Matty Wasserman

For the third time in the 45-year history of the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships, the national title is coming home to Massachusetts.

Ava Baker still reveres the inaugural Malden Catholic girls' hockey team, who she watched from the stands as an eighth grader with hopes of one day joining the program herself.

Last Saturday, Gavenas became the third-ever Foot Locker Cross-Country champion from Massachusetts, claiming the national title in 15 minutes, 23.9 seconds at Balboa Park in San Diego.

The girls' hockey season is two weeks old. See our updated Top 20 poll , and our latest Players of the Week.

After spending last season as eighth-graders on the Lowell varsity boys' hockey team, freshmen Maddie Akashian and Maura Tobin are having a very different experience playing high school hockey this year.

With each passing game this season, Canton's first-year girls' hockey coach Marissa Massaro can feel her team gaining more confidence.

On Thursday, the No. 15 Bulldogs (3-0-1) kept their unbeaten start to the season alive with a 3-1 victory over No. 8 Nauset/Monomoy in a nonleague clash at Metropolis Rink in Canton.

A game-winner for Malden Catholic, a 6-point week for Andover, a pair of shutouts for Natick, and a 50-goal milestone highlight this week's top performances.

Hired as coach of the second-year Bishop Stang girls' hockey program in 2014, Bill Theodore was determined to provide an avenue for girls on the South Coast to play at the high school level.