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, skiing and wrestling are right around the corner.

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

Girls’ hockey

The reigning state champion Cheverus girls’ hockey team is poised to go back-to-back. The Stags earned the top seed in the South Region with ease after a 15-1 regular season, capped by a 3-0 home win over Gorham last Thursday. Ashley Cloutier, Lucy Johnson and Mikayla Talbot each scored once. Cheverus will host a semifinal Saturday at a time to be announced. The Stags will face either No. 4 Falmouth/Scarborough (9-9) or No. 5 Biddeford/Thornton Academy (8-10). Cheverus twice blanked Falmouth/Scarborough this winter, 9-0 at home and 5-0 on the road. The Stags also shut out host Biddeford/TA, 6-0.

The Portland/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete Beacons co-op team finished third in the South Region at 10-8 after closing with home losses to Brunswick (5-4) and Yarmouth/Freeport (5-2). Against the Dragons, Libby Hooper had two goals, Evelyn Agrodnia and Jane Flynn added a goal apiece and goalie Erin Winship stopped 32 shots. In the loss to Yarmouth/Freeport, the top team in the North Region, Hooper and Marina Bassett scored one goal apiece and Winship made 26 saves.

The Beacons will host No. 6 York (3-14-1) in the quarterfinals Wednesday at 4 p.m., at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland. The Beacons twice beat the Wildcats this year, 13-5 at home and 8-1 on the road.

If the Beacons advance, they’ll meet No. 2 Gorham (12-6) or No. 7 Greely (1-16-1) in the semifinals Saturday.

Girls’ basketball

Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team was on the brink of the first undefeated record in program history entering the final week of the regular season. Last week, the Stags improved to 17-0 after downing host Windham (60-31) and visiting Bangor (54-34). Against the Eagles, Maddie Fitzpatrick scored 20 points and Megan Dearborn added nine. In the win over the Rams, Ruth Boles had 19 points, while Dearborn and Fitzpatrick added 11 apiece.

“(I knew) my intensity needed to be up and I just wanted to help my team create that,” Boles said. “I definitely didn’t think it was going to be me. Maddie pulled us together at the beginning of the half and said, ‘We need to calm down, focus, just pass the ball.’ That just clicked and I just played.”

“Ruth’s been playing great all season and tonight she really stepped up big,” Fitzpatrick said. “She’s just a great rebounder. I think she’s the best rebounder in the state. She can just get in there, maneuver through defenders. Tonight was her night.”

Boys’ basketball

On the boys’ side, Cheverus and Portland were still battling for the No. 2 spot in Class AA North behind Windham when the week began.

The Stags were second at 14-3, the program’s best regular season record since the 2010-11 season. Last week, Cheverus lost at home to Windham (55-51) and downed visiting Bangor (75-38). In the loss, Leo McNabb scored a career-high 32 points, but the Stags couldn’t quite erase a 15-point second half deficit.

“If we didn’t have (Leo) it would have been a blowout,” Cheverus coach Richie Ashley said. “He played a whale of a game. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He played so hard on both ends of the floor. We ran some stuff for him and he brought us back in the game. We just didn’t have enough other pieces to help him out. We missed some opportunities. We didn’t shoot well. We missed easy baskets, couldn’t make 3s and didn’t shoot well from the free throw line.”

Against the Rams, McNabb led the way with 14 points, while Gio St. Onge added 13 and Quinton Eason and Rocco DePatsy finished with 10 apiece. The Stags host Portland in a pivotal regular season finale Thursday (see our website for game story). Win and the second seed will be theirs. Cheverus will host a Class AA North quarterfinal next week. The opponent, date and time will be determined.

“It’s anybody’s tournament,” Ashley said. “It’ll be who’s going to make shots and do what they need to do.”

Portland, meanwhile, was 13-3 and third in Class AA North heading into Tuesday’s home game versus Bangor, then Thursday’s showdown at Cheverus. Last week, the Bulldogs, the reigning regional champions, were shocked at Oxford Hills in overtime (60-59), then downed visiting Lewiston (58-47). In the loss, Portland erased an nine-point fourth quarter deficit but still fell short despite 24 points from Jeissey Khamis and 11 from Pepito Girumugisha. In the victory, Cordell Jones and Kevin Rugabirwa scored 13 points apiece and Khamis added a dozen. Prior to the game, longtime public address announcer Peter Gribbin was honored (see story). The Bulldogs will host a quarterfinal round tournament game next week. The opponent, date and time will be determined.

In Class AA South, Deering was 7-10 and fourth following a 68-48 home loss to South Portland, a 61-60 home loss to Scarborough and a 66-58 win at Thornton Academy last week. In the loss to the Red Riots, Evan Legassey had a team-high 15 points. Against the Red Storm, Tayshaun Cleveland had 18 points, Justin Jamal added 15 and Lagassey finished with 13, but the Rams fell just short.

“It was frustrating, but at the same time, there are lessons to be learned as we go into the tournament,” Deering coach Todd Wing said. “It’s a painful lesson, but it might be relevant later. We always battle. That’s what we do. We’ve put some victories together and we’ve had some games that were just outside our grasp.”

In the victory, Leagassey went off for 32 points and Jamal added 13.

“I had faith in my team,” Legassey said. “We’re all on the same page and we practice big moments every day. We needed this win. It feels amazing.”

“That might be a career high for him,” said Wing. “Evan’s taken hundreds of shots and he can fill it up. Part of that is him learning how to manufacture points, not just from behind the 3, but getting to the free throw line and getting into the lane. He’s really learned to be an efficient scorer.”

The Rams closed at Sanford Tuesday. If the Rams finish third (a faint possibility with a win at the Spartans) or fourth, they’ll host a quarterfinal round playoff game against either South Portland or Thornton Academy next week. Date and time to be announced.

“We’re hoping to get a home game,” said Legassey. “Playing in our home gym with our home crowd really gives us the energy we need. We’re OK on offense, but our defense needs to lock teams down. We can beat anyone and lose to anyone. I hope no one in the state of Maine sleeps on us because we’re coming. We’re going to make a lot of noise.”

“I think there’s a minute chance of getting number three, but without question we want to stay four,” Wing said. “We want that home gym advantage. We have the pieces. We’ve shown that in multiple games. It’s about putting those pieces together and solving the puzzle. It comes down to putting the ball in the ring.”

In Class C South, Waynflete was 12-4 and fifth following last week’s 78-56 home win over Old Orchard Beach. Jed Alsup led the way with 30 points, while Pauli Mukerangingo added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Ishan Reese finished with eight points and 11 assists. The Flyers were home versus Sacopee Valley Monday, then finish the regular season Wednesday at home versus undefeated St. Dom’s. Waynflete will either begin the playoffs with a home preliminary round playoff game next week, or a quarterfinal round contest at the Augusta Civic Center Monday, Feb. 19. The opponent is yet to be determined.

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. 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 all scored, but Cheverus/Yarmouth let a three-goal slip away. In the win over Kennebunk, McCoy scored two goals and Will 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.

The Portland/South Portland/Deering Beacons co-op squad was 7-6 and sixth in Class A following a 3-1 loss at reigning state champion Thornton Academy and a 4-2 home win over Old Town/Orono. In the victory, Hunter Temple scored twice, while Henry Cossaboom and Lucas Milliken also found the net. The Beacons host Scarborough Thursday (see our website for game story), then go to Biddeford Saturday.

Indoor track

The Southwestern Maine Activities Association’s indoor track championship meet will be held Saturday in Gorham.

Swimming

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

Skiing

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

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

Wrestling

The regional championship meet for wrestling is Saturday in Sanford. The state meet is Saturday, Feb. 17 in Augusta.

Cheering

The cheering regional championships were held Saturday in Augusta. Portland finished eighth and qualified. The Deering/Cheverus co-op squad was ninth and did not make the cut.

The state meet is Saturday at the Augusta Civic Center.

Press Herald staff writer Drew Bonifant 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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