The MIAA girls hockey tournaments are here.
So, it’s a perfect time to get a head start on the “bracketology” that will be at the front of everyone’s minds in just a few weeks during March Madness.
This is the part of the hockey season where unpredictability thrives. In a win-or-go-home, one-game-for-the-rest-of-your-life scenario, anything can happen. Lower seeds can catch fire. Higher seeds try to put the finishing touches on strong seasons.
Just look at last season's final matchups. Division 1 saw a No. 1 seed win it all last season, thanks to Hingham, but the Harborwomen faced a No. 15 seed in Bishop Stang. In Division 2, it came down to No. 6 Milton and No. 13 Medfield. The latter won it all.
Every possibility is on the table when the puck drops in these games.
Attached below is the Division 1 bracket, along with my picks and a little bit about my thought process. Feel free to use these picks as bulletin board material, although I doubt any of these will be wrong. Like I've said in the past, picking brackets 100 percent correctly is pretty easy, right? Right?
A separate story will be done on my Division 2 predictions.
Let’s dive in.
No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham) quadrant
This might be the deepest field that I've seen in Division 1 in the last three seasons. There are legitimate contenders through the top 10 seeds. Look no further than NDA's quadrant between the likes of the Cougars, Bishop Stang and Haverhill/Pentucket/North Andover.
Give me Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell over Central Catholic in the preliminary round. That game is being played as I write this. I do not, however, have Shawsheen getting past NDA. Belmont against Shrewsbury is one of the more interesting matchups of the Round of 32. Belmont is a little more battle-tested and was red-hot before the final two games of the regular season. I'll lean toward the Marauders.
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I'll take Bishop Stang over Bishop Fenwick in a Catholic Central matchup. The Spartans have a pair of 1-0 shutouts against the Crusaders already this season. I'll also take HPNA over Braintree.
NDA is the top seed for a reason. They should take care of Belmont in the second round. From there, things get very interesting.
Even as the eighth and ninth seeds, respectively, Bishop Stang and HPNA are absolutely title contenders. HPNA slipped a little down the stretch without starting goalie Chris Hinchcliffe, but she's back for the tournament. Stang also faltered slightly down the stretch, but the Spartans did a hell of a job in a deep Catholic Central League this season. They've still got experience from last season's run to the final, too. Vivienne Melo can match up with anyone in net, too. Give me Bishop Stang to face NDA in the quarterfinals.
The Cougars and Spartans met at the beginning of the season, settling for a 1-1 draw as Melo made 37 saves to keep NDA at bay. I expect the Cougars' offense to break through, with Abigail Burke, Abby Gropman, Chase Harmon and others, sending them to the Final 4. Erin Kral almost always gives them an edge in the crease.
No. 2 St. Mary's quadrant
The Spartans were one of our sleepers last season, entering the tournament at 9-11-2 as the No. 11 seed. A lot has changed, as SMH is very much a contender once again. I'll take them over Framingham in the first round. Give me Natick over Winchester, too. Sophia Luoni could easily steal a game against the Spartans, but I'll lean toward the offensive upside of Emma Doucette and Alyssa Norden. Norden helped lead SMH to the 2024 title, scoring the game-winning goal in triple overtime. Put St. Mary's in the quarterfinals.
Moving down, I so badly want to pick Waltham over Hingham in a massive upset. Molly Whittier is a stud, and the Hawks have a solid supporting cast and good goaltending with Miyana Bahl. I don't have the guts, though. Go ahead, call me a chicken. I'll take Hingham's two-headed monster of Hannah Lasch and Callie Crean to go along with the remaining championship experience, especially on defense with CC Flynn. If Waltham pulls it off, though, don't say I didn't warn you.
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Give me Reading over Grafton, putting the Rockets against Hingham in the Round of 16. This is where Hingham's title defense comes to an end. I'm going with the hot hand with Reading, which has been playing great hockey of late. The Rockets are 6-0-3 in their last nine, and I expect them to stay hot, especially with Rylee Middleton in net and Payton Curran up front.
Reading's magic continues against St. Mary's, too. The Rockets just beat the Spartans a week ago with a 2-0 win in the MC Showcase. Middleton pitched a 25-save shutout, while Curran and Kayla Cox broke through. I could see the rematch going either way, though, as SMH shut out Reading, 3-0, earlier this season. Still, I'll go with the recency bias. Reading moves on to the semifinals in a No. 10 vs. No. 2 upset.
No. 3 Alongquin quadrant
Algonquin and Methuen/Tewksbury make up the title contenders here, but there are other tough outs.
The Titans were perfect until the regular-season finale, when they lost to Bishop Feehan. They'll bounce back with a win over Westford in the first round. Malden Catholic has had its ups and downs this season, but I expect the Lancers to get past Beverly. I don't expect them to get past Algonquin, though. MC won't be able to keep up offensively with the likes of Algonquin's Madelyn Glynn and Annabelle Preciado, among others. Addy Cagan gives the Titans a leg up in goal, too.
MIAA BRACKETS: Division 1 girls | Division 2 girls
Moving down, I'll take Methuen/Tewksbury over Winthrop. The Red Rangers were No. 1 in our final regular-season top 10 and are the only undefeated team remaining in Massachusetts. Woburn and Pope Francis pose another intriguing first-round matchup. Woburn was in the hunt for our rankings all season and was strong in a strong Middlesex League. Pope, meanwhile, also played a solid schedule and played teams close. I've just got a feeling with the Cardinals in this spot.
They'll face Methuen/Tewksbury in the Round of 16, where the Red Rangers will get it done. Lydia Barnes gives M/T a chance in any game. Add in puck-movers on defense like Lyla Chapman and Maeve Burns, plus a swath of timely scorers like Sammy Ryan, Ella Duffy, Sarah Marano, Annalise Blais and Hayden Reardon, and you've got a recipe for success.
For those reasons, I'll take M/T over Algonquin in the quarterfinals, too.
No. 4 Bishop Feehan quadrant
This might be the best quadrant in the bracket. Bishop Feehan and Archbishop Williams are legitimate title contenders, while Billerica/Chelmsford, Arlington Catholic and Acton-Boxboro are all capable of providing upsets.
I'll take Feehan over Hopkinton/Dover-Sherborn, advancing to the Round of 16, where they'll face Acton-Boxboro. The Revolution will have taken care of AC, thanks to offensive threats like freshmen Riley Bergeron and Aleesa Coskren. A young A-B squad will falter against Feehan, though, as the Shamrocks advance to the quarterfinals.
BOYS BRACKETS: Division 1 boys | Division 2 boys | Division 3 boys | Division 4 boys
Moving down, I'll take Archies over Boston Latin and B/C over Brookline. Archies' depth, especially in its top six, will overwhelm Billerica/Chelmsford, lifting the Bishops to the quarterfinals against Feehan.
Bishop Feehan and Archbishop Williams might just be the game of the tournament in the quarterfinals. I could absolutely see either winner marching all the way to a title. The Shamrocks and Bishops split the season series, too. Archies won, 2-1, on Dec. 20 before losing, 3-0, on Jan. 10.
Archies is playing some great hockey right now, going 10-2-1 since a 4-5-0 start to the season. They've won seven of their last eight. The Bishops are healthy with Julie Murphy back in the lineup after Izzy O'Brien returned a few weeks ago. Add in other forwards like Emily Fleming and McKenzie Lima-Tower, and the Shamrocks will have their hands full defensively. That's not to mention blue-liners like Aliya Greenwood, Kendyll Nolan and Cam Katapodis.
On the other end, Bishop Feehan is playing terrific hockey of late, too. Since starting the season 2-5-0, Feehan is 13-2-0. They've won five straight entering the tournament. The Shamrocks can match up well up front with one of the state's more dynamic players in Georgia Murray, plus a supporting cast of Mia Zammiello, Annie Lough and Isa Lough. I'll also give the edge to Aviva Olitsky in net.
Feehan moves on to the Final 4.
Final 4: No. 1 NDA (Hingham) vs. No. 4 Bishop Feehan | No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury vs. No. 10 Reading
You want to talk about the depth in Division 1 this postseason? Just look at the teams I picked to reach the semis.
No. 1 NDA is a little chalky, sure. Otherwise, you've got No. 4 Bishop Feehan, No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury and No. 10 Reading. Plenty of others could easily make it, too.
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NDA and Feehan have met twice already this season. The Cougars took both matchups via 2-0 and 3-1 finals. Gropman had three goals across the two matchups, and Burke cashed in twice in the second. It's hard to beat a team three times in one season, though. Call it a gut feeling, but I'll take Feehan to stay hot, flip the script and move on to the final.
I think Reading's luck runs out against the Red Rangers, too. Barnes is a force between the pipes, and M/T has plenty of experience left from last season's run to the Final 4. I also like the Red Rangers' offensive depth more.
Championship: No. 4 Bishop Feehan vs. No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury
Methuen/Tewksbury plays teams tight. Entering the postseason, no team in Massachusetts has given up fewer goals than M/T (nine). Yes, nine goals against in 20 games. Insane. That's the level Barnes and the defense have played at.
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But Murray can be a game-breaker. Defense may win championships, but I have a hard time picking against the nuclear threat. On the biggest of stages, she'll rise to the moment. The Shamrocks are also more battle-tested coming out of a gauntlet CCL. Feehan gets it done.
