The Super Eight has now entered the semifinal stage. The teams that have made it are now a step away from title game on Sunday at the TD Banknorth Garden.
I can guarantee that the final will include a Middlesex League team and a Catholic Conference team. That is because in one crossover game, Winchester will play Burlington and in the other, Malden Catholic will play Catholic Memorial. Winchester and Malden Catholic won their brackets while Burlington and Catholic Memorial were the runners up.
Malden Catholic has been the most impressive team so far in the tournament. MC has allowed one goal while scoring 13 in he three games played so far. The Lancer offense has been clicking on all cylinders. They are getting scoring from their forwards and their defensemen. Unfortunately, MC starting goalie John Carbonneau was sidelined in the final game of the bracket play with mono and it is uncertain whether he can compete the rest of the way. Also, due to a fighting major against Needham, senior defensemen J.P. Buckley will miss the rest of the tournament.
Burlington skated in by the skin of their teeth. The Red Devil’s only loss in the tournament was to MC. They have gotten superb goaltending from Ben Irwin and will face a familiar foe in Winchester. Burlington has lost both times it has played Winchester so far.
The biggest surprise has been Winchester. The Sachems knocked off Catholic Memorial in their first game and that momentum has propelled them to the crossover games.
Catholic Memorial has been somewhat disappointing so far. Even though the Knights made the crossovers, it didn’t come easily. They lost to Winchester and barely beat Central Catholic on a controversial call. The call wiped out a Central Catholic shoot out goal because the player stopped. By the looks of the video, it is hard to tell, so make a judgement for yourself. CM is playing MC in the crossovers. CM has a 1-0-1 record against the Lancers this season.
On a side note, lets look at the predictions I made before the tournament. I predicted that Malden Catholic would win its bracket and Burlington would be the runner up. That is 2 for 2 so far. In the other bracket, I predicted CM would win and Hingham would be runner up. CM was actually the runner up while Winchester won the bracket.
Here are my new predictions for the crossovers:
Burlington will finally beat Winchester and Malden Catholic will beat CM. MC just has too much firepower.
Circling the Playing Fields 