The winter sports postseason kicks off this week with the girls’ hockey playoffs. Basketball’s regular season winds down by week’s end and some of the biggest events in indoor track, swimming and skiing are right around the corner.

There’s a lot to digest and here’s a glimpse:

Girls’ hockey

“We knew we had to win to solidify Heal Points and that was on our minds,” Intraversato added. “I think we’re in a good spot right now and we’re playing great.”

Yarmouth/Freeport hosts No. 8 Mt. Ararat (1-17) in the North Region quarterfinals Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Clippers won the regular season meeting, 11-1. If, as expected, Yarmouth/Freeport advances to Saturday’s semifinal round in Lewiston, it will face either No. 4 St. Dom’s (11-7) or No. 5 Winslow (9-9) at a time to be announced.

“I think we just have to play our game and stay strong,” Wiles said.

“I think this gives us an extra boost of confidence,” said Zinman. “We know the feeling of not reaching our goal, so we really want to win it this year.”

“I want to win pretty bad,” Peters said. “I remember last year and us almost tying the (state) game. I think this year it can be different. We have the chemistry. We just have to keep playing hard and keep playing like we have been the past few games.”

“We returned a lot of last year’s group and we learned a lot from losing states,” Intraversato added. “That stuck with a lot of players and coaches. At the end of last season, they wanted to get going again the next day. We want to get (to states), but it’s obviously a tough road. We want to be playing our best at the end of the year and that’s what we’re doing. The girls are extremely driven to finish.”

In the South Region, Falmouth/Scarborough wound up fourth at 9-9 following wins over visiting Biddeford (7-2) and host Lewiston (5-4, in overtime) last weekend. Falmouth/Scarborough hosts No. 5 Biddeford (8-10) in the quarterfinals Wednesday. If Falmouth/Scarborough advances to Saturday’s semifinals, it will meet top-ranked, reigning state champion Cheverus (15-1) in Portland at a time to be announced.

Greely wound up seventh in the South at 1-16-1 after losses to visiting York (7-2) and host Winslow (4-1). The Rangers go to No. 2 Gorham (12-6) Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Greely lost the regular season meeting, 7-0.

Girls’ basketball

On the hardwood, the North Yarmouth Academy girls’ team was clinging to the top spot in the Class C South Heal Points standings at press time after improving to 16-1 with a 55-31 home win over Carrabec last week and a 48-36 win at Old Orchard Beach Monday. Against the Cobras, Athena Gee had 19 points, while Graca Bila and Emily Robbins added 10 apiece, as the Panthers erased a seven-point halftime deficit. In the win over the reigning state champion Seagulls, Bila, Gee and Ella Giguere all scored 11 points. NYA closes the regular season at home versus Sacopee Valley Wednesday (see our website for game story). The Panthers will then be idle until Tuesday, Feb. 20, when they play in the Class C South quarterfinals in Augusta. The opponent and time will be determined.

In Class B South, Yarmouth was 9-8 and sixth in the Heals following a 46-39 home win over Wells and a 51-37 home loss to York last week. In the victory, Cate King led the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds and senior Maya Hagerty ended up in double figures as well, with 11 points.

“We’ve had a lot of really close games we’ve lost this season, but we all knew we could beat Wells,” Hagerty said. “Proving it tonight felt good.”

“This gives us confidence,” said King. “We’ve been trending in the right direction. We’ve been super-close a couple times, but to beat a team like Wells feels great, especially for the seniors. It’s a really fun win.”

“This solidifies what we believe we are,” added Yarmouth coach Tom Panozzo. “We’ve lost some close games, so I think our record doesn’t show what we’re capable of, but these final games will be the test. We’re ready for the challenge and we’re healthy.”

The Clippers host Lake Region in the regular season finale Wednesday. Yarmouth will take part in the Class B South quarterfinals Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Portland Exposition Building. The opponent and time will be determined.

“I feel like we snuck up people last year,” said King. “Hopefully this year, everybody knows we’re a pretty good team and I think we can surprise some people.”

“It’s just really coming together,” Panozzo said. “We want to peak at the right time. We just have to refine our scoring, keep playing team defense, communicating and playing with confidence.”

In Class A South, Greely was 8-9 and fourth in the standings entering Tuesday’s home finale versus Deering (see our website for game story). Last week, the Rangers lost at Gray-New Gloucester, 68-26. Asja Kelman paced Greely with 10 points.

“I think they just imposed their will on us,” Rangers coach Todd Flaherty said. “On the glass, they out-rebounded us, they beat us to loose balls and then, I don’t know what they shot from the floor, but they shot a high percentage, for sure. I mean, they’re a good team. They played up to their abilities today, for sure. We’ll learn from that.”

Greely will take part in the Class A South quarterfinals Monday, Feb. 19 at the Portland Expo. The Rangers’ opponent and time will be announced.

Freeport suffered its seventh loss in eight games last Friday, 53-27, at Gray-New Gloucester. Maddie Cormier scored 11 points and Abby Giroux added nine. Monday, Freeport played at Falmouth, needing a victory to secure a playoff spot and the Falcons, playing without injured juniors Mia Levesque and Izzy Orland and sophomore Emily Groves, managed to eke out a 36-34 victory behind 15 points from Cormier and 13 from Sydney Gelhar to end the regular season 8-10.

“I think it was just a team effort,” said Gelhar. “I’m so thankful for all my teammates. Everyone contributes. We have a great coach, a great staff, our fans travel great. That’s a big part of why we were so successful. It was exciting when the horn went off. There was a lot of pressure on this game.  ”

“We went into the locker room (at halftime, down seven points) and the captains took the lead and said we were going to win the game defensively,” Cormier said. “Our shots weren’t falling, but we were able to control our defensive effort. We did that and thankfully, our shots fell at the end. It’s the best feeling in the world. I’m so proud. I wouldn’t want to go to the Expo with any other team. We’ve overcome so much.”

“I don’t know how we did it,” added Falcons coach Seth Farrington. “We had to win this game to get to the Expo, bottom line. We win, we were in. Lose, we were out. I told the girls that I’ve been fortunate to coach some really good players and teams (at Freeport). I’ve been spoiled here, but I’m more proud of what this team accomplished than any other team.”

The Falcons, currently ranked seventh in Class A South, will either be ranked seventh or eighth for the tournament and will face the daunting task of going up against a powerhouse in either reigning regional champion Brunswick or Gray-New Gloucester Monday, Feb. 19.

“Anyone can have an off day or a great day,” Gelhar said. “It’ll come down to one game at a time. One minute at a time. One possession at a time. I’m thankful we get this opportunity. I wouldn’t count us out.”

“(Last year’s quarterfinal win over Mt. Ararat) gives us confidence,” Cormier said. “We were underdogs and pulled out a victory. We have to bring that underdog mentality again. We have nothing to lose. We’ll go out and play for each other.”

“I wouldn’t count out this group and I’ll leave it at that,” Farrington added.

Falmouth, meanwhile, won two of three games last week, 38-34 at Kennebunk and 51-46 at Fryeburg Academy, while losing at reigning regional champion Brunswick (60-37). Monday, The Navigators fell to 4-13 with a 36-34 home loss to Freeport. Jane McPheeters scored nine points, but the Navigators let a 24-17 halftime lead slip away in a game which saw them turn the ball over 20 times.

“I think we played pretty well defensively,” said Falmouth coach Dawn Armandi. “We turned it over and got stops, but in the end, there were too many turnovers. It’s a great group of kids. They’ve just lacked confidence in pressure situations all year. We didn’t do a good job running our offense. We hung around the perimeter too much and didn’t attack them the way they attacked us. In the end, they scored two more points than we did.”

Falmouth (ranked 10th in Class A South, where only eight teams make the playoffs), closes the regular season Thursday at home versus Westbrook.

“It’s Senior Night and we’ll always go for the ‘W,’” Armandi said. “We’ll go out and have fun and make memories our last time on the floor. I love this group of girls. I’m so proud to be their coach. I wish we got more wins because I believe they deserve to (be in the tournament).. It breaks my heart because they’re amazing kids.”

Boys’ basketball

On the boys’ side, Yarmouth improved to 10-7 and moved up to fifth in Class B after beating visiting Wells (51-42) and host York (58-43) last week. Against the Warriors, Evan Hamm scored 28 points and Jack Janczuk added 22. In the win at the Wildcats, Hamm led the way with 28 points and Gautreau added 10. The Clippers close the regular season at Lake Region Wednesday, then will take part in the Class B South quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 16 at the Portland Expo. The opponent and time will be determined.

Two-time reigning Class A South champion Falmouth was 14-3 and second in the region entering Tuesday’s regular season finale against visiting Freeport. The Navigators enjoyed a 51-45 home win over Kennebunk and suffered a 58-44 setback at Fryeburg Academy last week. In the victory, Chris Simonds had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Falmouth will take part in the Class A South quarterfinals Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Portland Expo. The opponent and time will be determined.

Freeport entered Tuesday’s finale at Falmouth with a record of 13-4 and a fourth-place ranking in Class A South. Last Friday, the Falcons erased a 16-point deficit to visiting Gray-New Gloucester before falling, 64-56. JT Pound had 21 points, while Connor Slocum added 14 and Conner Smith finished with 10. Freeport will take part in the Class A South quarterfinals Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Portland Expo. The opponent and time will be determined.

Greely was 7-9 and sixth in Class A South after a 75-61 home loss to Gray-New Gloucester and a 70-57 home setback to Noble. Against the Patriots, Jackson Leding had 24 points and Ethan Michaud added 12.

“We fought the good fight,” said Greely coach Travis Seaver. “Everyone saw the floor and they did what we asked of them. They’re tough. They come at you in waves. They shot well and got to the rim. It’s tough to keep pace with them.”

In the loss to the Knights, Michaud had 15 points and Leding and Owen Partridge added 13. After going to Biddeford Tuesday, the Rangers close the regular season Thursday at Wells. Greely will take part in the Class A South quarterfinals Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Portland Expo. The opponent and time will be determined.

“We want to finish strong,” Seaver said. “We’re doing much better than we were doing a couple weeks ago and we have to keep doing that.”

In Class C South, NYA was 5-12 and 14th (only 11 teams make the playoffs) following a 65-40 home win over Pine Tree Academy and a 67-37 setback at Old Orchard Beach. In the victory, Nate Oney led the way with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Brayden Kloza added 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mansuk Loboka had 11 points. In the loss, Oney had 16 points and Kloza finished with 14. The Panthers close the regular season Wednesday at home versus Sacopee Valley.

Boys’ hockey

The boys’ hockey regular season still has a couple of weeks to go.

The Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op team was 10-2-1 and first in the Class B South Heals after sandwiching road wins last week over Gorham (5-1) and Kennebunk (3-0) around a 3-3 home tie versus Gorham last week. In the victory over Gorham, Andrew Cheever, Owen Cheever, Thomas Dillon, Quinn McCoy and David Swift all scored. In the tie, Colby Carnes, Evan Hankins and Lucas Soutuyo each scored once, but Cheverus/Yarmouth let a three-goal lead slip away. In the win over Kennebunk, McCoy scored two goals and Owen Redfield found the net just before the horn. Cheverus/Yarmouth welcomes reigning Class B champion Cape Elizabeth Thursday and goes to Mt. Ararat Tuesday of next week.

Greely was 10-3 and fourth in Class B South following Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Leavitt. Finn Craven scored the Rangers’ lone goal.

“I thought we created some offensive chances tonight,” longtime Greely coach Barry Mothes said. “I haven’t really had the chance to tabulate the shots. I guess it said 22-16, but I thought we generated some chances. I feel like, if we had been a little more opportunistic, we would have had a few more.”

The Rangers host Leavitt Tuesday, then plays at Gorham Saturday.

“It’s going to be a stiff challenge Thursday night and we are very aware of that, but that’s what you want to be playing for,” Mothes said. “We are trying to finish as high as we can in the standings and trying to see how we match up against top teams. They have been on a strong streak and it will be a fun challenge Thursday night at Family Ice.”

In Class A, Falmouth was 8-5 and fifth in the state-wide Heals as it returns to action Wednesday at Bangor after a two-week hiatus.

Indoor track

Freeport’s boys’ and girls’ indoor track teams both finished first in a nine-team Western Maine Conference meet Friday in Gorham.

In the other meet, won by York, Greely’s boys and Yarmouth’s girls were both second. Greely’s girls came in third and NYA placed seventh. Yarmouth’s boys finished fourth and NYA came in eighth.

The WMC indoor track championship meet is Friday in Gorham. Falmouth will take part in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association’s championship meet Saturday in Gorham.

Swimming

The swimming Southwesterns championship meet will be held this week in Cape Elizabeth. The boys’ competition is Thursday and Friday and the girls’ meet is Saturday.

Skiing

Falmouth’s boys and girls swept an eight-team Alpine slalom meet last week. Greely’s girls came in third and the Rangers boys placed fourth.

Yarmouth’s boys and girls were first and Freeport’s boys and girls each came in second at a 12-team giant slalom meet.

The Western Maine Conference Alpine championship meet is Thursday at Pleasant Mountain. The WMC Nordic championship is contested Wednesday and Saturday in Fryeburg.

The Class A and B Alpine skiing state championships will be held next week.

The Nordic ski championship meets are Feb. 19 and 20.

Press Herald staff writer Travis Lazarczyk and Sun Journal sports editor Lee Horton and staff writer Nathan Fournier contributed to this story.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. For game updates and links to game stories, follow him on Threads: @foresports2023

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