Division 3 North Preview had an unprecedented Guest at the top of the Playoff Seedings from a year ago as Division 1A Middlesex Freedom Division Champs Watertown entered as the clear favorite to claim the 3 Championship.
Second Seed Northeast lost a couple big Scorers but should be able to fill those holes because last years team had a lot of young legs that gained valuable experience in the Tournament and should be able to make another good run this Season. Newton South looks to start the Season strong after such a magnificent run to end their season on a 10 game unbeaten streak just to qualify for the Post Season. They should have the confidence for a better start to their Season and perhaps go on a 10 game unbeaten streak to start the Season.
Division 3 South Top Seed from a year ago Cape Cod Tech/Cape Cod Academy has lost quite a bit of their Scoring talent from a year ago due to graduating Seniors. This is the same situation that most of the Top Seeds face this Season. Dinman, Hanover, and Cohasset have lost valuable leadership and will be looking for some of their underclassmen to meet these challenges head on. Sacred Heart looks to continue their success as the majority of their Team remains very young but with the valuable playoff experience they are a team to watch.
Division 3 & 3A Central has the Top Playoff Seeds from last Years Tournament both Shrewsbury and Groton-Dunstable are having to replace some of their point production from a year ago because of Senior heavy offenses. The rest of the Division face the same situations, it is the Teams that are able to develop that balanced attack and groom the Underclassmen as they are ready to Run with the Torch now.
Your reigning west sectional champions in Division 3 and 3A are the Westfield Bombers and Wahconah Warriors, respectively. Neither team was able to capture a state title back in march but bothe teams are poised to make another run in 2015.
Westfield, who won it all in 2013, was the No. 2 seed in the west with a record of 12-5-3. They beat No. 3 seed Longmeadow, 4-3 (OT) in the sectional semi-finals, before upsetting No. 1 seeded Agawam, 6-4, to advance to the state tournament. They lost to eventual state champion Shrewsbury High School, champions of the central sectional, 6-0, in the state semis.
Wahconah skated past No. 7 Easthampton, No. 6 Belchertown, and No. 5 Chicopee en route to the 3A west crown. The sectional final was a thrilling 7-6 victory for the Warriors, getting the best of Chicopee. They fell 12-0 in the state final to North Middlesex.
In addition to the defending sectional champs, two teams to keep an eye on this year are the Chicopee schools: Chicopee High School (Pacers), and Chicopee Comprehensive High School (Colts), each out of Division 3A. The Pacers return two of their three leading scorers from a year ago, seniors Devan Longtin and Nick Jablonski. Longtin was second on the team with 38 points (20 goals, 18 assists) a year ago, and Jablonski was third with 32 (17 goals, 15 assists). The Colts, while having graduated Travis Seymour (42-25—67 totals last year), they return junior Jeremy Lewis, who notched 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points last season.
Greenfield, 17-1-2 a year ago, graduated their top four scorers, who combined for 146 points. They may be a candidate to regress.