Updated MIAA Super 8 Hockey Tournament Projections

With Thursday's results, the top of the Super 8 field seems to be as set in stone as it could be. Springfield Cathedral scored 24 seconds apart to edge Malden Catholic, 2-1, on Thursday night, capping off an undefeated regular season and a likely No. 1 seed in the Super 8.

Super 8 Projections (through Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015):

1. Springfield Cathedral (20-0-2)

There should be no doubt who the No. 1 seed is. The Panthers are the only undefeated team in the state and have defeated Malden Catholic and BC High as well as Hingham and Central Catholic. Brian Foley's team has outscored opponents 150-20 on the season.

2. Malden Catholic (14-1-2)

The Lancers outshot Springfield Cathedral, 29-14, Thursday night, but only managed to get one puck past Quinnipiac commit Keith Petruzzelli. John McLean's team does as good a job possessing the puck as any team in the state.

3. Austin Prep (18-1-1)

The Cougars defeated Hingham, 2-1, in the Buddy Ferreira Classic championship game Thursday night, but the game will go in the record books as a tie since the MIAA doesn't sanction overtime results in the regular season. Austin Prep still has to prove it belongs in conversation with the top two teams, but after Monday's 6-2 thumping of BC High, there is no doubt Lou Finocchiaro's team will be a tough out.

4. BC High (13-5-2)

The end to the regular season was a little lackluster for the Eagles, but John Flaherty's group has the horses to make a run in the Super 8. BC High needs to get back to playing the simple, well-disciplined game that worked so well for them last season.

5. St. John's Prep (14-5-1)

Kristian Hanson's team is solidly the fifth seed in this observer's view based on the finish to the season, but it wouldn't be egregious if the committee flipped the Eagles with Xaverian.

6. Xaverian (14-5-1)

The Hawks aren't going to blow teams away with offense, but '98 sophomore goaltender Aidan Murphy is a potential difference maker especially in a short playoff. Dave Spinale's team split the regular season series with St. John's Prep so it's a toss-up.

7. Burlington (16-1-3)

The Red Devils belong in the seventh spot as long as they take care of business Friday afternoon against Arlington. Champions of the Middlesex League Freedom Division, Bob Conceison's team split the regular season series against Woburn, but won the later game just a week ago. Burlington's only loss came exactly two months ago to Woburn on Dec. 20.

8. Central Catholic (15-5-2)

There is no doubt that the Raiders are one of the best 10 teams in the state, but Mike Jankowski's team struggled immensely against the upper echelon of the state. Goaltending will be an issue, but fans should get at least one look in the play-in game, and possibly more, at '00 freshman Jake Wise, committed to BU.

9. Hingham (11-8-2)

The Harbormen played all the top teams in the state and fared pretty well against most of them. Tony Messina's team finished the season with a strong performance against Austin that will go in the record books as a 1-1 tie despite losing in overtime. Hingham's top line of Matt Demelis, Matt Egan and Billy McNally deserve to be spotlighted in the Super 8.

10. Franklin (16-2-3) or Woburn (14-2-4)

Woburn's strength of schedule is better, but Franklin has a marquee tie against Springfield Cathedral very early in the season. This observer wouldn't have a problem with either of these teams in the No. 10 spot.

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Jeff Cox covers college, junior and high school hockey, NCAA recruiting and NHL Draft prospects. Follow him on Twitter @JeffCoxSports.