The MIAA released the boys hockey state tournament pairings Friday afternoon and plenty of local teams are in the mix in the Division 2 and 3 North brackets.
After finishing with a 14-3-4 record this season the Marblehead boys hockey team is right near the top of the Division 2 North bracket. The Magicians earned the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 13 Wilmington Tuesday (7) at the Chelmsford Forum.
Lynnfield earned the No. 11 seed in the Division 1 North after finishing 11-7-2 this season. The Pioneers are slated to play No. 6 North Andover Tuesday (8) at Woburn’s O’Brien Rink.
“We’re expecting a hard fought close game right from the start,” Lynnfield coach Jon Gardner said. “We always do our due diligence on who we’re up against even if we didn’t play them in the season so we know what they are.”
The Pioneers finished the year with some tough opponents, including a big win against Cape Ann League rival North Reading (4-1) and a tough 4-3 loss at Gloucester to close the regular season. Gardner says it’s up to which Lynnfield team will show up come next week.
“We feel good about the team,” Gardner said. “The high school season is full of ups and downs. It was nice to get a win over North Reading because they were eyeing a tournament spot. Then we laid an egg in Gloucester in a game that sort of had a tournament feel to it. It’s just about who’s going to show up Tuesday.”
No. 12 Winthrop wasn’t far behind, finishing the year with a 9-8-3 record. The Vikings will have a tough test against No. 5 Triton Tuesday (8) at the Stoneham Arena.
In Division 3 North, Swampscott — which finished with 9-11 — slipped into the bracket with the 13th seed and are slated to play No. 4 Essex Tech Thursday (6) at Stoneham in the first round.
The Big Blue know what they’re up against in a familiar Essex Tech team that boasts a strong defense. The Big Blue got the better of Essex Tech earlier this season, just edging out the Hawks in a 2-0 win at Essex Sports Center.
“We know Essex Tech is a tough team,” Swampscott coach Gino Faia said. “We won 2-0 but it was really a 1-0 game because we scored an empty netter. They’re a good team defensively and they have a goalie that stands tall for them. We know we’re going to have our hands full.”
Swampscott comes out of the Northeastern Conference well tested on the year and will look to tune up things on its own defensive end of the ice in order to make a run late into the state tournament.
“We definitely feel the schedule we play in the Northeastern Conference puts us in a good place going into the tournament,” Faia said. “But we need to play better defensively. If we can get back to the way we played defense earlier in the year we should be in a good place. On the offensive side, in these games you need everyone to be a contributor.”
