Schools

Rockets Get St. Mary's In First Round of Hockey Tournament

Reading High seeded No. 12, earns spot opposite Catholic Central power.

When the shock dissipates from Monday night’s Super 8 play-in results one thing becomes clear: Division 1 North just became a lot tougher.

Walpole beating Catholic Memorial and Marshfield beating Austin Prep has made Monday one of the most surprising nights of the school year. It also means the road to the Division 1 North title got a lot harder for Reading. With AP (16-4-2) dropping into Division 1 North as the top seed, it leaves Reading as the No. 11 seed.

The Rockets (12-8-2) open tournament play against No. 6 seed St. Mary’s on Wednesday at Stoneham Arena at 7:30 p.m. The Spartans finished behind Austin Prep in the Catholic Central League. Throw in No. 10 seed Arlington Catholic (10-6-4) and the division has three of the strongest teams not in the Super 8.

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If Reading wins, they’ll move on to the quarterfinals and a game with No. 3 seed Triton (13-4-3) on Saturday.

One positive for the Rockets? If St. John’s Prep beats Belmont in the first round it sets up a SJP vs AP quarterfinal. Someone has to lose.

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