AUBURN — St. Dominic Academy has canceled its 2017-18 varsity boys’ basketball schedule days before the start of the season because its roster has dropped to just seven players.

J.P. Yorkey, St. Dom’s athletic director, said Tuesday the Saints will play a junior varisity schedule this winter.

The regular season for most teams in Maine begins on Friday. Teams scheduled to play St. Dominic, which would have been in Class C South, are working to fill the gaps in their schedule.

“J.P. did a real good job with an initial proposal for all the schools to fill the holes, the void, left by St. Dom’s and looking at the emails from the affected schools, it looks like most are open to the changes,” said Jack Hardy, athletic director at North Yarmouth Academy. St. Dom’s and NYA were scheduled to play twice.

Hardy said NYA, a Class C school, will pick up a second game against Buckfield and will add Class B Poland Regional to its schedule.

Other teams that had been scheduled to play St. Dom’s twice this season are: Sacopee Valley in Class B; Old Orchard Beach, Waynflete and Traip Academy in Class C; and Pine Tree Academy and A.R. Gould in Class D. St. Dom’s had also scheduled single games against Lake Region, Poland and Noble.

“I’m sure St. Dom’s is as frustrated as anybody else but we’re pretty flexible in terms of scheduling now because we’re allowed to play out of class and there’s some options,” said Dean Plante, athletic director at Old Orchard Beach. “Obviously we’re trying to fill dates and change transportation logs but in the long run it will be fine.”

Old Orchard expects to pick up St. Dom’s single game against Class D Pine Tree Academy and play a third game against Sacopee Valley.

Traip Academy was supposed to open its season Friday hosting St. Dom’s. Instead, the Rangers will host A.R. Gould, according to Yorkey.

St. Dom’s becomes at least the third Maine high school to drop varsity basketball this season.

Greater Portland Christian Academy, a Class D school in South Portland, decided Monday to cancel its girls’ basketball season because of a lack of participating players. Last week, Islesboro cancelled its boys’ varsity basketball season, again because of a lack of players.

At St. Dom’s, first-year coach Kenny Poulin started the season with 12 students registered at tryouts but was down to seven as of Monday.