With most teams now having completed over one-third of the season, it’s time to take a pulse check on the Division 3 teams in Massachusetts.

You’ll find four teams that remain unbeaten: the Norwell Clippers (9-0-1), North Middlesex Patriots (5-0-1), Monomoy Sharks (7-0) and Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk Falcons (9-0). These teams are ranked Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 in the My Hockey Live RPI, (calculated by taking 25% of a team’s winning percentage, 21% of their opponents winning percentage and 54% of their opponents’ opponents winning percentage) respectively.

Additionally, a slew of one and two-loss teams find themselves in the My Hockey Live RPI top-10. These include the Shrewsbury Colonials (No. 2), Cohasset Skippers (No. 5), Newton South Lions (No. 6), Hanover Indians (No. 7), Algonquin Tomahawks (No. 9) and Lowell Catholic Crusaders (No. 10).

Norwell, playing out of the South Shore League, already has four shutout wins, three of them by six goals or more. Their lone tie came against the Dennis-Yarmouth Dolphins on New Year’s Eve, a team they’ll face again in their regular season finale on Feb. 20. Additionally, Norwell still must face Cohasset twice, on Jan. 21 and Feb. 14. With only the Abington Green Wave also above .500 in the SSL, those two games will likely dictate who wins the league’s championship.

Shrewsbury, the leader of the Quinn Conference by eight points, has also scored 27 more goals (48) than the second-place team in the league (Hudson, 21). The Colonials’ lone loss came to Norwell, so no shame there, and their résumé includes a 6-3 win over St. John’s of Shrewsbury, a Div. 1 team out of the Catholic West. The Colonials still must face North Middlesex, Algonquin, Newton South, and the mighty Springfield Cathedrals Panthers. Cathedral will be favored to win the game, but if the Colonials can do what so few other teams have been able to do against the Panthers this season—give them a good game—they may establish themselves as the best Div. 3 team west of I-495.

North Middlesex has played a light schedule thus far, with just the six games. Despite that, they’re only two points behind Algonquin and Leominster (which has played 12 games) for the lead in the Roy Conference. The Patriots backloaded their schedule with eight games in 19 days in February, so fatigue may play a factor in their stretch run. They still have a Div. 1 team, Bishop Fenwick, on their schedule (Feb. 14).

Monomoy, as a high school, is in its first year of existence, having combined the Harwich and Chatham high schools on Cape Cod. It’s tough to get a good read on them, playing as an independent before settling in a conference in the future (Atlantic Coast League, perhaps?) To date, its only win against a team above .500 was vs. the Nantucket Whalers on Dec. 23. The Sharks will play Nantucket again in its season finale on Feb. 18, and also plays against Holliston (5-4-2) on Jan. 30. As of now, those are their only remaining opponents above .500.

Cohassett, aside from its home-and-home with Norwell, doesn’t have many real challenges left on its schedule. A home-and-home with Weston on back-to-back days (Feb. 16 and 17) are the only games left they have against teams currently above .500.
Newton South plays in the competitive Dual County/Merrimack Valley 3 League. At 6-0, they’re the last team undefeated in league play, and still have league matchups against teams above .500 including Wayland, Weston and Bedford. A non-league game to watch is a trip to Barnstable (7-2-1) on Jan. 17.

Hanover, out of the Patriot League—Fisher Division, was defeated by Cohasset 6-3 on Dec. 31. With Div. 1 Duxbury and both Plymouth teams remaining on the schedule, the Indians will have plenty of opportunities to make up for the loss to the Skippers.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk is the lowest-ranked unbeaten team for a reason: an extremely soft schedule, which includes three games already vs. Durfee and New Bedford. The Hilltoppers and Whalers are ranked 50th and 51st in Div. 2 RPI, respectively, or second-to-last and last. The Falcons have defeated the four plus-.500 teams they’ve played in Norton, Southeastern/West Bridgewater, Somerset Berkeley and Apponequet/Connolly/Old Colony. Plenty of winning teams remain on the schedule, including Bourne twice, Old Rochester/Fairhaven twice, Apponequet/Connolly/Old Colony again, Norton again, and Somerset Berkeley again. So don’t completely write off the Falcons as a product of their schedule just yet.

Algonquin has also played a soft schedule to date, and lost its first matchup with Shrewsbury, 4-3. Fortunately for the Tomahawks, they get the Colonials again, on Feb. 20 it the regular season finale. They also face North Middlesex twice.

Rounding out the top 10 is Lowell Catholic, which has already beaten Newton South and Martha’s Vineyard. The Catholic Central is not to be confused with the Catholic Conference or Catholic West, but a rematch with Newton South and a game with Bedford in the non-league portion of its schedule could help the cause.