The boys MIAA hockey tournament brackets come out in nine days. It will come quickly.
But there is quite a bit to get to before then. The Buddy Ferreira Classic will have an impact on the seeding, as will games like Catholic Memorial and Pope Francis on Saturday.
The top four remained the same this week. Ho hum, right?
Wrong.
Spots 5-10 got a complete makeover, and I have more questions than answers with those teams. The margins are razor-thin. Those teams could undoubtedly swap spots next week in our final rankings.
Let's dive into our penultimate rankings.
1. Catholic Memorial (15-2-1)
Previous: 1
Division 1
Head coach: Larry Rooney
Next game: at Pope Francis, Feb. 14, 12:30 p.m.Â
The Knights played only once last week, taking down Archbishop Williams, 4-2. They got scoring from everywhere with juniors Liam McKinney (Milton, Mass.) and Christian Hinckle (Milton, Mass.), sophomore AJ Ankstitus (North Dighton, Mass.) and freshman Shaun Farrell (Hanson, Mass.) finding the back of the net. CM has a tough final week, taking on No. 5 Pope Francis and Winchester. Those will be good tune-ups before the playoffs.
2. St. John's Prep (11-3-2)
Previous: 2
Division 1
Head coach: Kris Hanson
Next game: at Arlington Catholic, Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.Â
Like CM, St. John's Prep had only one game, beating Bishop Feehan, 4-0. The Eagles also got goal-scoring from everywhere, with seniors Logan Daigle (Lynnfield, Mass.), Luke Horenstein (Danvers, Mass.) and Anthony Petrucelli (Lynnfield, Mass.), and junior Ryan Doherty (Marblehead, Mass.) lighting the lamp. SJP has a big test ahead of it on Thursday night at Arlington Catholic, which ranks just outside of our top 10.
3. Xaverian (14-4-0)
Previous: 3
Division 1
Head coach: Dave Spinale
Next game: vs. Natick, Feb. 16, 3:15 p.m.Â
Xaverian's lone game came at Chelmsford on Wednesday night with the Hawks winning, 2-0. Junior defenseman Justin Mosher (Franklin, Mass.) was the story with a goal and an assist. Xaverian's remaining schedule is against Natick and Marshfield before the tournament begins.
READ MORE:Â Our latest boys prep rankings
4. Canton (16-1-0)
Previous: 4
Division 2
Head coach: Brian Shuman
Next game: vs. North Attleboro, Feb. 12, 5 p.m.Â
Well, there's no doubt who the favorite is in Division 2. In the Ed Burns Coffee Pot tournament championship for the Doherty division, Canton crushed then-No. 5 Tewksbury, 5-0. Shuman's team got goals from primary and depth scorers, with seniors Will Doucette, Joey Ryan and Andrew Gillis, junior Ryan Elrick and sophomore Gavin O'Toole potting ones. Canton also took down Mansfield, 8-0, two days before beating Tewksbury. Canton looks like a wagon.
5. Pope Francis (12-4-3)
Previous: 8
Division 1
Head coach: Brian Foley
Next game: vs. Catholic Memorial, Feb. 14, 12:30 p.m.Â
Since losing to St. Mary's Lynn, 7-3, on Jan. 10, the Cardinals are rolling at 7-0-1. This week, that meant winning the Pope Francis Invitational with a 7-1 victory over Notre Dame-West Haven (our No. 6 team in Conn.) and a 4-0 victory against Bishop Hendricken (our No. 1 team in Rhode Island). They followed it up with a 5-2 win at Belmont on Wednesday. In the Pope Francis Invitational, it was all about senior forward Matt Regan, who had a hat trick against ND-West Haven and two more to beat Bishop Hendricken. Pope Francis has a huge opportunity against No. 1 CM on Saturday.
6. Reading (14-2-2)
Previous: 10
Division 1
Head coach: Mark Doherty
Next game: vs. Archbishop Williams, Feb. 14, 2 p.m.Â
What a week from Reading, which ranked No. 4 in Tuesday's MIAA Division 1 power rankings. The Rockets took down then-No. 6 Arlington, 4-0, before beating Chelmsford by the same score and taking down Winchester 3-0 for the Middlesex League title. Senior forward Jack Melly continued his outstanding final year, potting a goal against Arlington, another (and two assists) against Chelmsford and one more in the win over Winchester. Junior forward Ethan Filipski had two goals and an assist in the win over Chelmsford. The Rockets are hot at the perfect time.
READ MORE:Â 26 candidates for boys prep Player of the Year
7. Arlington (14-5-0)
Previous: 6
Division 1
Head coach: John Messuri
Next game: vs. Woburn, Feb. 14, 12:40 p.m.Â
While the Spy Ponders fell to Reading, they rebounded with a 7-1 win against Concord-Carlisle and a 4-2 victory at BC High. Junior forward Sean Patterson notched a hat trick to take down Concord-Carlisle, while senior defenseman Evan Marks potted a pair of goals in the win over BC High. Arlington's remaining slate features games against Woburn, Wakefield and Braintree before the tournament begins.
8. St. John's Shrewsbury (11-7-1)
Previous: 9
Division 1
Head coach: Michael Mead
Next game: vs. Lincoln-Sudbury, Feb. 17, 6 p.m.Â
After tying Archbishop Williams, 3-3, on Saturday, the Pioneers got a massive, 4-3 win against then-No. 7 Hingham. They followed it up with a 7-3 victory against Andover. Junior forward Jaydon Wrzosek (Dudley, Mass.) notched two goals in the tie with Archies, before sophomore forward Nico Santella (Worcester, Mass.) had two (including the winner late in the third period) against Hingham. Santella had two more lamplighters against Andover, but the main story was junior forward Matthew Mischel posting a hat trick. SJS only has one game left before the tournament.
9. Tewksbury (17-1-1)
Previous: 5
Division 2
Head coach: Derek Doherty
Next game: at Waltham, Feb. 14, 7 p.m.
This is probably too harsh a drop from just one game, but things are that tight from spots 4-10 in these rankings. Tewksbury is also safely the No. 2 team in Division 2 after its 5-0 loss to Canton. Doherty's team rebounded nicely, however, by taking down Boston Latin, 4-1, on Wednesday. Senior star Tyler Bourgea was back to doing his thing, scoring twice, along with sophomore forward Jack Ryan and freshman defenseman Mason Hollien, who also found the back of the net. Tewksbury will be fine.
READ MORE:Â Top boys prep performers from Feb. 4-10
10. Hingham (12-5-2)
Previous: 7
Division 1
Head coach: Tony Messina
Next game: vs. Bishop Feehan, Feb. 14, 12 p.m. (at Falmouth Ice Arena)Â
This is also probably too harsh a drop, but again, things are tight. Hingham is also 2-3-1 in its last six games. This week, the Harbormen tied Walpole, 3-3, before falling, 4-3, at St. John's Shrewsbury on Monday. They rebounded with a 4-0 win against Billerica on Wednesday. There are two pieces of good news for Hingham. The first is that there were nine different goal scorers over those three games. The second is that the Buddy Ferreria Classic this weekend would be the perfect chance to get back on track before the tournament.
Dropped out:Â None
In the hunt:Â Arlington Catholic, BC High, Weymouth, St. Mary's Lynn, Archbishop Williams
