Boys hockey teams prep for tourney

Nine area teams — including seven of the 10 Northeastern Conference schools — will take part in the MIAA North Sectional tournaments that get under way tomorrow.Catholic Central League Large runner-up St. Mary?s, passed over for the final spot in the Division 1A tournament, is the top seed in Div. 1 North.NEC North champion Beverly is the No. 1 seed in Div. 2 North while NEC South champion Lynn is the fifth seed in the Div. 3 North draw.DIV. 1 NORTHAfter losing out to Catholic Memorial for the final 1A spot, No. 1 St. Mary?s (14-4-2) is re-focused on the task at hand and begins play Wednesday night (Stoneham Arena, 7:45) against the winner of tonight?s preliminary game between No. 16 Waltham (8-8-5) and No. 17 Westford (7-7-6).St. Mary?s certainly has a leg up on the rest of the 17-team field in senior captain and goalie Bailey MacBurnie (1.71 GAA, .929 save percentage), who has seven shutouts.A balanced attack features the line of junior Shawn MacBurnie (12-15-27), freshman Dante Maribito (8-16-24), sophomore Jackson Allard (14-9-23) and senior captain Jordan Manthorne (10-6-16).Senior captain Chris Price, junior Clay Yianacopolus (5-5-10) and eighth-grader Max McKay (7-3-10) anchor the defense.?We are very proud and honored to be the Number One seed for the Division 1 North tourney. The field is filled with very talented teams and we need to be at our best to be successful,” said coach Mark Lee.No. 15 St. John?s Prep (9-9-2) has been playing tournament-style hockey for nearly a month just to qualify by going 4-1-0 down the stretch.The Eagles face Arlington (12-3-5) of the Middlesex League?s Liberty Division in the first round on Wednesday (Woburn, 8).Seniors Jim Currier (11-23-34) and Mark Etherington (10-14-24) lead the offense. Seniors Ean Mendeszoon and Evan Leclerc are top defenders in front of freshman goalie Zach Laramie.?We are thrilled to have the opportunity to compete in the D1 tournament. Being a .500 team, we will need to play our best hockey to compete with the top teams in the tournament,” said coach Kris Hanson.DIV. 2 NORTHNo. 7 Marblehead (16-5-1) meets No. 10 Haverhill (9-9-2) of the MVC/DCL Two Tuesday (Chelmsford, 5:10).The winner advances to Friday?s quarterfinal against No. 2 Cape Ann League champion North Reading (16-2-2).?For our first year back in Division Two, we are happy with qualifying. Five teams representing the NEC is a great tribute to the level of hockey each team plays on a consistent basis,” said Marblehead coach Bob Jackson, who considers Beverly and Winthrop to be among the favorites in the field.?We are going to prepare hard and come out to play 45 minutes each game. Our biggest concern right now is a very hard working and talented Haverhill team,” he said.The Magicians? high-powered offense (107 goals) features brothers Tom Koopman (15-21-36), a senior, and Matt Koopman (18-18-36), a sophomore. Senior defenseman Liam Gillis (6-16-22), senior forward Erik Powers (12-7-19) and freshman forward Braden Haley (9-14-23) have been major contributors as well. Senior goalies Harrison Young and Myles Barry have split time throughout the season, combining for five shutouts.No. 8 Danvers (10-9-1) faces No. 9 Amesbury (8-8-2) of the Cape Ann League Tuesday night (Chelmsford, 7:10) with the chance to reverse a 7-0 regular-season loss to the Indians.The Falcons are stout in their own end thanks to senior goalie Alex Taylor, senior defenseman Ryan Cassidy and junior defenseman Steve Ganley. Seniors Matty Flynn, Trevor Daly and Jay Calcagno drive the offense.No. 1 Beverly (18-1-1) faces the Danvers-Amesbury winner in Friday?s quarterfinals (Stoneham,7:45). Senior Connor Irving (47 points) is the offensive trigger, senior Nick Albano (36 points) is a stellar two-way defenseman, and junior Tim Birarelli (5 shutouts) ranks among the division?s top goalies.No. 5 Winthrop (15-5-0) begins play in the quarterfinal round on Friday (Woburn, 6) against No. 4 Lincoln-Sudbury (12-2-5). Senior forward Chris Page (