McNamara. Helping him also has been seniors Owen Day and Mason Miller, junior Nicholas Kendall, sophomores Logan Souza and Declan Day and freshman Liam Kailher.

The defense is led by captain James Lopes as well as junior Cohen Fitzpatrick and sophomores AJ Colonna and Zach Miller.  Senior captain Tristan Holmes will be key in net for the Panthers.

“We did have a bit of a skid at the end of the season,” said Whyte. It’s important for the boys to learn from these games but not dwell on them. Now that we are in the tournament the regular season does not matter apart from the lessons that we take away from it.”

#12 Gloucester (12-7-1)

Gloucester had a strong second half of their season and is ready to get back out there after a falling just short of the finals last season.

“We need to play with more intensity in our defensive zone,” said coach Derek Geary. “We also need to make the detail plays such as winning puck battles and blocking shots that will win tournament games. We have been a little inconsistent on these fronts throughout the year. If we can get healthy and play with our best emotion and intensity, we should be a solid threat in the tournament. Our goaltending is one our strengths and a good foundation to build a tournament on.”

Geary has two juniors in net, both of who have played well this season in Nick Tarantino and Riley De Haan. On defense Derek Ellms, Chris Lojacono and James Sanfilippo have been strong all season.

The Fishermen have some good offensive weapons in seniors Drew White, Brady Salah and Nick White and juniors Colby Jewell, Brett Cunningham, Charlie Terelak and Joseph Orlando.

#13 Somerset Berkley (19-1-0)

The Raiders nearly had a perfect season minus one blemish to Dartmouth and they are ready to prove people wrong in the postseason. They scored 114 goals in the regular season and have had no shortage of offense on any given night.

“For us to be competitive in the Division 2 tournament, we need to have the same amount of accountability as we have had all season,” said coach Kevin Synder. “Having a lunch pail mentally and hard work is a must. We are going to be focused on the task at hand and play the game 15 minutes at a time.”

Junior captain Luke Gauvin and senior captain Davis Sullivan have been key to the Raiders success on offense as well as Jon Rothwell, Nathan Melo, and Liam Derocher. Ayden Marcos, Nolan Botelho and Mason Sullivan have been key on defense.

#14 Masconomet (11-9-0)

Despite a bit of an up-and-down season, Masconomet always comes ready to play and they will show why they belong in the postseason.

Coach Andrew Boepple has had plenty of offense on his team this season especially from assistant captain Joe Young (7-16-23) and James Whitman (12-2-14). Other key offensive threats for the Chieftains include Brady Forde (8-7-15), Ben Merrill (7-6-13) and Johnny Mireault (8-2-10).

On defense seniors Cam Juliano and Max Conley have done a great job this season as well as juniors Anthony Cerbone and Evan O’Heir.

“I think to have success in the tournament this year we are going to need to continue to play well defensively, but also attack the net more than we have against better teams” said Boepple. “We will be focusing on looking for rebounds and finishing our chances. We have improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season and are playing well together. Anything can happen in the tournament and we feel like we can compete with any team we face.”

#15 Boston Latin (10-7-3)

Boston Latin is always a tough out and after not playing their whole schedule last season due to Boston Public Schools shutdown for a month, the Wolfpack got a whole season under their belt this year playing in the MVC/ Dual County II league.

Under coach Frank Woods, senior captains Patrick Harnan and Richard Bova have been key contributors on offense this season along with senior James Fitzgerald and juniors Aidan Fitzpatrick and Matthew Carrera.

Freshman Oliver Murphy has played the majority of the time in net for the Wolfpack this season and has done a nice job behind his defense of captain Tom Harnan, Gavin Wainwright, Shane Dunning and Adam Whitney.

#16 Marblehead (13-5-4)

Marblehead got on the radar of a lot people come the second half of the season as they sneakily went 9-2-3 in their final 15 games. Under new coach Mark Marfione, the Headers showed they can compete with anyone in such a competitive D2 field.

The Headers were able to secure home ice for the Round of 32 and are hoping that can help play to their advantage.

Senior captains Chris Locke and Carter Laramie will be key in the postseason. Sophomores Kyle Hart and James Caeran both have had great offensive seasons along with junior captain Hogan Sedky on defense.

#17 Norwood (12-6-2)

After a slower start to the season, the Mustangs turned it on when it counted. They won nine straight and 12 of 15 after starting the season 1-4-1.

Norwood had postseason success last year and are looking to take it a step further this time around under coach Chuck Allen. The Mustangs have found scoring success from senior captain Sean Dittmeier, who has put up solid numbers. Assistant captains Kevin Broderick and Conor Lydon have also been key assets up front. Juniors Sam Lally and Andrew Gillis as well as sophomores Ryan Valeri and TJ Martin have also had strong seasons offensively.

Junior Eddy Carroll has been a staple on the blue line with seniors Paul Sheehan and Michael Moynihan along with sophomore Anthony Riccardi.

#18 Concord-Carlisle (11-8-1)

The Patriots are going into the postseason hot as they ended the regular season going 5-1-1 earning three shutouts over that span.

They know it won’t be easy but coach Rian Murray needs a full team effort in order for his team to thrive in the postseason. “In order for us to be successful, we need to manage our emotions,” said Murray. “We need to make a commitment to team defense and get consistent effort from everyone.”

Senior captain Noah Thorpe (14-15-29) and junior assistant captain Jay Carter (17-13-30) have helped led the Patriots to a balanced offensive attack this season. Senior Lucas DeMarco (7-5-12), junior Cam Daley (4-8-12) and freshman Cam Doull (3-7-10) have also been key contributors.

Assistant captain Marcus Braceras anchors the blue line along with senior Bode Rice and sophomore Ben Ohanian. Sophomore goalie Jason Swaim (2.28 GAA) and junior goalie CJ Bailey (2.01 GAA) have split time in net all season for the Patriots.

#19 Wilmington (8-9-2)

Wilmington is another team that had a strong second half of the season. After starting the season winless in their first seven games (0-6-1), the Wildcats turned it around and are excited to enter postseason action.

“We need to bring our “A” game,” said Wilmington coach Steve Scanlon. “Skating is the key for us as well as good team defense, solid goaltending and timely scoring. We had a good second-half, but the tournament is a different animal. Survive and advance is the name of the game. We need to find a way to win no matter what it takes.”

Team leaders attributing to the Wildcats’ success include senior captain Nathan Alberti (15-8-23) as well as seniors Owen White (4-10-14), Brian Barry (4-8-12) and Mike Daniels (2-10-12) and sophomore Matt O’Brien (6-6-12).

#20 Auburn (13-7-0)

Auburn is another strong team coming out of Central MA who had a solid regular season in the Quinn Conference. They finished the regular season winning three of four including wins over Algonquin, and over Nantucket and Sandwich at the Jeff Hayes Memorial Tournament.

Senior captain Nolan White has been a key contributor on defense as well as senior Cooper C’Miel, juniors Braden Rich and Owen Stattenfield and sophomore Zach Deluca.

On offense look for Landon Connor, Nathan Dono, Ethan McDermott along with Tommy Lutz and Teddy Spanos.

#21 Oliver Ames (10-9-1)

This will new territory for Oliver Ames as this is the first time any of the players are seeing the postseason. The Tigers have played well against some tougher opponents and are looking to bring their compete level.

“For us to succeed in the tournament we will have to bring a full-time effort and be willing to outwork our opponents,” said coach Jimmy Tierney. “We will need to rely on getting pucks deep and getting in our forecheck to try and grind down other teams.”

The Tigers will look to Andrew Livingstone (9-11-20) and Jack Perron (11-9-20) on the wings to chip in with scoring. Tierney will also look to Jack Corey (9-12-21) to bury home rebounds. Matt Lawson (9-8-17) and Sean McCarthy (7-9-16) will be big in the face-off dot.

On defense, Tierney will look towards junior Sean Kearns to log some minutes and pace the rest of the blue line and for senior goaltender Brandon Burke to help them in their own zone.

#22 Westboro (11-9-0)

Westboro is another strong team out of the Quinn Conference in Central MA that is looking to make some waves this postseason. The Rangers most recently closed out their season being the CMADA Class A Champions, beating Algonquin in the final.

“It all starts with team defense and goaltending,” said Westboro coach Chet Hallice. “I feel this is one of our strong points. We are not a high-power offensive team so we need to keep opponents off the scoreboard and we need all of our forwards to contribute offensively.”

Key members of the Rangers offense to look out for in the postseason are seniors Braden Duggan, John Lahue and Teddy Miller along with junior Max Aires.

On the defensive side of things, senior Jake Dapolite, junior Brendan Martel and sophomore Colton McNamara will lead the way. Hallice will also turn to assistant senior captain Will Yearick in goal.

#23 Plymouth North (8-14-0)

The Eagles have had a bit of an up and down season, in the last month had big wins over Hanover and Silver Lake to prove they can compete.

They are set to take on Wakefield in a first round match in a game that should be very interesting and competitive.

Juniors Sean Hallissey and Aidan Mackenzie have been strong offensive assets for the Eagles as well as Owen Kelly, Josh Bates, Sam Jarvis and Connor McLachan.

On the blue line, seniors Aidan Kelly and Tommy O’Connell have been solid along with junior Sam Magnarelli. Junior Kaden Bono has had tremendous success this season in goal and coach Sean Coady will look for him to come up big.

#24 Westwood (12-7-1)

The Wolverines are back in the postseason hoping to make a splash behind head coach Matt Sebet.

“We feel we can skate and play with anyone in the D2 tournament,” said Sebet. “We need to play as a five-man unit and get great goaltending to have success in the tournament. We also have to take it shift by shift and play a complete 45-minute game which we’ve been getting closer to recently. We had some ups and downs this season but ended with two strong wins headed into the tournament. We’ve been building to this point so each day we have to get better in practice and be ready to go come Wednesday.”

Playing in an always tough Tri-Valley League, Westwood had a solid regular season and is looking to keep it going into the tournament.

Senior captains Danny Sullivan and Thomas Hamilton have been key offensive contributors all season along with juniors Brett Hobson and Max O’Brien and freshman Ben Levering. Paul Dyson anchors the blue line with fellow seniors Joey Fraga and Kevin D’Entremont, junior Ryan Pezzuto and sophomores Cole Gustie and Brady Dumais. 

#25 North Attleboro (9-7-4)

North Attleboro may be an underdog going in but don’t underestimate them as they have competed hard this season.

“We need to be tough to play against in our defensive zone,” said coach Kyle Heagney. “We have to win in defensive zone before we can win in the offensive zone. “We are a underdog and won’t have any respect, so we will feed off that and play harder against teams.”

Heagney will turn to senior captain Mark Ayvazyan (18-10-28) and junior Kaden Burns (17-11-28) to lead the offensive spark plug. Seniors Brody Gaulin (4-10-14) and Mason Briggs (6-3-9) will also be key.

On defense captain Gavin Arabian (1-9-10) will lead the charge with senior Will Converse, junior Jack Julio and sophomore Oliver Destin. Junior Kyle Gruber (2.67 GAA) has played majority of the season in net with junior Nate Kelly also getting time.

#26 Newton South (5-13-2)

Playing in a strong MVC/Dual County II, Newton South found themselves on the losing end of a lot of close games this season but doesn’t mean they can’t compete.

Senior Declan Daley is a key offensive weapon along with sophomore Sam Rudenko.

Goalie Dylan Zukowski who was All-Conference last season will be coach Chris Ryberg’s go-to and on the blue line look for seniors Jim Tarmey and Lucas Rishikof and sophomore Elliott Wood.

#27 Melrose (5-12-3)

Coming off a one-win season last year, the Red Raiders improved in all aspects of the game and showed they can compete.

Playing in a tough Middlesex League, Melrose battled and will be going up against a tough Newburyport squad in the first round.

“We know we are a huge underdog going against a much bigger and more physical team like Newburyport so it will be tough,” said coach Joe Ciccarello. “They play a tough schedule and they have done well. I just hope we are up for the task and can play competitively. We must stay disciplined with our defensive zone and work harder than we ever have before.”

Despite only five wins on the season, the Red Raiders battled hard. On offense seniors Jason Pino and Patrick Cotter, juniors Colin Fahey and Tyler Muse, sophomore Justin D’Antona and freshman Jack Feeney have all been solid. The defense is led by senior Joseph O’Keefe, juniors Michael Fuccione and Joey Kellher and sophomore Griffin Brady. Sophomore Matt Fuccione has been solid in net.

#28 Mansfield (4-14-2)

Despite their record, the Hornets have competed harder than it shows and they are looking for a big upset in the first round. In their last regular season game, Mansfield beat Silver Lake 3-2 and those two teams get matched up again, but this time it’s a win or go home situation.

“We know how good of a team Silver Lake is,” said coach Mark O’Brien. “We played a hard-fought game with them last week that came down to the final minutes. We know it going to be another battle. We know we are coming in with Silver Lake being the heavy favorite, but our team is resilient and believes in themselves. We know we can compete and need to fight like last week to come out on top.”

Seniors Connor Davey (8-3-11) and Cody Gordon (7-5-12) will be players O’Brien turns to as well as sophomore defenseman Thomas Gormley (16-7-23).  Sophomore Brendan Vokey (4-5-9) and Declan Foley 5-4-9) will also be key contributors.

#29 Minnechaug (13-7-0)

Coming out of Western MA, Minnechaug is certainly not a team to take lightly as they have plenty of offensive threats on their team.

“Unfortunately, our Western Mass tournament run was cut short by Longmeadow this past Thursday. But, we turned around quickly and got back to practice on Friday to get ready for the state tournament,” said coach Kyle Bosquet. Our mindset is to take it one game at a time and compete every shift. We know we have a high seed and everyone else probably will overlook us. We like being the underdog and we are hoping to turn some heads with some tournament success.”

Senior captain David Noel (23-20-43) has had a terrific season and coach Bosquet will turn to him and assistant senior captain Drew VanZandt (11-14-25) to power the offense. Freshman Dom Fiorentino (8-11-20) has also put up solid points.

Mike Moriarty and Derek Semanie make up the first defensive pair followed by Aidan Vreeland (4-8-12) and Jake Klakotskiy. John Pollard (2.75 GAA) has been solid in net for the Falcons all season. 

#30 Medford (11-8-1)

The Greater Boston League champs are ready to fight it out in a preliminary game after a solid regular season behind coach Mark Bates.

Senior captains Devon Page and Louis Pucillo will lead the offensive attack along with senior Nick Pasquariella, junior Tyler Taddia and sophomore Vincent Castro.

On defense junior DJ McDonough and Anthony Madarese will see time as well as Carsten Mangan and Roan Kennedy.

#31 Dartmouth (10-10-0)

Dartmouth will have a familiar foe in the preliminary game as they have a rubber match with Diman. Dartmouth won the first time 3-1 and then Diman won 3-2 in OT the second time, so it is setting up to be a very exciting game between the two.

Forwards Kai Andrade, Charlie Camisa and Aiden Cruz should lead the way for the Indians. On defense Will Gibson, Caiden DeCosra and Jacob Kearney are few of the blue-liners.

Junior Ashton Machado will be in goal for what should be a good match-up.

#32 Lowell Catholic (7-10-2)

After a tough CAC schedule, the Crusaders will find themselves back in the postseason for the first time in four years playing a preliminary game against Haverhill.

“The team is really excited to return to the State Tournament for the first time since 2018-19,” said coach Tom Curran. “In order to have success in the tournament we have to excel on special teams and continue to get strong goaltending from our freshman goalie Vinny D’Urso.”

D’Urso (2.10 GAA) started 18 games this season and had tremendous success. Behind him on defense look for senior captain Keegan Boyden (1-6-7), sophomore Andrew Marcucci (4-10-14) and Gage Richard (2-8-10).

Leading the offense attack will be junior Matt Cabral (6-13-19), freshman Jake Cabral (11-3-14), sophomore Colin Robinson (6-6-12), senior Lucas Rego (6-5-11), senior Adam Ellegood (5-6-11) and senior Kyle D’Autiel (5-5-10).

#33 Haverhill (13-6-1)

The Hillies had a fantastic season playing out of the MVC/Dual County III league. Most recently winning their division of the Newburyport Bank Classic with a 4-3 OT win over Pentucket.

“The key to our success will be playing our game and not beating ourselves,” said coach Joe Roberts. “We need to manage the puck and play to our potential. Team defense and goaltending will also be key as with any playoff run for any team.”  

The Hillies offensive attack will consist of seniors Darren Ackerman, John Bishop and Nick DiBurrro along with junior Jax Mulligan and sophomores Jake Costa and Jack Baker. On defense look for Prescott Mulligan, Braxton Caswell, Nolan Sheehan and Will Janes.

#34 Diman (17-2-0)

To be competitive in this D2 field, Diman knows it isn’t going to be easy but they are more than up for the challenge. After a solid season contending out of the Mayflower League, the Bengals scored 94 total goals and put up plenty of offense for coach Marc O’Connor.

They will up against Dartmouth in a preliminary game and will face each other for the third time this season.

“Going up against Dartmouth in the play-in game will be a good test for both teams,” said O’Connor. “We know each other well and that always makes for a good contest. It will be physical on both ends. The mindset is one period at a time and play a full 45 minutes.”

Junior forward Bryce Medeiros (11-43-54) and Jacob Almeida (34-17-51) both had outstanding seasons along with junior Evan Camara (12-13-25) and sophomore Landen Freitas (13-23-36.  On defense freshman Owen Vernon (5-8-13) and sophomore Ryan Sanford (6-8-14) were key for the Bengals this year. Senior Cameron Mattos (1.56 GAA) will be in net.

“As for having a good run in D2, that’s going to take focus on and off the ice,” said O’Connor. “These teams are deeper than us but, we have a great top two units and they are going to have to take their off ice approach to recovery after these games seriously to be healthy enough to contend.”

#35 Agawam (11-6-1)

Agawam will be making the long trek up to Medford to play in a preliminary game after a solid season out of Western MA in the Fay division.

“To have success in the tournament we need to just take it one game at a time and stick to our game plan,” said coach Todd Rowley. “It is going to take a full team effort and we are looking forward to getting going. The match-up with Medford is going to be a good physical battle and we are going to take it one shift at a time, win our battles and see what happens.”

Junior Peyton Buffam (10-7-17) will lead the offensive attack along with seniors Zach Hurley (9-5-14), Nick Shea (9-6-15) and freshman Caden Turgeon (3-9-12). Ryan Maloney (5-8-13) will anchor the defense along with Cole Buffam (5-4-9), AJ Robbins (4-6-10) and Owen Connery (3-6-9.)

Senior Jake Croteau (2.25 GAA) has started 17 games for the Brownies and has posted 10 wins and two shutouts.

#36 Somerville (11-8-0)

The Highlanders have earned their spot in the postseason with a preliminary game against Minnechaug, which should be a good match-up.

After a solid showing in the Greater Boston League, Somerville is eager to show they have what it takes to compete.

Coach Chris Capasso will turn to junior Richard Gaskin and sophomore Matthew DeAngelis to bolster the offensive attack. Sophomore Chris Cassesso will also be key as well as eighth-grader Preston Ardolino. On the defense look for seniors Dillon Marujo, Alex Morgan and sophore Sheamus Foley to play key roles.