When the Falmouth boys’ hockey team plays at home against Biddeford tonight, it likely will be up for the challenge.

Biddeford looks to be the class of Western Class A, but Falmouth proved it can play with anyone when the teams played to a 2-2 tie on Dec. 22.

But the Yachtsmen are also only 1-2-2, having been upset 1-0 by Kennebunk on Monday.

“We do have a young team,” first-year Falmouth coach Adam Nicholas said. “We tend to play to the caliber of the opposing team.

“We’re playing Kennebunk and we get in the mind-set that we can take it easy. That’s not how you’re going to win.

“We have to come in with a chip on our shoulder, no matter what the emblem is on the other team’s jersey.”

Nicholas wasn’t downplaying Kennebunk’s effort. He complimented the Rams and said “their goalie (Jordan Kadlick) played unbelievably.”

But the Yachtsmen should have more than one win (a season-opening victory over South Portland) after five games. Falmouth also tied Class B power Brewer and lost a 3-2 decision to St. Dominic last week.

“We played very tough against St. Dom’s,” Nicholas said. “And we played very, very well against Biddeford (last month).”

Nicholas thinks the record will improve as the team matures.

“To be quite honest, we have to find a little more grit in our play,” he said. “We have to have the will to win.”

KENNEBUNK BEGAN the year 0-2 but has since gone 3-2 with its two losses by one goal, one of them in overtime.

“We’ve had a lot of tight games,” said Coach Don Hill, who also has been patching his lineup because of early injuries. But now Kennebunk is healthy.

The game against Falmouth “was the first time we’ve had our top 20 guys out there at the same time,” Hill said. “We got a good effort out of everybody.”

Kadlick came up huge with 42 saves, giving him 264 in seven games.

The Rams’ leading scorers combined on the only goal of the game with Tyler Fowles (three goals/four assists) scoring on an assist from Kurt Oakman (two/six).

HOULTON HIGH will make the 250-mile trek south to the Family Ice Arena in Falmouth to play Greely in a matchup of Class B powerhouses Friday.

Houlton (8-0) has a 6-4 victory against Bangor on its resume. Greely is 6-0-1, having tied South Portland 0-0 last Saturday.

THE CLASS B team to beat this year may again be Brewer, the defending state champion. The Witches are off to a 6-0-1 start.

Brewer is an impressive 3-0-1 against Class A teams, including wins over Waterville and Bangor, and a 4-4 tie with Falmouth.

THE YORK GIRLS (7-3) remain one of the top teams in the West, despite dropping two of their three games last week, losing to Cheverus 2-0 and Greely 2-1.

Wildcats goalie Olivia Drew made 43 saves on 47 shots last week, but York couldn’t generate enough offense.

The Wildcats will play Cape Elizabeth tonight before a home game against the West favorite, Scarborough, on Saturday in Rochester, N.H.

Scarborough (8-1-1) avenged a season-opening loss to Biddeford with a 7-0 romp over the Tigers on Monday.

FALMOUTH AND YARMOUTH were two struggling girls’ hockey teams early in the season. Yarmouth was 0-6 and Falmouth 1-6 (its one win a 4-3 decision over Yarmouth on Dec. 1).

But the Yachtsmen are riding a four-game winning streak while Yarmouth has won two straight, including a 3-2 upset over Cheverus last week.

The teams meet again tonight in Falmouth.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com

 

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