MIAA Boys Ice Hockey State Championships: Catholic Memorial Back On Top; Billerica, Winthrop End Long Waits; Nauset Breaks Through

The tradition of Championship Sunday at TD Garden in Boston continued on March 16, with four Boys Hockey championship games as the conclusion to the MIAA 2025 Winter season.

The most decorated program in MIAA history ended a championship drought of 16 years, two others secured their first crowns since the 1970s, and a fourth tasted championship success for the first time in three attempts.

Here is a look at the action:

Division 1

After being the premiere dynasty of MIAA boys ice hockey for more than 25 years, Catholic Memorial School spent 15 seasons waiting to return to Championship Sunday at TD Garden.

The title drought finally ended when senior Tommy Hurst scored the deciding goal with 21.3 seconds left in regulation, giving the No. 4 seed Knights a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory over No. 14 seed St. John’s High School.

Senior captain Luke Long had tied the game with 3:15 to play before Hurst poked home a loose puck past Pioneers sophomore goalie Colin McCarthy (32 saves). That gave CM its 18th championship all time (first since 2009) in its 23rd title game appearance, both MIAA boys ice hockey records.

Catholic Memorial took leads in each of the first two periods on goals from Christian Hinckle and Cam Reed, but St. John’s twice tied it in the second period with tallies from Tyler Bergman and Ryder Bisson. Caleb Keyes (goal, two assists) gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead with 7:10 to play before the Knights mounted their comeback.

Eighth-grader Jaxson Fleming made 16 saves for Catholic Memorial, which swept all three games this season against its Catholic Conference rival and denied St. John’s its first championship since 2004.

_{CATHOLIC MEMORIAL 4, ST. JOHN’S 3}

_{FIRST – Catholic Memorial: Christian Hinckle (Jack McCourt, James Baker) 13:10.
SECOND – St. John’s: Tyler Bergman (Caleb Keyes) 1:34; Catholic Memorial: Cam Reed (Mike Melvin, Nick Ware) 3:13; St. John’s: Ryder Bisson (Caleb Keyes, Daniel Menyalkin) pp 4:51.
THIRD – St. John’s: Caleb Keyes (Daniel Menyalkin, Ryder Bisson) 7:50; Catholic Memorial: Luke Long (Seamus Tattan, Jack McCourt) 11:45; Catholic Memorial: Tommy Hurst (James Baker) 14:38.
GOALIES – Catholic Memorial: Jaxson Fleming (16 saves); St. John’s: Colin McCarthy (32 saves).
RECORDS – Catholic Memorial 18-6-1; St. John’s 12-13-0.}

Division 2

Nolan Dawson finished off a 2-on-1 feed from fellow senior captain Danny Viscione at 3:22 of the second overtime period and No. 1 seed Billerica Memorial High School captured its first state championship since 1977, edging past No. 3 seed Canton High School, 3-2.

Dawson also returned the favor on Viscione’s pair of goals for Billerica, which won three consecutive Division 2 championships from 1975-77 but hadn’t appeared in the final game in the 48 years since.

By contrast, Canton was playing in its third final in four years and seventh overall. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead late in the first period on a power play goal from senior captain Travis Thomas before Viscione’s first goal on the power play tied it 3:17 into the second.

Canton appeared poised for its second title in three seasons when sophomore Ryan Elrick scored with 2:56 to go, only for Viscione to tie it again just 28 seconds later.

After the eight-minute 4-on-4 overtime solved nothing, Viscione and Dawson finally combined for the winner early in the first 3-on-3 extra session, breaking out of the defensive zone after a faceoff win.

Senior Steve MacIntosh made 41 saves for the Indians, and his counterpart, Canton senior Connor Geoghan, made 27.

_{BILLERICA 3, CANTON 2 (2 OT)}

_{FIRST – Canton, Travis Thomas (Joey Ryan, Ryan Elrick) pp 12:22
SECOND – Billerica, Daniel Viscione (Nolan Dawson) pp 3:17.
THIRD – Canton, Ryan Elrick (Joey Ryan, Travis Thomas) 12:04; Billerica, Viscione (Nolan Dawson) 12:32.
2ND OT – Billerica, Dawson (Viscione) 3:22.
GOALIES – Billerica: Steve MacIntosh (41 saves); Canton: Connor Geoghan (27 saves).
RECORDS – Billerica 23-1-1; Canton 23-2-1.}

Division 3

No. 1 seed Nauset Regional erupted for four goals in the third period and erased the heartache of a championship game loss the year before, rallying past No. 2 seed Medfield High School, 4-1.

Senior captain Logan Poulin had two goals, including the tying goal 3:33 into the final period and the empty-netter in the final minute that clinched the victory for the Warriors (24-0-1). Jake Eldredge’s unassisted goal with 6:48 to play proved to be the game-winner for Nauset which, after being blanked 1-0 by Marblehead in the 2024 final, was shut down by Medfield for two periods before getting untracked.

Colin Ward also had an empty netter and a pair of assists for Nauset, which earned the program’s first state championship in three attempts. Zach Coelho finished with 25 saves.

After a scoreless first period, senior Joey Nee’s unassisted goal gave Medfield the lead midway through the second period. Senior captain Charlie Duggan had 32 saves for Medfield (22-2-1), which suffered both of its losses against Nauset.

Poulin finished his career with 53 goals and 85 points as a senior. He is the first MIAA boys hockey player to reach 50 goals in a season since Bobby Butler (Marlborough High School) in 2005.

_{NAUSET 4, MEDFIELD 1}

_{FIRST – No scoring.
SECOND – Medfield, Joey Nee (unassisted) 7:26.
THIRD – Nauset, Logan Poulin (Colin Ward) 3:33; Nauset: Jake Eldredge (unassisted) 8:12; Nauset: Ward (Logan Miller) en 12:53; Nauset: Poulin (Ward) 14:15 en.
GOALIES – Nauset: Zach Coelho (25 saves); Medfield: Charlie Duggan (32 saves, 2 GA).
RECORDS – Nauset 24-0-1; Medfield 22-2-1.}

Division 4

The short trip to TD Garden was a long time coming for Winthrop High School.

Thanks to a hat trick from senior captain Michael Holgersen, the No. 5 seed Vikings secured the program’s first state championship since 1976, skating past Dedham High School, 3-0, in the first of the six-game Championship Sunday slate.

After a scoreless first period, Holgersen buried a pass from fellow senior captain Phil Boncore just 1:18 into the middle period.

The 1-0 score held up into the final minutes, when Winthrop went onto the power play and Holgersen doubled the lead by putting a rebound into a wide-open net with just 2:08 to play.
Holgersen then finished his hat trick into an empty net from center ice just 37 seconds later.

The Vikings stifling defense in front of the strong play of senior captain/goalie Mikey Donahue (22 saves) held off the No. 6 seed Marauders, who were playing in the program’s first state championship.

Senior captain Noel Adams made 19 saves for Dedham.

_{WINTHROP 3, DEDHAM 0}

_{FIRST – No scoring.
SECOND – Winthrop, Michael Holgersen (Phil Boncore) 1:18.
THIRD – Winthrop, Holgersen (Joe Pumphret, Paul Ferrara) pp 12:15; Winthrop, Holgersen (unassisted) en 12:52.
GOALIES – Winthrop: Michael Donahue (22 saves); Dedham: Noel Adams (19 saves, 2 GA)
RECORDS – Winthrop 16-6-2; Dedham 15-9-0.}