CM boys can't be superseded
St. Mary's girls perfect at No. 1
After a drought that seemed longer than the four years it was, Catholic Memorial reclaimed the Super 8 crown and thus captured the top spot in the final Globe boys' hockey Top 20.
Led by T.J. O'Brien, who scored six goals in the last two games of the Super 8 tourney, Derek Colucci, and Garrett Noonan, the Knights returned to their familiar place atop Massachusetts hockey. It was the West Roxbury school's 13th Super 8 championship.
Rounding out the top 10 are the remainder of the Super 8 teams, including Middlesex League foes Burlington at No. 3 and Winchester at No. 4 after both made it to the crossover round of the Super 8. Malden Catholic gets the nod at No. 2 by virtue of its 5-1 win over Burlington in the second round.
Division 1 champion Springfield Cathedral checks in at No. 9 after a 2-1 overtime victory at the Garden over No. 10 Arlington Catholic. Division 2 state champ Newburyport also cracks the list, this time at No. 19 after a 4-3 overtime victory over Canton. And Shawsheen, the best Division 3 team in EMass, sits at No. 20.
The Spartans, just as they did in 2008, ran the table straight to the Garden, where they won the Division 1 state title by a score of 1-0 over Woburn in the first girls' hockey championship played on the Garden ice.
Led by EMass scoring leader Courtney Winters (32 goals, 21 assists) and talented junior Erin McAndrews, St. Mary's easily won the Catholic Central Conference en route to a 26-0-0 record. The Spartans had one of the best goalies in the state in Kelsey Magrane, who boasted a microscopic 0.83 GAA.
In Division 2, Fontbonne streaked to a state title behind super sophomore Taylor Shepherd, who picked up hat tricks in the team's last two games to push the Ducks to a championship. Senior goalie Kristen Conners, who had four shutouts in the state tournament, was also a crucial cog. Fontbonne's impressive tournament run pushed it to a No. 3 ranking.
And don't forget Woburn, which pushed St. Mary's to the brink in the state championship game. The Tanners walk away with a No. 2 final ranking.
The Bulldogs are No. 1 based on their 71-60 win over Central in the North final and 90-83 overtime victory over Brockton in the Division 1 EMass championship.
English lost to St. John's (Shrewsbury) in the state final, but our rankings concentrate on the EMass season.
The state champions in the other divisions also appear in the rankings. Milton secured its first showing, at No. 8, based on its run to the Division 2 title. Watertown finished No. 5 after winning its second Division 3 crown in three years. Division 4 champion Cathedral rounded out the rankings at No. 20.
Junior Katie Zenevitch, who notched her 1,000th career point during the sectional semifinals, used height to her advantage. The 6-foot-3-inch center was able to power inside and snag rebounds, and was also a sharpshooter from the floor.
Central Catholic wasn't a one-trick pony, boasting a pressure defense and all-out efforts by senior guards Gia O'Connor and Ashley Evangelista, who forced key turnovers in the 67-62 win over Shepherd Hill at the DCU Center.
Although then-undefeated Wellesley, ranked No. 10, was a favorite going into the Division 2 South sectional, No. 7 Notre Dame of Hingham came out on top. Losses during the regular season to Andover, Pentucket, and Archbishop Williams strengthened the Cougars for a strong playoff run that led to a state championship.
Division 3 Swampscott proved it could hang with the top teams, its only regular-season losses coming against Lynn English and Lowell. Tara Nimkar worked in the paint and Allie Beaulieu shot from outside to provide No. 5 Swampscott with offensive balance and a state title.
Globe correspondents Evan MacDonald, Amara Grautski, and Andrew Petrie contributed to this report. 
