It\u2019s always right about now when the intensity in Hockeyland really starts to dial up.<\/p>\n
Contenders with fresh faces in big roles have largely figured out their identity and know what it\u2019s going to take to build momentum heading into the state tournament. Wins matter even more now that we\u2019re a couple of weeks into the power rankings and teams vie for higher seeding. And for many, league\/conference title races are heating up.<\/p>\n
We aren\u2019t in the high-magnitude portion of regular-season schedules yet, but this week is a shift toward it.<\/p>\n
Hopefully, the crystal ball can keep up its own hot start \u2014 coming off a 10-6 week with four overtime selections.<\/p>\n
Here are the matchups we\u2019re looking closely at. Reminder, no team is selected twice in one week.<\/p>\n
LAST WEEK\u2019S RECORD: 10-6
OVERALL RECORD: 50-22-6 (.679)
AVERAGE MARGIN: 2.15 goals<\/p>\n
**WINNERS in ALL-CAPS**<\/p>\n
BOYS
MONDAY
TEWKSBURY at Billerica, 7 p.m. \u2013 An intense rivalry that burned hot in last year\u2019s Div. 2 state semifinal thriller, which had an unforgettable finish. Tewksbury tied the score with 0.9 seconds left to force overtime, and star forward Tyler Bourgea hit the post to nearly steal a trip to TD Garden. Shortly after, Billerica potted the OT winner en route to the state title. Expect plenty of fire in the rematch from the Redmen (9-0), who have been unsolvable so far.<\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY
St. John\u2019s (S) at CATHOLIC MEMORIAL, 7 p.m. \u2013 A rematch of CM\u2019s (10-1-1) only loss thus far \u2013 which St. John\u2019s took by scoring twice in the third period for a 3-2 win. Both have looked worthy of a return trip to TD Garden thus far, though the Pioneers (8-3) have struggled with discipline in a couple of penalty-ridden losses. A top-5 matchup between two strong defensive juggernauts. Winner takes sole lead in the Catholic Conference title race.<\/p>\n
BURLINGTON at Woburn, 7 p.m. \u2013 Burlington\u2019s realignment into Div. 2 adds a buzz to this Middlesex League crossover tilt. Chance for the Red Devils (9-1) to prove their strength as a top-5 team in Div. 2. Woburn (5-3) likely looking for a statement of its own as No. 11 in Friday\u2019s MIAA Div. 2 power rankings. Biggest challenge for Burlington since a 3-1 loss to Arlington in its second game \u2013 which is its only loss yet.<\/p>\n
Bishop Stang at MIDDLEBORO\/CARVER\/WAREHAM, 8 p.m. \u2013 Entering Monday, Middleboro\/Carver\/Wareham (6-1) has just one loss, and it was a 4-3 finish against Bishop Stang (7-2-2). Both rank in the middle of the pack in Friday\u2019s MIAA Div. 3 power rankings update, so it\u2019s a chance for either of them to rise above the rest of that crowd a bit. Edge to the home team on a five-game win streak.<\/p>\n
THURSDAY
King Philip at CANTON, 4 p.m. \u2013 A battle between top-10 teams in Div. 2, both with only one loss so far. The Warriors (9-1) face their biggest challenge yet in the Bulldogs (9-1), who will likely be on a mission for a big week after dropping an upset loss to Bishop Feehan on Saturday.<\/p>\n
SATURDAY
St. Mary\u2019s (L) at ARLINGTON CATHOLIC, 12:40 p.m. \u2013 With losses from St. John\u2019s (S) and Waltham over the weekend, and a thrilling comeback win of its own over Framingham, Arlington Catholic (9-2) has the longest active win streak (eight games) in Div. 1 entering Monday. This is the end to a big week for St. Mary\u2019s (6-4), which gets stalwarts Hingham on Monday and Tewksbury on Wednesday, in what\u2019s been a gauntlet of a schedule so far. First meeting of the year between the Catholic Central League foes. Spartans already have a loss in the title race (Archies). Cougars are 2-0.<\/p>\n
MILTON at Framingham, 6 p.m. \u2013 A Bay State Conference crossover matchup to monitor. Milton (6-2-1) has shown flashes of what could be a deep run in Div. 2, most recently bouncing back from a loss to Needham with a tie against Div. 3 juggernaut Nauset. Framingham (6-5) has been up-and-down, but has big finishes over Weymouth and Marshfield, and nearly ended Arlington Catholic\u2019s Div. 1-best win streak.<\/p>\n
SUNDAY
Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament \u2014 The matchups won\u2019t be official until the middle of the week, but 16 of the best public school teams in the state kick off the annual in-season tournament to watch this Sunday. The eight with the best power ranking ratings thus far will play for the Doherty division title, and the other eight play for the Brinn. The New England Patriots conflict with opening weekend, but any of the barns hosting games will be a place to be.<\/p>\n
GIRLS
MONDAY
NOTRE DAME (H) at Hingham, 3 p.m. \u2013 Div. 1 title contenders, and town rivals, collide. Honestly, flip a coin. NDA (5-1-3) only just lost its first game last week, despite playing top-10 teams in just about every game. The defending state champion Harborwomen (8-2-1) are just as battle-tested and looking for a big win coming off a loss to Duxbury \u2013 which the Cougars took to double overtime in the Tenney Cup.<\/p>\n
BELMONT at Medfield, 3 p.m. \u2013 Belmont (5-4-2) is in a bit of a rocky stretch since a hot start, as is defending Div. 2 state champion Medfield (6-4). Two teams capable of deep runs in their respective tournaments looking for a signature win to build momentum off of. Marauders will need a big performance against standout goalie Kamryn Perachi.<\/p>\n
WEDNESDAY
Winchester at MALDEN CATHOLIC, 5 p.m. \u2013 Don\u2019t let their 5-5 records fool you. Both Malden Catholic and Winchester will be trouble for anyone come Div. 1 state tournament time. They\u2019ve just played very tough schedules, which continues for Malden Catholic on Monday against HPNA. The Red and Black grind everyone down, so gutting out this one will be signature for the Lancers.<\/p>\n
BILLERICA\/CHELMSFORD at Haverhill\/Pentucket\/North Andover (HPNA), 6 p.m. \u2013 For as parity-riddled as the entire Div. 1 field is, it\u2019s always heightened between teams in the MVC\/DCL Large. The Lindians (6-2-2) are 5-1-2 since dropping a 1-0 loss to HPNA (8-1-2) earlier in the year, in a game they felt they very well could have won. This should be another one-goal finish, either way.<\/p>\n
ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS at Arlington Catholic, 6 p.m. \u2013 First meeting of the year between Catholic Central League foes. It\u2019s been up-and-down for both the Cougars (4-4-2) and the Bishops (5-5), though both are building off momentum. Arlington Catholic enters on a three-game unbeaten streak. Archies just handed NDA (H) its first loss, and is expecting the return of injured star forward Izzy O\u2019Brien for a boost.<\/p>\n
FRIDAY
ALGONQUIN at Pope Francis, 7:30 p.m. \u2014 Should it win its matchup against Waltham on Monday, Algonquin\u2019s (11-0) unbeaten record will be put to the test with a long road trip to a pesky Pope Francis (6-5-1). This is a rematch of Algonquin\u2019s 3-1 win over the Cardinals earlier this season. We\u2019re expecting a good game here.<\/p>\n
SATURDAY
Reading at ST. MARY\u2019S (L), 4 p.m. \u2013 The first team St. Mary\u2019s head coach Frank Pagliuca noted in the preseason as a sleeper to watch out for was Reading (5-1-2), which has looked the part aside from an uncharacteristic 5-0 loss to Woburn on Saturday. The Rockets will be yet another challenge, but the Spartans (8-0-1) have built confidence as a young group continues to deliver in the clutch.<\/p>\n
NSA at Marshfield, 5 p.m. \u2014 Norwell\/Scituate\/Abington\u2019s (7-2-1) hot start hasn\u2019t simmered, last losing to Martha\u2019s Vineyard on New Year\u2019s Eve. It has a rematch with Hanover on Wednesday first, but another win over fellow Div. 2 threat Marshfield (4-6) would be significant. This is the end to a big week for Marshfield, which faces Duxbury and Hingham. A win or a tie against either could spark momentum for a big win here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always right about now when the intensity in Hockeyland really starts to dial up. Contenders with fresh…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[7032,5,2535],"class_list":["post-416664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hockey","tag-high-school-hockey","tag-hockey","tag-miaa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115923981821872294","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}