St. Mary's and NDA (Hingham) have played twice this season, with each team winning once. (Patrick Donnelly/NEHJ)
This day is one of the most important on the Massachusetts hockey calendar.
On Sunday, the state's top high school teams will take to the ice at TD Garden, looking to bring glory to their school and hometown. The MIAA will determine state champions in Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 for men's hockey and Divisions 1 and 2 for women's hockey.
The day kicks off at 9 a.m., with No. 1 Notre Dame (Hingham) and No. 2 St. Mary's facing off in the D1 girls state title game. The all-day marathon concludes with his 7:30 nightcap featuring his 1st place Tewksbury and his 11th place Boston Latin in the D2 Men's Championship.
New England Hockey Journal Editor Evan Malinowski and the writer Patrick Donnelly We broke down each matchup on the latest RinkWise podcast. They look at how each team got here and some major storylines to watch.
MIAA Hockey Championship — Who Will Win?
About No. 11 Winchester's strong advance to the D1 men's title match
Malinowski: “The really interesting thing here is Winchester. Winchester was one of the best public schools this year…and caught fire in the playoffs. Goalie Aiden Emrickwas outstanding. I think that was the biggest thing. Ironically, I think the most convincing win of the entire tournament was against No. 3 Catholic Memorial. If we won 4-1 and scored two points, it wasn't that close. It was like they kind of collapsed the commercials a little bit. It shows what they are capable of. Because in advance, they Danny O'BrienHe is a truly excellent senior, and he is very solid. So they're a hardworking team. They are typical public schools. They also have defensemen who are good at moving the puck. They have some guys who can move the puck. They are more than just meat-and-potatoes defenders. These guys can move. These guys can skate. So they have a little bit of everything. ”
Check out the D2 Girls title match
Donnelly: “Falmouth, it almost didn't happen for them. They took Canton to two overtimes and won 4-3. So that can be a little bit scary. …The biggest thing is, they don't have a freshman goaltender. There is. Aspen Devlin, has been great all season, and it seems like she's really found a new level here in the playoffs. … Falmouth is quite young and a lot of their accomplishments come from a few juniors and seniors on the team. Secondly, you can see that Duxbury is a team that has been around for a while and is a very deep team with contributions throughout the lineup. They have an experienced goalkeeper, anna mcginty, who won last year. She is one of the best in the state. So compared to Falmouth, Duxbury may be a little more balanced and a little more high-flying. … It's tough. You want a high-scoring game, especially against a team that can put the puck in the net. But this could be a tough match considering how fired up Devlin is and how good McGinty is. ”
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