The MIAA boys and girls hockey seasons ended in late March, which is now almost three months ago.
Catholic Memorial won a thrilling game over St. John's Shrewsbury to win the MIAA D1 boys title, while Division 2 featured Billerica needing two overtimes to oust Canton. In Division 3, Nauset took down Medfield and Winthrop beat Dedham by five goals in Division 4.
In Division 1 girls hockey, Hingham was a wagon all season. That continued on championship day, as the Harborwomen beat Bishop Stang, who went on an incredible run. Medfield upset Milton to take home the Division 2 championship.
Several players made the season so memorable. Here are our awards for the 2024-25 campaign.
Boys MIAA Player of the Year: Daniel Menyalkin, St. John’s Shrewsbury
No player was more important to their team this season in Division 1 than Menyalkin. When he was out, St. John’s Shrewsbury struggled. He was strong in the regular season with nine goals and 28 points and a plus-14 rating. But when the Bowdoin commit really shined was the tournament — three goals and six assists to bring SJS all the way to TD Garden. Two of those three goals were in overtime against Winchester and Arlington.
Boys MIAA Defenseman of the Year: Colin Yandle, Catholic Memorial
En route to the Division 1 title, the Knights deployed outstanding defensive game plans to shut down opponents. One of the biggest parts was Yandle, who was at the center of it. The ’09 defenseman proved he could shut down bigger, stronger opponents and contribute at the other end.
Boys MIAA Goalie of the Year: Drew Karlovits, BC High
Karlovits was a wizard for BC High this season, starting 21 of the team’s 22 games. He posted a staggering .959 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.22. Six of his 12 wins were via a shutout. BC High’s typical win came from defensive game plans and that was all because of the sophomore’s play in net.
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Boys MIAA Coach of the Year: Larry Rooney, Catholic Memorial
Catholic Memorial had lost a lot of talent over the last bunch of years, losing players to prep. That didn’t seem to matter this season. Not only did Rooney lead a young Knights team to a Division 1 title, but he also led them to get hot at the right time, which is the most important thing. After losing to Xaverian, 3-0, on Jan. 22, the Knights never lost again.
Girls MIAA Player of the Year: Caroline Doherty, Hingham
Doherty emphatically stamped her name into the record books as she ended her illustrious MIAA career with a 43-goal, 63-point senior season. The Patriot League MVP will go down as Hingham’s all-time scoring leader with 234 career points, and her 152 goals make her the all-time leading goal-scorer across both Hingham boys and girls hockey. Doherty saved her best for last with a hat trick in the Division 1 state championship, guiding the Harborwomen to their first title since 2011 and third all-time. The Holy Cross commit will play a postgrad season at Williston Northampton next winter.
Girls MIAA Defender of the Year: Paige Nottingham, Haverhill/Pentucket/North Andover
Nottingham (Merrimack, Mass.) was an electrifying skater and do-it-all presence on HPNA’s blue line this season. She posted 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points in 28 games, helping the Hillies earn the No. 4 seed in the D1 tournament as they made a run to the semifinals. Nottingham is committed to play at Salve Regina.
Girls MIAA Goalie of the Year: Erin Kral, Notre Dame (Hingham)
Several goalies could have taken the honor between Kral (Whitman, Mass.), Methuen/Tewksbury’s Lydia Barnes (Tewksbury, Mass.), Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading’s Allyse Mutti (North Reading, Mass.), Archbishop Williams’ Kate McLeish (Dedham, Mass.) and Malden Catholic’s Meghan Mullarkey (Wilmington, Mass.). Kral takes the honors with a 0.95 save percentage and a 1.16 GAA. She was a major reason why NDA arguably was the top team in the state for most of the season, and she helped the Cougars earn the No. 2 seed in the D-1 tournament.
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Girls MIAA Coach of the Year: Courtney Turner, Hingham
After going 18-6-1 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2023-24, Turner guided the Harborwomen to a 19-1-1 regular season this past winter en route to a Division 1 championship and a 24-1-1 overall record. The Harborwomen paced Division 1 with 112 goals-for, the second-most in all of MIAA girls hockey. Even with the state’s top scorer in Doherty, Turner iced a deep lineup that featured two strong goalies in Izzi Puleo and Izzy McGarr, two of the state’s premier defenders in Shea Richardson and CC Flynn, as well as other dynamic forwards in Addy Garrity, Callie Crean and Hannah Lasch.
