No. 1 Arlington Spy Ponders vs. No. 3 Pope Francis Cardinals
Super 8 | March 7, 5 p.m., Loring Arena

Notes: Pope Francis leads season series, 1-0-1. Cardinals dealt Spy Ponders their lone defeat, 4-2, Dec. 23 at Olympia Center. Teams tied, 2-2, on Jan. 20 at Ed Burns Arena. Over last four seasons, Pope Francis holds a 3-1-2 edge in series. Lone win for Arlington came on Jan. 23, 2017 at Ed Burns. Last postseason meeting: Cardinals won, 3-0, in Super 8 play-in game on Feb. 26, 2018.

Brink of the Garden: Second straight season for Pope Francis in winners’ bracket final. Won 3-2 vs. BC High last season before ultimately losing in state final, 2-1 (2OT). Ben Zaranek (29 saves) is coming off shutout win vs. BC High, first goalie to hold Eagles off scoreboard since December 2017.

Arlington (18-1-4, 13-0-2 Middlesex League)
Fifth straight Super 8 appearance. Tournament to date:
Won 2-1 vs. No. 8 Framingham, winners’ bracket quarterfinals
Won 3-1 vs. No. 4 St. John’s Prep, winners’ bracket semifinals
First public school to be No. 1 seed since Winchester (2001 -- coached by John Messuri)
Won Middlesex League - Liberty Division
Goal differential: plus-43 (74-31) | T-8th in Division 1 in goals scored, 1st in goals against
Streak: Won 4 | Haven’t lost since Dec. 23 at Pope Francis, 4-2 (16-0-4 since)
Home: 9-0-3 | Road/Neutral: 9-1-1 | Record vs. Super 8 teams: 6-1-2
Biggest win: 5-0 at Stoneham, Jan. 29 | Season-high goals: 6 vs. Weymouth, Feb. 17 (6-2 win) | Worst (only) loss: 4-2 at Pope Francis, Dec. 23
Shutouts: 5-0
Last postseason: As No. 4 seed, lost in Super 8 1-loss bracket vs. Xaverian, 5-4
Last Super 8 title: 2017 | Won 2-1 (OT) vs. Central Catholic

Pope Francis (15-4-2, Independent)
12th straight Super 8 appearance (fifth as Pope Francis). Tournament to date:
Won 6-1 vs. No. 6 Catholic Memorial, winners’ bracket quarterfinals
Won 4-0 vs. No. 2 BC High, winners’ bracket semifinals
Goal differential: plus-46 (78-32) | T-3rd in Division 1 in goals scored, T-2nd in GA
Streak: Won 7 | Last loss: Feb. 1 vs. Hingham, 2-1
Home: 12-2 | Road/Neutral: 3-4-2 (Three games in Albany don’t count towards MIAA standings) | Record vs. Super 8 teams: 5-3-1
Biggest win: 9-0 vs. Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), Feb. 8
Biggest win vs. MIAA team: 6-1 vs. CM, Super 8 and 6-1 vs. Franklin, Dec. 21
Worst loss: 7-2 at Rice (Vt.), Dec. 14 | All four MIAA losses by one goal (Framingham, SJP, Central, Hingham) | Shutouts: 5-0
Last postseason: Lost in Super 8 final vs. BC High, 2-1 (4OT)
Last Super 8 title: None | Last state title: 2009 (Division 1)

No. 2 BC High Eagles vs. No. 4 St. John’s Prep Eagles
Super 8 | March 7, 7:30 p.m., Loring Arena

Notes: BCH leads season series, 1-0-1. Teams tied, 1-1, on Dec. 27 at Essex Sports Center in Frates Classic; BCH won, 4-2, on Jan. 14 in Dorchester. Over last eight meetings, BCH holds 4-1-3 lead in series. Lone win for SJP: Dec. 29, 2017, 2-1, in Frates Classic. Last postseason meeting: SJP won, 5-3, on March 16, 2016, in Super 8 semifinal to eliminate BCH.

Bouncing back: BCH won 2-1 vs. Framingham on goals from Colin Norton, John Logan. Logan scored PP goal 6:35 into third to break 1-1 tie with Flyers at Gallo. BCH was coming off first shutout loss since Dec. 13, 2017 vs. Central Catholic, 1-0...SJP won 5-2 vs. CM after losing 3-1 vs. Arlington. Two goals from Ryan Hart and Nick Townshend in win over Knights.

BC High (15-4-4, 4-2-2 Catholic Conference)
10th straight Super 8 appearance and 24th in last 25 seasons. Tournament to date:
Won 3-0 vs. No. 7 Burlington, winners’ bracket quarterfinals
Lost 4-0 vs. No. 3 Pope Francis, winners’ bracket semifinals
Won 2-1 vs. No. 8 Framingham, 1-loss bracket
Last postseason: Won Super 8 Final, 2-1 vs. Pope Francis (4OT)
Have won back-to-back Super 8s, both wins coming in OT vs. Pope Francis
Finished second in Catholic Conference, 10 points
Goal differential: plus-23 (64-41)
22nd in Division 1 in goals scored, T-9th in goals against
Home: 7-0-1 | Road/Neutral: 7-3-3 | Record vs. Super 8 teams: 7-3-3
Biggest win: 4-0 vs. Hingham, Feb. 19 | Worst loss: 4-0 vs. Pope Francis, March 1
Shutouts: 3-1
Super 8 titles: Six (1996, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019)

St. John’s Prep (12-5-5, 3-2-3 Catholic Conference)
First Super 8 appearance since 2018 (lost in Super 8 quarterfinal vs. Pope Francis, 5-1). 2020 tournament to date:
Won 2-1 vs. No. 5 Xaverian, winners’ bracket quarterfinals
Lost 3-1 vs. No. 1 Arlington, winners’ bracket semifinals
Won 5-2 vs. No. 6 CM, 1-loss bracket
Finished third in Catholic Conference behind CM, BC High
Goal differential: plus-31 (75-44)
7th in goals scored in Division 1, T-14th in goals against
Home: 7-1-3 | Road/Neutral: 5-3-2 | Record vs. Super 8 teams: 6-4-3
Biggest win: 10-2 vs. Newburyport, Feb. 8 and 9-1 vs. Needham, Feb. 19
Worst loss: 9-1 at Hingham, Dec. 21 (season opener)
Shutouts: 2-1
Last postseason: Lost in Division 1 North final vs. Winchester, 4-1
Last Super 8 title: 2015 -- only title | Won 2-1 vs. Malden Catholic