Hockey playoff pairings released

The high school boys and girls hockey playoffs get underway Wednesday, starting with the Division I boys preliminary round, and seven area teams will be participating.

Bishop Guertin and Nashua North both advanced to the Division I playoffs, while Merrimack and Bedford are in in Division II and Alvirne and Hollis/Brookline are in the Division III tournament. The Bishop Guertin girls are also in the postseason for the second straight year.

Division I

Bishop Guertin (11-4-1) is the fifth seeded, missing out on a first-round bye, and the Cardinals will play in the preliminary round on Wednesday. Bishop Guertin will host No. 12 Manchester Memorial (6-11-1) at 6:50 p.m. at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough. The teams met once during the regular season, with the Cardinals winning 5-2 on Jan. 5.

The winner will face No. 4 Bishop Brady (12-5-1) in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Also on that side of the bracket, No. 8 Exeter (9-7-2) will host No. 9 Manchester Central (8-10) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The winner of that game will take on No. 1 seed Trinity (14-3-1) in the quarterfinals.

North (5-9-2) is the 10th seed and will play at No. 7 Londonderry (10-8) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The Lancers won the only regular-season meeting between the two, 7-1 on Feb. 19.

The winner will take on No. 2 Pinkerton (13-2-2) in the quarterfinals.

No. 6 Concord (12-6) will host No. 11 St. Thomas (6-10-1) in the preliminary round, with the winner facing No. 3 Hanover (11-4) in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals will be held on March 9 at the JFK Coliseum in Manchester, starting at 5:30 p.m, and the final will take place on March 13 at 4:30 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Division II

Merrimack (16-1-1) captured the No. 1 seed in the division and will host No. 8 Bedford (7-9-1), which won in its final game of the season to get in the playoffs. The quarterfinal game will be held at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday at the JFK Coliseum. Merrimack won both regular-season games, beating Bedford 4-3 on Jan. 6 and 7-3 on Feb. 16.

The winner will take on the winner of No. 4 Bow (9-6-3) and No. 5 Keene (9-7-2) in the semifinals on March 9 at the Rinks in Exeter at 7:30 p.m.

Dover (12-5) is the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Goffstown (8-8-2) in the quarterfinals. The winner of that game will get the winner of No. 3 Oyster River (10-6-2) and No. 6 Spaulding (10-8) in the other semifinal on March 9.

The final is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on March 13 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Division III

Alvirne (15-3) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will host No. 7 Kearsarge (10-8) in the quarterfinals Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Skate 3. The Broncos won both games between the two teams this season, beating the Cougars 3-2 on Dec. 20 and 4-3 on Feb. 9.

The winner will take on the winner of No. 3 Kennett (13-3-1) and No. 6 Hollis/Brookline (11-6) in the semifinals on March 9 at 5:30 p.m. at Everett Arena in Concord. Kennett will host the Cavaliers at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the quarterfinals, and the Eagles won the long regular-season game between the two 3-2.

Somersworth (18-0) is the No. 1 seed and the Hilltoppers will host No. 8 John Stark (10-8) in the quarterfinals on Saturday. THe winner will face either No. 4 Belmont-Gilford (14-3-1) or No. 5 Pelham-Windham (12-5) in the semifinals.

The final is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. March 13 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Division I girls

Bishop Guertin (7-6-3) enters as the tournament's fifth seed and will play at St. Thomas-Dover (10-5-1) in the quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m. The winner will take on No. 1 Hanover (16-0) in the semifinals on March 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Everett Arena in Concord.

No. 3 Oyster River (11-5) and No. 6 Concord (6-8-2) will play in the other quarterfinal, with the winner facing No. 2 Lebanon (11-5) in the semifinals.

The final will be held at 10 a.m. on March 13 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.