Maybe this wasn’t a good year to aim for a .700 or better win percentage in the crystal ball after all.

We’ll spare you the cutesy, “the ball is rusty, fogged, unpolished” runaround and get right to it. After a near-perfect first week of winter break, the second was one to forget.

Only a month in, parity is running amuck. On the boys’ side, St. John’s Prep beat BC High and Reading lost to Winchester. We picked SJP, but the Rockets rallied past it in overtime. Then, Winchester fell to Belmont in another dose of what makes the Middlesex League so entertaining to follow.

Those picks aren’t even what really hurt us, though.

The Tenney Cup’s final day didn’t go the crystal ball’s way, with the Malden Catholic girls defeating Duxbury, and Hingham topping an unbeaten Notre Dame Academy (H). The Canton girls came together for a huge win over Nauset. And after incorrectly picking against Falmouth for a second time, along with wrong picks against Woburn and Natick, we were left with a lousy, 2-6 mark predicting the girls’ games after going 7-0 last week.

At least the majority of those games were high-quality tight finishes, which is what we care most about in the end.

Here’s to snapping out of the funk – again – now that it’s 2025 and we’re in the thick of the regular season. It’s tough to narrow down the list of meaningful matchups this week in a loaded slate, but here we go:

LAST WEEK’S RECORD: 7-8-1

OVERALL RECORD: 23-19-3 (.544)

*WINNERS in caps**

BOYS

WEDNESDAY

St. John’s (S) at CATHOLIC MEMORIAL, 7 p.m. – Pioneers (6-1) keep proving they’re a legitimate force, opening their Catholic Conference schedule with a big win over BC High on Sunday. The Knights are fresh off a 4-1 win over Xaverian themselves.

WEYMOUTH at Walpole, 8 p.m. – Timberwolves are unbeaten since an 0-2-1 start, with notable wins over Norwood and Needham. Weymouth looks for a third straight win to make for an intriguing Bay State Conference tilt.

ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS at St. Mary’s (L), 8 p.m. – Round 1 between these two went to overtime and ended with St. Mary’s on top. Archies is 4-1 since, including a comeback win over the Xaverian group that downed the Spartans. Major Catholic Central League title race implications here.

THURSDAY

READING at Belmont, 8 p.m. – Marauders just handled the Winchester group that’s responsible for Reading’s only loss this year. Hard not to expect another Middlesex League barn burner between these powers.

SATURDAY

Medfield at NORWOOD, 4 p.m. – A great Tri-Valley League duel just about every time. Medfield opened the week unbeaten despite a host of tough opponents, while Norwood (4-1) has just one blemish so far.

Methuen at BEDFORD, 6:40 p.m. – Bedford made a bit of a statement Saturday with a win over Scituate, before Dracut/Tyngsboro broke up its unbeaten record in overtime Monday. Bucs can hand Methuen its first loss too, though a Rangers win would also be a loud statement.

ARLINGTON CATHOLIC at Barnstable, 7 p.m. – A challenging few days for the Cougars, who face a scalding hot Billerica on Wednesday before taking on a new-look Barnstable group that’s rolled past every challenge so far.

GIRLS

WEDNESDAY

DUXBURY at Sandwich, 4:30 p.m. – A matchup we didn’t get to see in the Tenney Cup that carries Div. 2 implications. Blue Knights meet the two-time reigning champs coming off a rare 1-2-1 stretch.

Winthrop at PLNR, 5:15 p.m. – These two have ruled the Northeastern Hockey League for at least as long as the crystal ball has been around, and every meeting seems to come down to the wire. Here’s a chance for PLNR to further prove it’s a top Div. 1 team, and for Winthrop to show it can more than hang.

ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS at St. Mary’s (L), 6 p.m. – Archies put a bit of an up-and-down start to a screeching halt with 10 goals in its last two games to get back to .500. Another crack at revenge here against a tough Spartans group capable of beating anyone.

METHUEN/TEWKSBURY at Shrewsbury, 6:15 p.m. – A bit of a humble start for young Shrewsbury was followed with three straight wins over quality opponents. After a good battle with HPNA (3-1 loss), it challenges a loaded Methuen/Tewksbury with championship-caliber traits.

Winchester at ARLINGTON, 8 p.m. – The Middlesex League has been as talented and tight as advertised so far. Winchester won’t go down easy, and it won’t be a surprise if it wins, either.

SATURDAY

HINGHAM at Malden Catholic, 4:10 p.m. – A thriller in the Tenney Cup championship, and likely another one here, could be the perfect buildup for another meeting deep in the Div. 1 state tournament. Maybe even at TD Garden. This should be an exciting, must-see game between top-three powers once again.

Auburn at BISHOP FEEHAN, 7 p.m. – Maybe we’ll finally see a goal in this matchup after goalies stood on their heads to finish their first meeting as a scoreless tie. Auburn is turning heads early with a 6-0-1 mark.

MILTON at Natick, 7:20 p.m. – A shutout win over Algonquin put bold lettering on Natick’s strong start. A win here for Milton would be big coming off a blowout loss to Archbishop Williams.