The 2023-24 MIAA high school hockey season offered lots of excitement on both the boys and girls sides.
St. John's Prep took home the boys Division 1 title, ending Winchester's Cinderella run to TD Garden. Boston Latin stunned Tewksbury for the Division 2 boys crown. Meanwhile, Marblehead upset Nauset to swipe the boys Division 3 championship. In Division 4, Dover-Sherborn/Weston rolled to a championship win over Hanover.
On the girls side, St. Mary's avenged their championship loss from the previous season, coming back to topple Notre Dame (Hingham) in a triple-overtime thriller. Duxbury made it two in a row in girls Division 2, shutting out Falmouth.
Both the boys and girls sides had plenty of players that had excellent, prolific seasons. That made handing out awards so difficult.
Here are our 2023-24 awards for boys and girls MIAA hockey.
Boys MIAA Player of the Year: Jake Vana, St. John's Prep
The best player on the best team in Massachusetts — that’s what Vana was. A Princeton lacrosse commit, Vana was also on the best line in the MIAA with seniors Christian Rosa and Johnny Tighe. Vana posted 18 goals and 34 points, always seeming to come up in the big moments. Nobody was better at protecting the puck either.
Boys MIAA Defenseman of the Year: Brady Plaza, St. John's Prep
Sticking with St. John’s Prep, Plaza was a puck-moving machine on the backend. He’s a smooth skater who could always be counted on to execute a clean breakout. He finished with four goals and 23 points, serving as a master facilitator, too.
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Boys MIAA Goalie of the Year: Chris Hanifan, Reading
Reading was a team that hovered around the top 10 all winter. That was mainly because of Hanifan’s play in net. One year after bursting onto the scene by leading Reading to the Final Four, he followed it up with a stunning senior year, posting a 1.28 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage.
Boys MIAA Coach of the Year: Geno Khachadourian, Winchester
Khachadourian guided Winchester from being the No. 11 seed in the Division 1 Tournament to the championship at TD Garden. The path to the final included upsetting rival No. 6 Arlington and No. 3 Catholic Memorial. Obviously, Khachadourian’s squad got robbed of overtime against No. 1 St. John’s Prep in the championship, but just being there was impressive enough. Khachadourian put together the perfect game plan for coming oh-so-close to upsetting SJP, the undisputed best team in the MIAA this winter. It was a year to remember for the Winchester boss.
Girls MIAA Player of the Year: Bella Freitas, St. Mary’s
Freitas, a three-sport athlete who will head to Cushing Academy next season, was the MIAA’s most electrifying player all season. She finished her freshman season with 67 points for the Spartans, including a whopping 48 goals. She scored twice in St. Mary’s thrilling triple-overtime win against Notre Dame (Hingham) in the Division 1 state championship before assisting the game-winner.
Girls MIAA Defenseman of the Year: Sarah Francis, Notre Dame (Hingham)
One of the state’s best all-around defenders, Francis captained the Cougars to within a goal of the state title, falling to St. Mary’s in triple overtime. She was essential to one of the best defenses in the state as NDA allowed just 27 goals all season, the second-fewest in Division 1 and the third-fewest in all of MIAA girls hockey. She finished the season with two goals and eight assists from the blue line. Francis’ smarts with the puck on the breakout, in transition and at the offensive blue line help her stand out.
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Girls MIAA Goalie of the Year: Anna McGinty, Duxbury
McGinty was integral to the Dragons’ run to a state championship for a second straight season. She posted a .947 save percentage to go along with nine shutouts and a 0.98 goals-against average. Committed to Framingham State, McGinty made 17 saves in the state title game against Falmouth for the shutout and her 75th career win.
Girls MIAA Coach of the Year: Frank Pagliuca, St. Mary’s
Pagliuca’s Spartans went 23-3-1 en route to their fifth state title in his 19th season behind the bench. But it wasn’t an easy road for St. Mary’s. Pagliuca’s squad lost 13 players — nine seniors and four transfers — from the previous season’s team, which fell in an upset to Shrewsbury in the state championship. Even more impressive, SMH, who featured three freshmen and three eighth-graders, dressed just 13 skaters down the stretch as co-captain Kasey Litwin (Swampscott, Mass.) was out due to injury.
