Hockey midseason rankings: Visitation girls, St. John’s boys lead

I’m fortunate to have a deep bench, coach Conrad Rehill said. It makes a huge difference.

With the addition of four strong freshmen to the lineup, the Cubs scoring system is more reliable than in previous years. Instead of having just one reliable goalie in junior Annaka Peterson, Visitation has two now that freshman Liza Kavanaugh has emerged. Peterson typically starts and then is relieved midway through the second period of each game, a tactic that has helped both goaltenders gain experience.

The Cubs will face MAGHL rival Stone Ridge on Wednesday. Last year, the teams shared two matches.

Records coming this week.

1. Visiting Georgetown (3-0-0) Last ranked: 2

The Cubs last scored seven runs in the first inning to beat Archbishop Spalding 9-1.

2. St. Johns (3-1-0) LR: 1

The Cadets are led by senior forward Caroline Lokken, who has 15 goals and one assist in just four games.

3. Stone Ridge (2-0-0) LR: 3rd

After starting the season with back-to-back wins, the Gators face their biggest test yet when they face rival Visitation.

1. St. Johns (14-4-1) LR: 1

The Cadets sit atop the Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League and Washington Catholic Athletic Conference standings, though not without hiccups. December started with a tie against Spalding and ended with a loss to DeMatha.

Winter break proved to be a busy one for the Eagles, who finished second in the annual Purple Puck tournament. The team will head to Chicago this week after the game against Spalding for a showcase event.

The Bears are freezing after welcoming coach Alex Parker to the program. They open the Interstate Athletic Conference against a much improved Bullis team.

The Saxons finished the first half of the season hot, coming back from a three-goal deficit and using a late goal to defeat rival Briar Woods in a rematch of the 2022 Northern Virginia School Hockey League final.

5. Georgetown Prep (9-2-0) LR: Not ranked

In his first game back from injury, senior Christopher Brophy had a hat trick and added an assist as the Little Hoyas shut out Bishop OConnell in their first game back from the two-week winter break.

6. West Potomac (4-1-1) LR: 8

Led by juniors Maddox Sheehan and Will Cahill, the Wolverines are ready to make an impact in the next stretch of the season.

7. Colgan (5-1-0) LR: Not ranked

The Sharks finished the first half of the season first in the Capital Scholastic Hockey League’s South Division and are looking to goaltender Ben Frantz to help them stay there.

8. Battlefield (5-0-0) LR: Not ranked

The Bobcats have won four of their last five opponents by five or more goals to move atop the NVSHL’s Patrick Division.

9. Wolves (7-1-0) LR: Not ranked

The five-school collab of Wilde Lake, Oakland Mills, Hammond, Centennial and Long Reach sits atop the MSHL’s Howard Division with big wins over Glenelg and Reservoir.

10. Glenelg (7-1-0) LR: 9

Glenelg continued their three-match home winning streak as the Gladiators beat a gritty River Hill team 5-1 to open the second half of the season.

In the bubble: Briar Woods, Broad Run, Bullis, Churchill, DeMatha, Quince Orchard, River Hill, South River, Stone Bridge, Washington-Liberty, Yorktown