Super 8 Hockey Begins Sunday But Plenty of Surprises Already

Raise your hand if you think Walpole will beat BC High in the Super 8 hockey tournament. And you Marshfield fans ... do the Rams have a shot against defending champion Malden Catholic?

The MIAA Super 8 boys' hockey tournament opens Sunday with four games at the Tsongas Center in Lowell and if you like longshots, this is the day and tournament for you. In the best-of-three opening round, Walpole faces BC High at noon, followed by Central Catholic vs. Pope Francis at 2, Hingham vs. Arlington at 4, and Marshfield against Malden Catholic to end the day at 6. Here's a game-by-game look at the matchups.

Walpole (21-0-1) vs. BC High (14-2-4): There was a lot of debate over whether Walpole deserved to be in this tournament. The Rebels were unbeaten, but they never played any of the heavyweights, instead facing middle-of-the-road teams like Oliver Ames and Acton-Boxboro as their nonleague games. But they made a few believers in the play-in round when Walpole beat Catholic Memorial, 2-1. Walpole has 13 shutouts in their 21 wins. As for BC High, the Catholic Conference power is the tournament's second seed for a reason. Can Walpole steal a win? Yes, but winning two-of-three is a lot to ask. For the record, the Rebels tie was against Framingham in January.

Central Catholic (14-5-3) vs. Pope Francis (16-4-1): The best preview of this one may have been the last game of the regular season when Pope Francis beat the Raiders, 4-1. It was the second win for the Chicopee school over Central Catholic this season. But Central Catholic has wins over Hingham (9-3) and Malden Catholic (3-2) so the Raiders are a legitimate threat to win their first Super 8 title, assuming they can find a way to beat Pope Francis. PF has lost in the Super 8 semis the last three years.

Hingham (16-4-2) vs. Arlington (19-2-2): If you believe the seedings, this is the unofficial public school championship. The No. 4 seeded Spy Ponders are the Middlesex League champions and beat No. 5 Hingham, 3-0, last month on neutral ice. Hingham plays an independent schedule so they won't be intimidated by the Catholic powers should they make it out of this round. Hingham has already played seven schools from the Catholic or Catholic Central and gone 3-2-2.

Marshfield (18-2-2) vs. Malden Catholic (13-4-3): Like Walpole, there was a spirited debate as to whether Marshfield should make the Super 8 field. Until the Rams beat Austin Prep in the play-in game, they had played just once against a Catholic or Catholic Central team. And that was a win over Xaverian way back in December. But they beat AP and the reward is a matchup with the defending champion Lancers. Beating MC isn't impossible. But it's close.

Tickets for the games at Tsongas are $13 for adults, $8 for seniors and students.