This is the fourth installment of the 2025-26 Western Massachusetts Boys Hockey Top 10. Pope Francis, though, competes as an independent team, so they won’t be a part of this project. But the rankings will be updated weekly throughout the winter regular season.
Previous Rankings: Dec. 11, Dec. 19, Jan. 7
- East Longmeadow (6-3, No. 3)
- Westfield (4-3, No. 1)
- Minnechaug (7-2, No. 2)
- Greenfield (4-4-1, No. 5)
- Longmeadow (4-5-1, No. 4)
- Ludlow (5-4, No. 6)
- West Springfield (3-6-1, No. 7)
- McCann Tech (5-1, No. 8)
- Amherst (5-5-1, No. 10)
- Taconic (3-4, NR)
Through almost two months of the winter boys hockey season, one thing has become more and more clear: no team is safe.
And what we mean by that is, there is no clear favorite to run away from the rest of the pack. Sometimes, though, that’s more fun for everyone because it will make the chance to win the respective league crowns and the upcoming regional postseason that much more interesting as that time approaches.
But let’s talk about a few things that we are plenty sure about, right?
For starters, East Longmeadow and Longmeadow’s rivalry is still entertaining. During their first game together last month, Cody Shaw and Kevin Baker scored back-to-back third-period goals to break a 1-1 stalemate and lead the Spartans to victory. But the Lancers sought their revenge last weekend, as they earned an impressive 4-3 overtime victory to even the regular-season series at 1-1 and also snap East Longmoneadow’s previous four-game winning streak.
The next thing we’re going to discuss is how Greenfield has once again found the perfect time to get its season back on track. After opening the year on a five-game winless streak that featured three losses against East Longmeadow, Ludlow and Longmeadow, the Green Wave have responded with four consecutive wins against two of those previously mentioned teams and West Springfield.
Despite coming up short in their opening four league games (three losses and one tie), three consecutive league wins have helped Greenfield (3-3-1) move into fourth place in the Berry standings behind a two-way tie for third place between Minnechaug (3-2) and Ludlow (3-2). The job isn’t complete, though, as Greenfield still remains behind East Longmeadow (4-2) and Westfield (4-2) for first place.
Luckily for the Green Wave, though, they will have an opportunity to continue climbing up the standings ladder since they are scheduled to face those same Bombers inside Amelia Park on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. And after that meeting, Greenfield will compete against Minnechaug and East Longmeadow on Monday and Thursday next week at Olympia Rink, with respective times of 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
McCann Tech and Taconic are two more teams that fans should pay close attention to. Though the Hornets suffered their first regular-season loss to Christian Brothers Academy (Albany) on Saturday, their 5-1 record still represents three more wins than they recorded last year at 2-9.
Overall, though, the trend is moving in a positive direction since McCann Tech started its program with a winless campaign of 0-11-1 in the 2022-2023 season before slowly moving forward under coach Matt Parise.
Like Greenfield, though, the Thunder always seem to catch fire at the right time. And this time is no different, as Taconic lost its opening four games by a combined score of 28-12 to Minenchaug, Amherst (twice), and McCann Tech. But those statistics are in the past since the Thunder have won three consecutive games by a combined score of 10-5 against Agawam and Easthampton (twice) to keep them tied with the Eagles for third place in the Wright Standings.
As of right now, the Hornets (4-0) maintain a first-place lead over the Hurricanes (4-3-1) in the league standings. Aside from that, though, it will be interesting to see how Taconic fares with its upcoming schedule. They are prepared to compete next week against Agawam at the Pittsfield Boys & Girls Club on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 7:15 p.m., before an upcoming stretch against Amherst, Chicopee, and McCann Tech.
So if the Thunder look to compete in their fourth consecutive Western Massachusetts Class B championship next month, they must continue to gain momentum and take care of business against league rivals down the stretch.
Other essential games to watch during the sixth week are McCann Tech vs. Chicopee inside Fitzpatrick Rink on Wednesday at 4 p.m., while rivals Easthampton and Amherst will compete at Orr Rink on Thursday at 5 p.m.
And then Pope Francis will complete over the weekend against Archbishop Williams on Saturday from Olympia Rink at 2 p.m., while West Springfield will compete afterward against Assabet Valley Regional Tech High School on the same date and location at 4:10 p.m.
