BC High Tops Pope Francis in OT for Super 8 Title

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

BOSTON - The MIAA Division 1A tournament, better known as the Super 8, can be both exhilarating or devastating, depending on which side of the fence you happen to be on.

Both of those feelings came to light during the latter stages of Sunday night's Super 8  final held at TD Garden.

Looking to be the first team outside the I-95 corridor to walk away with the 1A title, Pope Francis had it within reach, but failed to secure it.

Leading by a goal with under a minute remaining, the Cardinals watched BC High storm back. Joe Dragon netted the tying goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation, before Maverick Woods ended it with an overtime tally just two minutes in, giving the second-seeded Eagles a 2-1 victory.

Pope Francis Blows out Hingham to Advance to Super 8 Final

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - The ghosts of the past have finally been exorcised.

Since 2009, the Pope Francis hockey team (Cathedral High School in Springfield) has been a yearly fixture in the Super 8 tournament, either as a play-in team or a bonafide seed. Yet, throughout that time frame, this team has never quite been able to get over the hump, continuously coming up short in its quest to reach the championship game.

All of that now can be laid to rest.

With its convincing 6-0 victory over Hingham in Wednesday night's semifinal contest, the Cardinals have finally gained entry into the title tilt. No. 7 Pope Francis (21-4-3) will face No. 2 BC High (18-4-1) on Sunday for all the marbles at TD Garden at a time still to be determined. The Eagles are 2-0-1 versus the Cardinals this season, including a 6-1 whitewashing in the tournament's opening round.

BC High Outlasts Hingham, Pushes Harbormen to Brink of Elimination

By Jake Levin (@JakeLevin09)

Lowell, Mass. - Thomas Kramer’s dormant status could only mean an explosion was brewing.

One of the top forward’s in the state, Kramer missed the net entirely on a penalty shot with just 3.2 seconds to go in the first period, and fanned on a one-timer opportunity in the middle of the second period. On each occasion, the No. 2 BC High Eagles were trailing the No. 4 Hingham Harbormen by a goal.

Kramer’s eruption in the third period came at a perfect time, knotting the game at two-apiece. It set the stage for two more Eagle goals in the final frame to dispatch the Harbormen, and advance BC High to the TD Garden for the first time since 2012 with a 4-2 win on Monday night at the Tsongas Center.

Pope Francis Lives to Fight Another Day, Eliminates St. John's Prep from Super 8

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - The premise to withstand the pressure-cooker environment of the Super 8 tournament is that you want to be playing your best hockey during the postseason.

Certainly, Pope Francis is doing that.

As they continue to scratch and claw their way from avoiding elimination, the seventh-seeded Cardinals will live to fight another day following their 5-1 dismantling of No. 3 St. John’s Prep Monday night at Tsongas Center.

The Eagles end their season at 15-5-4.

Pope Francis Eliminates Top-Seeded Central Catholic from Super 8

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Chelmsford, Mass. - The game plan carried out by Pope Francis was set on stopping Central Catholic in its tracks. Twice during the regular season the Cardinals lacked strong defensive play, resulting in a pair of losses against the Raiders.

With an opportunity to redeem itself, Pope Francis did just that on a much bigger stage. Placing strong attention to detail inside the defensive and neutral zones, the Cardinals, playing on a smaller ice surface, were able to limit the top-seeded Raiders' scoring opportunities throughout the evening.

That, in turn, allowed Pope Francis to generate enough offense to take a 4-1 victory in a Super 8 elimination contest played Saturday night inside Chelmsford Forum.

In a true case of turnabout is fair play, this time it was the Cardinals sending Central Catholic home for the season after suffering a similar fate last year against the Raiders in this tournament.

PHOTO GALLERY: Hingham vs Central Catholic and BC High vs St. John's Prep in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

It was a night of upsets in Lowell Monday, as a pair of Super 8 underdogs came away with big wins. First, Hingham stunned Central Catholic 1-0, then in the night cap, BC High nipped rival St. John's Prep, also by a 1-0 score.

Both the Harbormen and the Eagles advances to the semifinals of the two-loss elimination tournament, while CC and SJP now head to the loser's bracket, where the margin for error is zero.

Now, continue below for photos of both of last night's games, courtesy of our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

BC High Nips St. John's Prep in Super 8

Photo by Eamon Convey

By Michael Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Lowell, Mass. - Come state tournament time, pretty doesn’t matter.

BC High took another step closer to getting to the Garden with a grinding, ugly, 1-0 win over St. John’s Prep at Tsongas Center in the second round of the Super 8 tournament.

BC High senior Joe Dragon scored the lone goal of the game 2:45 into the first, and from there it was all about missed opportunities by both sides, and some timely defense late by the victors.

Hingham Stuns Central Catholic in Super 8 Winner's Bracket

Photo by Eamon Convey

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - For a team that has had a difficult time putting pucks into the back of the net, Hingham has relied heavily on a systematic defensive approach in which it limits opponents from finding easy paths into the offensive zone. It is that style which has gotten the Harbormen a chance to win their second Super 8 title. With their forwards continuously skating back to assist the defensemen, Hingham, which won a Super 8 crown in 2010, has seen that formula work quite effectively all throughout this season.

Monday was no different.

Staking claim to an early lead, the Harbormen spent the rest of the evening frustrating Central Catholic with a solid mix of forechecking and backchecking. Refusing to allow the Raiders to gain any steam, Hingham made its one goal lead stand up and went on to blank Central Catholic, 1-0, inside the Tsongas Center in a winner's bracket showdown.

PHOTO GALLERY: St. John's (Shrewsbury) vs Andover in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

North Billerica, Mass. -St. John's (Shrewsbury) is still alive in the MIAA Division 1A "Super 8" hockey tournament, after defeating Andover 3-2 in an overtime thriller.

Scroll below for some great shots of the Pioneers' big win, taken by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

PHOTO GALLERY: Pope Francis vs Burlington in the Super 8

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

North Billerica, Mass. -We've already got a full recap of Pope Francis' 3-2 Super 8 win over Burlington up, and you can read that here.

Now, scroll below for some images from the elimination game, courtesy of our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Pope Francis Staves off Super 8 Elimination against Burlington

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Billerica, Mass. - Following its disastrous performance three nights ago, there was nowhere left to go but up for Pope Francis. Having played by far their worst game of the season, which resulted in a 6-1 loss to BC High on Thursday during in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament, the Cardinals found themselves on the brink of seeing their season coming to a halt in Sunday night's elimination tilt versus Burlington.

At the start, Pope Francis seemed to have a hangover effect from the beat down it suffered at the hands of the Eagles. But, once the Cardinals got back to their familiar form, they managed to do just enough to upend the Red Devils, 3-2, at Chelmsford Forum.

Pope Francis, the No. 7 seed, lives to play another day. It will face the loser of Monday's Central Catholic/Hingham contest on Wednesday, again at Chelmsford Forum, at a time still to be determined. The sixth seeded Red Devils close out their fine season at 19-5.

PHOTO GALLERY: Central Catholic vs St. John's (Shrewsbury) in Super 8 Action

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Our Mike Abelson already has a full recap of Central Catholic's big win over St. John's Thursday night, and you can check that out here.

But now, continue below for photos from the big game, snapped by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Central Catholic blanks St. John's (Shrewsbury) in Super 8

Photo by Eamon Convey

By Mike Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Lowell, Mass. - A year after watching a state title disappear in overtime of the championship game, the Central Catholic Raiders stepped back into the Super 8 tournament and put the rest of the bracket on notice.

Central went wire-to-wire against an overmatched Saint John’s (Shrewsbury) team, and rolled to a 5-0 win at Tsongas Center.

PHOTO GALLERY: BC High hockey vs Pope Francis in Super 8 Action

Photos by Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Our John McGuirk already has a full recap of BC High's big win over Pope Francis Thursday night, and you can check that out here.

But now, continue below for photos from the big game, snapped by our Eamon Convey. Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

BC High Skates Away from Pope Francis in Super 8

Photo by Eamon Convey

 By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - This wasn't how Pope Francis drew it up.

On the other hand, BC High followed the script perfectly. The Eagles started out strong and equally finished strong as they went on to punish the Cardinals 6-1 Thursday night in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament played inside Tsongas Center.

Following its one-sided display, there is no doubting BC High will be a force to contend with moving forward. The second-seeded Eagles, who have won four Super 8 titles in their history, toyed with the seventh-seeded Cardinals from start to finish, as they jumped out to a two goal first period lead and never looked back.

Three-Goal Run Leads St. John's Prep past Burlington in Super 8

By Mike Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Lowell, Mass. - Despite trailing twice, and giving up a major penalty, St. John’s Prep did what it had to do down the stretch to defeat Burlington, 5-3, in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament at Tsongas Center.

The Eagles scored the final three goals of the game, and were anchored by sophomore forward Brian Carrabes. The tying goal came off Carrabes’ stick late in the second period, and he added an empty netter with 21 seconds left to put a bow on the victory.

Hingham Opens Super 8 with OT Win over Andover

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Lowell, Mass. - Lacrosse season may still be a few weeks away, but Frankie Higgins wanted to get a jump start on things.

The Hingham senior, showing tremendous eye-hand coordination, batted in a waist-high rebound, on the power play, just 55 seconds into overtime to give the Harbormen a 2-1 victory over Andover in the opening round of the Super 8 tournament Wednesday night inside Tsongas Arena.

No. 4 Hingham (13-4-6) will move into the winner's bracket where it will face Thursday night's Central Catholic/St. John's (Shrewsbury) victor here on Monday at time yet to be determined. The fifth-seeded Golden Warriors (13-6-2) will play a loser's bracket contest versus either Central Catholic or St. John's (S) on Sunday at Chelmsford Forum at a time still to be announced.

Pope Francis and St. John's (Shrewsbury) Prevail in Super 8 Play-in Games

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

North Billerica, Mass. - Up until this past weekend, St. John's (Shrewsbury) had no clue as to what its postseason course would be. The Pioneers went to the the MIAA Super 8 tournament seeding meeting last Saturday unsure if they did enough to earn a spot in the state's most prestigious high school hockey tournament, or if they would be cast off to the Division 1 tournament.

St. John's clung to the belief that its regular season resume was enough to get in, and the MIAA selection committee felt the same, awarding the Pioneers a Super 8 play-in game on Monday night. With opportunity now in its grasp, St. John's did not disappoint, as it blanked St. Mary's (Lynn) 3-0 inside Chelmsford Forum. Seeded eighth, the Pioneers (14-6-3) move on to play No. 1 Central Catholic (21-1) Thursday at Lowell's Tsongas Arena at a time still to be determined.

St. John's Prep Hockey Pulls Away from St. John's (Shrewsbury)

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

Middleton, Mass. - The similarities are striking.

Revert back to the 2015 season- St. John's Prep was firing on all cylinders down the stretch, which would eventually land the Eagles their first Super 8 championship. Lo and behold, St. John's Prep is acting out a comparable performance again this season.

Following Saturday night's 5-2 triumph over St. John's (Shrewsbury) at the Essex Sports Center, the Eagles are now 6-0-2 in their last eight games. Certainly one of the hottest teams at the moment, it would not be wise to sleep on the Eagles anytime soon. That includes next month's Super 8 tournament, in which they should be a lock.

Austin Prep Improves Super 8 Resume with Win over St. Mary's

By Eamon Convey (@ConveyWEEI)

Lynn, Mass. - In any sport, games that decide a regular season championship generally come down to which team performs better under pressure.

St. Mary’s High School (Lynn) hosted rival Austin Preparatory School Wednesday, not only with a CCL regular season title on the line, but also in front of hundreds of fans on Senior Night.

The (#10) Spartans (11-3-4) and (#9) Cougars (10-5-1) both came into the game with dreams of a Super 8 bid, yet only AP escaped with the ability to control its own destiny still intact, thanks to a resounding 6-1 victory.