PORTLAND — One word comes to mind when perusing the final four teams in today’s girls’ hockey playoffs:

Rematch.

Top-seeded Falmouth (18-1) plays No. 2 York (13-3-3) in the West final at 5 p.m., followed by the East final between No. 1 Brunswick (15-3-1) and No. 2 Greely (14-5). Both games are at the Portland Ice Arena.

Falmouth and York played Jan. 14 with Falmouth winning, 2-1. But York was without its leading scorer, Nicci Heroux, who is a breakaway threat any time.

Heroux scored both goals in York’s 2-1 squeaker over Scarborough in the semifinals.

“Nicci is very elusive and requires teams to be aware of where she is,” said Falmouth Coach Rob Carrier.

Carrier and York Coach Kevin Banfield expect a tight game.

“I remember how good their goalie, Olivia Drew, was,” Carrier said. “When we created chances, she was right there.”

The Yachtsmen have their own players to watch, including goalie Kirsten Mazur and defenseman Megan Fortier, who scored both goals against York. And in Falmouth’s 6-3 semifinal win over Portland/Deering, Fortier had four goals and an assist.

“Megan is strong on her skates with very good stickhandling skills,” Banfield said.

York’s strategy has been to shadow a team’s top player, so today’s game may hinge on the play of Falmouth forwards.

In the East game, Brunswick is the top seed but it lost twice to Greely, 5-1 on Jan. 7 and 4-1 on Jan. 21.

“Their goaltending is strong and they make good decisions with the puck,” Brunswick Coach Bill Bodwell said. “They’re a well-coached team and pretty deep across their roster.”

Brunswick also is strong, and is the only team to beat Falmouth this year. The Dragons feature a strong scoring line, puck-handling defensemen and a solid goalie tandem in Claire Mendes and Erin Gay.

Greely beat Brunswick twice, but the Rangers ran into bumps at the end of the season, including a three-game losing streak.

“We weren’t playing with any desperation. We lose when we get outworked,” Greely Coach Nate Guerin said.

He knows the two regular-season wins over Brunswick mean little in the playoffs.

“They are a strong team and an emotional team. We know if we don’t bring our best effort, our season will be over.”

Greely features a solid system of puck control and defense, anchored by goalie Emma Seymour.

Today’s regional winners will meet for the state championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Colisee in Lewiston.

 

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or: kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: KevinThomasPPH

 

Copy the Story Link