It still feels like the girls MIAA season just started, but in fact, it's quite the opposite.
The regular season is officially behind us, and the MIAA will unveil its brackets for the Division 1 and 2 girls hockey tournaments on Saturday.
This week had several top teams battling head-to-head at the Hingham Hockey Showcase, leading to a big shakeup at the top of the rankings. Hingham re-enters the top 10 for the first time since Jan. 11, and there's a new No. 1 team.
If everything were to get underway as I write this, these would be the top five seeds in each tournament, according to the MIAA's latest power rankings:
Division 1:
- St. Mary’s
- Notre Dame (Hingham)
- Malden Catholic
- Lincoln-Sudbury
- Hingham
Division 2:
- Duxbury
- Falmouth
- Burlington
- Nauset/Monomoy
- Algonquin/Hudson
With that in mind, let's dive into the final MIAA girls top 10 of the regular season:
1. Duxbury (19-3-0)
Previous rank: 2
Head coach: Dan Najarian
Next game: TBD
After the Dragons fell to Malden Catholic, they dropped their second straight in a tight 2-1 loss against Pope Francis. But they bounced back with four big wins, beating Notre Dame (Hingham), 2-0, Canton, 4-0, Archbishop Williams, 3-1, and Arlington, 6-1, to enter the Division 2 tournament on the right foot. Reese Porter had two goals and two assists against Arlington. Duxbury will have a bye in the preliminary round, and they're well-positioned to defend their title.
2. Notre Dame (Hingham) (14-4-2)
Previous rank: 4
Head coach: John Findley
Next game: TBD
The Cougars are back in the top three in a big way, going 5-1-0 since our last rankings. They could have been the top team if not for the head-to-head loss to Duxbury on Feb. 15, following their 5-0 win over Arlington Catholic. But NDA bounced back with four straight wins, including a signature 2-1 overtime victory over St. Mary's. Eighth-grader Emma Burke came through with the game-winner. NDA also picked up a big 1-0 overtime win over Haverill/Pentucket/North Andover as well. Devon Moore (Milton, Mass.) had four goals in their 5-2 win over Needham on Thursday. Perhaps the Cougars could leapfrog SMH for the top seed in the power rankings.
3. St. Mary's (18-3-1)
Previous rank: 1
Head coach: Frank Pagliuca
Next game: TBD
The Spartans had a tough week at the Hingham Hockey Showcase, falling to NDA before dropping their second in a row in a 3-2 loss Hingham on Thursday. The two losses, their first since Jan. 14, followed a 6-2 win over Beverly/Danvers/Ipswich. Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) and Alyssa Norden (Peabody, Mass.) each scored a pair in the win. Freitas also scored against NDA. Maybe the losses serve as a wakeup call for SMH heading into the tournament, where they'll face each team's best. They'll likely hold onto a top-two seed in the power rankings.
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4. Malden Catholic (14-3-4)
Previous rank: 3
Head coach: Alexa Hingston
Next game: TBD
A head-to-head loss to SMH, plus NDA's surge, drops the Lancers one spot, even if they don't deserve to fall. MC has gone 3-0-2 since their massive win over Duxbury. The Lancers tied Bishop Feehan and Pope Francis, thanks to a pair of third-period comebacks, clawing back from 2-0 and 3-0 deficits, respectively. They also picked up wins over HPNA, Needham and Braintree. They trailed Needham, 1-0, entering the third before Abbie Poole (Wakefield, Mass.) and Alyssa Jankowski (Medford, Mass.) lifted them to a 2-1 win. MC is red-hot entering the tournament with a top-three seed locked up.
5. Falmouth (19-2-1)
Previous rank: 5
Head coach: Brian Ferreira
Next game: TBD
The Clippers are 4-1-0 since our last top 10. They took down Martha's Vineyard, 6-1, before falling to a strong Canton team, 2-0. But Falmouth bounced back with strong wins over Winthrop, La Salle Academy and Boston Latin. Casey Roth and Riley Devlin came through against Winthrop, and goalie Aspen Devlin had a big bounce-back after the loss to Canton. The Clippers appear destined for the No. 2 seed in the Division 2 tournament.
6. Burlington (17-1-2)
Previous rank: 6
Head coach: Rick Sheehan
Next game: TBD
The Lady Devils took full advantage of a favorable schedule to finish their season, going 5-0-0 since our last rankings. They picked up wins over Belmont/Watertown, Melrose, Wakefield and Wellesley (twice), including three shutouts and a 22-3 differential. Emma Steiner picked up a hat trick in the 7-1 win over Wakefield. The second of the two Wellesley wins marked Isa Fischer's 11th shutout of the season, too. We talk so much about how much goaltending matters in the postseason, and Burlington has that in spades. They sit third in the latest Division 2 power rankings.
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7. Lincoln-Sudbury (17-2-1)
Previous rank: 7
Head coach: Paul Hardy
Next game: TBD
Lincoln-Sudbury had a light schedule to finish the regular season, sitting idle since Feb. 14. They beat Andover, 3-2, and Waltham, 4-0, following our last top 10. The win over Andover earned LS the MVC/DCL large league title, too. The Warriors enter the postseason with four straight wins under their belts and wins in seven of their last eight.
8. Hingham (16-5-1)
Previous rank: NR
Head coach: Courtney Turner
Next game: TBD
The Harborwomen are back in the rankings in a big way after seven straight wins, including a signature 3-2 upset of St. Mary's in the Hingham Hockey Showcase on Thursday. Caroline Doherty scored a pair, and Reese Pompeo also scored against the Spartans. Hingham's streak also includes wins over Andover and Pembroke. Courtney Turner's group is getting hot at the right time with a potent offense, led by a deep top-six. They'll have a top-five seed in Division 1.
9. Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading (17-4-0)
Previous rank: 8
Head coach: Michelle Roach
Next game: TBD
The Tanners are 4-2-0 since our last rankings. They beat Newburyport, Marblehead, Medford/Malden and Bishop Fenwick by a combined 27-3 margin, shutting out the latter three. But PLNR fell to Winthrop, 1-0, before HPNA, 2-1, in the regular season finale on Wednesday. They've had some ups and downs of late with three losses in their last seven games. All have been tough, though, with the other coming against St. Mary's. The Tanners will hope to be battle-tested, likely headed for a top-10 seed in Division 1.
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10. Canton (17-4-1)
 Previous rank: 9
Head coach: Zach Wells
Next game: TBD
Canton, idle since Feb. 17, picked up a huge Division 2 win over Falmouth, 2-0, thanks to a pair of first-period goals. Izzy Crugnale opened the scoring before Izzy Cusack came through once again. The Bulldogs beat another tough Division 2 foe in Westwood, 3-1, but couldn't overcome Duxbury in a 4-0 loss to close out the regular season, though. A top-10 seed in Division 2 awaits.
Dropped out: Nauset/Monomoy (16-2-1)
The Warriors don't necessarily deserve to drop out, but it's a result of Hingham's surge and the rest of the shuffling around them. Idle since Feb. 17, they took down Sandwich, 2-1, but couldn't find an answer for Pope Francis in a 4-2 loss. They bounced back in a 5-1 win over Martha's Vineyard to enter the playoffs 8-1-1 in their last 10. Gabby Basset scored against Sandwich and had a pair against Martha's Vineyard. If the tournament were to start right now, Nauset would be the fourth seed in Division 2.
In the hunt: Nauset/Monomoy, Tewksbury/Methuen (14-3-2), Pope Francis (12-7-2), Milton (17-4-1)
