Winter 2025 State Championship Lookahead: Boys and Girls Ice Hockey

Championship Sunday once again will be the conclusion of the MIAA winter season in 2025, as TD Garden in Boston will play host to the usual slate of six title games. Four boys champions will be crowned, beginning with the Division 4 final at 9 a.m., and the last of two girls winners will be determined in the day/night’s final faceoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Three schools are in a state final for the first time, and half of the 12-team field has waited at least a decade to return, including a pair of droughts stretching back to the 1970s.

Here is a look at what is ahead:

Division 4 Boys

Winthrop High School vs. Dedham High School
9 a.m.

The first of six games of the day will be the one with the least amount of combined championship experience, as well as the longest wait for a state title.

No. 5 seed Winthrop is the only team that had appeared previously, winning its only state championship back in 1976 when the Vikings toppled Springfield Cathedral, 4-1, for the Division 1 hardware at the old Boston Garden. Winthrop fell to eventual champion Dover-Sherborn/Weston in last year’s semifinals.

Dedham, the No. 6 seed, will be making its first appearance in an ice hockey state championship game. The Marauders hadn’t advanced deeper than the second round in the previous four statewide tournaments, and never appeared in a sectional final under the old MIAA format.

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Winthrop – beat Appponequet (4-3 in 3 ot), Norwell (3-2), Littleton (4-0), Stoneham (5-1) … Dedham – beat Rockland (4-0), Pentucket (8-3), Dover-Sherborn/Weston (2-0), Hudson (5-0).

Division 1 Girls

Hingham High School vs. Bishop Stang High School (co-op)
11 a.m.

The first of two girls games on the day features a bit more championship experience, but it’s still been a while since either team has been to Causeway Street, if at all.

No. 1 seed Hingham won the Division 2 championship in 2008 (6-1 over Milton) and then captured Division 1 in 2011 (3-1 over Acton-Boxborough), but it has been a 14-year drought ever since for the Harborwomen. Hingham fell in the Round of 8 each of the last two postseasons.

Bishop Stang is making the deepest postseason run in the history of the program, which draws players from nine total schools – including guests Somerset Berkley, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, New Bedford, Durfee, Greater New Bedford, Apponequet and Dighton-Rehoboth. The No. 15 seed Spartans had never won a postseason game before embarking on this year’s tournament run.

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Hingham – beat Wellesley (7-0), Shrewsbury (4-2), Belmont (2-1), HPNA (5-3) … Bishop Stang – beat Winthrop (4-2), Notre Dame Academy (4-0), Bishop Feehan (1-0), Methuen/Tewksbury (3-2 in ot).

Division 1 Boys

Catholic Memorial School vs. St. John’s High School
1 p.m.

The Catholic Conference rivals met twice during the 2024-2025 regular season, with Catholic Memorial sweeping both matchups. The Knights took a 3-1 victory on their home ice at Warrior Ice Arena on Jan. 8, then added a 4-2 victory on Jan. 25 at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough.

No. 4 seed Catholic Memorial is the most storied program in MIAA ice hockey history, but the Knights haven't skated on the ice on Causeway Street on the final day of the season since 2010. CM is 17-4 all-time in championship games, including a 4-1 record in the Division 1 tournament (13-3 in Division 1A). The Knights are looking for their first championship since 2009, when they beat Burlington (5-1) in the Division 1A final.

St. John’s is making its first final appearance since 2004, when it beat Framingham (4-0) for the Division 1 title. This is the 12th all-time appearance for the No. 14 seed Pioneers, who are 2-6 in previous Division 1 finals (0-3 in Division 2).

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Catholic Memorial – beat Wachusett (5-0), Arlington Catholic (2-1), Archbishop Williams (6-2), Pope Francis (1-0) … St. John’s – beat Burlington (6-2), Natick (7-1), Winchester (4-3 in ot), Arlington (4-3 in 2 ot).

Division 2 Boys

Billerica Memorial High School vs. Canton High School
3 p.m.

No. 1 seed Billerica was one of the state powers in the 1970s, but the Indians have not played for a state title since winning three in a row from 1975-77. Billerica beat Pittsfield in both 1975 and ‘76 (9-6, 14-3), then knocked off St. Bernard’s for the 1977 Division 2 crown (15-2).

Canton has the most recent success of any of the participating teams this year, having won Division 2 in 2023 (4-1 over Hopkinton). The No. 3 seed Bulldogs are 3-3 all-time in state finals, including Division 2 wins in 2010 (vs. Newburyport, 4-2) and 2019 (vs. Tewksbury, 6-2), and also were declared co-champions (with Lincoln-Sudbury) when the 2020 final was canceled because of COVID. 

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Billerica – beat Newton South (8-0), Norwood (8-1), Auburn (5-2), Tewksbury (2-1 in ot) … Canton – beat Masconomet (7-1), Falmouth (7-1), Milton (5-2), Woburn (2-1).

Division 3 Boys

Nauset Regional High School vs. Medfield High School
5:30 p.m.

This game is a rematch of a solid late-season battle, when Nauset pulled away late for a 3-0 win over host Medfield on Feb. 17 at Sgt. Pirelli Veterans Arena in Franklin.

Nauset, the top seed for the second time in as many years, is the only team back on the Garden ice from last year’s Championship Sunday. The Warriors will be looking to not only avenge their 2024 loss to Marblehead (1-0), but also secure the program’s first title after previously falling to Saugus in the Division 2 final in 2004 (6-0). Nauset could become the first boys team to finish unbeaten since Canton in 2019.

No. 2 seed Medfield has split its previous two championship appearances, including a 3-1 win over Lincoln-Sudbury in the 2016 Division 2 final. Medfield also dropped a 2-1 decision to Beverly in 2014 (Div. 2).

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Nauset – beat Middleboro (5-0), Danvers (9-0), Marblehead (5-1), Scituate (8-0) … Medfield – beat Somerville (8-1), Lynnfield (4-1), Melrose (2-0), Bedford (4-1).

Division 2 Girls

Milton High School vs. Medfield High School
7:30 p.m.

The final game of the night is the only matchup of teams each seeking their first championship in program history.

Milton, the No. 6 seed, played for the Division 2 championship in both 2007 (5-1 loss to Barnstable) and 2008 (6-1 loss to Hingham). Both of those games were played at the Bright Hockey Center at Harvard University, so this will be the Wildcats’ first trip to TD Garden.

Likewise for the No. 13 seed Warriors, who also are playing in the first state final in program history. The previous best for Medfield came in 2022, when it reached the state semifinals before falling to eventual champion Algonquin.

ROAD TO TD GARDEN: Milton – beat Dedham (1-0), Dennis-Yarmouth (4-3), Woburn (2-0), Marshfield (2-1 in 2 ot) … Medfield – beat Hopkinton (4-0), Algonquin (3-1), Burlington (3-2), Westwood (2-0).