The final MIAA power rankings for girls hockey were released Thursday night, and the Division 1 bracket of the upcoming state tournament will surely be one of the most competitive in recent memory.
Every team will likely be chasing behind undefeated Austin Prep (21-0-0) which finished in the top overall spot in the division. But there was another undefeated team — 17-0-1 Winthrop — that didn’t benefit as much from the ranking system.
Despite not being beaten all year and having taken down other top-20 teams over the course of the season, the Vikings ended up slotting in at No. 18 overall.
Two local teams grabbed rankings ahead of Winthrop, and both hail from the Catholic Central League. St. Mary’s placed at No. 3 with a final record of 12-6-3 and will have a first-round bye, while Bishop Fenwick clocks in at No. 11 after finishing 9-8-2 on the year.
Peabody/Lynnfield comes in just below Winthrop at No. 20 overall, finishing with a record of 14-4-1.
Rounding out the list of local teams in the Division 1 power rankings is Marblehead, which finished at No. 31 overall with a record of 7-12-0.
The MIAA power rankings will now be used to seed the upcoming state basketball tournament, the first one to feature the new statewide format. The brackets are scheduled to be released Saturday.
