Division II

A look at the potential Division II boys lacrosse playoff field

The Division II boys lacrosse regular season is in the books and the playoffs are scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Bedford and Goffstown met in last year's championship game. Will they do it again this year?

The Division II boys lacrosse regular season is in the books and the playoffs are scheduled to begin on Thursday.

Here's a look at how the final standings turned out, with each teams record and rating according to the NHIAA, and what the potential tournament bracket should look like. Official pairings are expected to be released by the NHIAA on Monday.

Division II standings

Bedford (18-0), 4.2222
St. Thomas (12-2), 3.4286
Goffstown* (11-3), 3.1429
Portsmouth (11-3), 3.1429
Bow (10-4), 2.8571
Merrimack (8-8), 2.0625
Winnacunnet (6-8), 1.7143
Dover (6-10), 1.5000
Oyster River (5-9), 1.4286
Timberlane (2-14), 0.5625
Spaulding (2-13), 0.5333
Keene (1-15), 0.2500

*wins tiebreaker with Portsmouth based on head-to-head victory.

Potential quarterfinal matchups

No. 8 Dover at No. 1 Bedford
No. 5 Bow at No. 4 Portsmouth
No. 7 Winnacunnet at No. 2 St. Thomas
No. 6 Merrimack at No. 3 Goffstown

Three lower seeds will face an uphill battle, while one quarterfinal matchup could be a memorable one.

Bow and Portsmouth split two games this season, with the Falcons winning 11-4 on May 14 and the Clippers taking a 10-9 decision on May 23. Each team won on the others' home field. Portsmouth scored 153 goals this year and allowed 80, while Bow scored 156 and allowed 86.
Merrimack returns to the postseason for the first time since 2008 and gets to take a trip to Goffstown for the quarterfinals. The Grizzlies won both games in the regular season by a combined scored of 26-13, including a 13-5 on May 17.
St. Thomas defeated Winnacunnet 13-8 on May 6. After that game, the Saints went 6-2 to close the season, while the Warriors were 3-4.
Bedford gets to host the last team to win the Division II title that wasn't the Bulldogs in Dover. The Green Wave will have a lot of work to do to avoid becoming Bedford's 59th victim in a row; the Bulldogs won the regular-season meeting 13-4.