We’re on to February and the winter sports season is entering its final phase.
The postseason.
Girls’ hockey will kick things off this week, while the basketball regular campaign comes to a close.
Indoor track, swimming and skiing are closing in on their championship meets as well.
Here’s a glimpse of where things stand for local squads:
Girls hockey
Yarmouth/Freeport’s Adelaide Strout races around the net during last week’s loss at Cheverus. Hoffer photo.
The Yarmouth/Freeport co-op girls hockey team has been to two straight state games, losing both to Cheverus, and the squad is poised at another run at that elusive championship. Yarmouth/Freeport earned the top seed in the North Region after a 14-3-1 regular season, but after a 5-1 home win over Penobscot last Tuesday, the campaign ended with losses at Cheverus (1-0) and at home to Brunswick (3-2). In the victory, Drea Rideout scored twice, Adelaide Strout added a goal and two assists and Emma White and Celia Zinman also found the net. Yarmouth/Freeport mustered 26 shots against the Stags, but for the second time this season and third straight meeting, was shut out by its rival.
“It’s not really frustrating,” Yarmouth/Freeport coach Dave Intraversato said. “We’re getting our chances. We’ll put one in. With us, if we score one, we’ll score multiple. Tonight, we tried to get out with no injuries. The game was harder than I thought it would be. Both teams were working hard. It was like a state game out there. This week was tough. It was a good tune-up for us.”
Strout and Zinman each scored against the Dragons, but Yarmouth/Freeport couldn’t hold a 2-0 lead.
Yarmouth/Freeport has a bye into the North Region semifinals and will host either Penobscot (9-7-2) or Lewiston (10-8) Saturday.
“We have 14 wins, so I think we’re proven,” said Intraversato. “We just have to play clean hockey and stay out of the (penalty) box. We’re making too many mistakes and we need to clean that up.”
In the South Region, the Falmouth/Scarborough co-op squad finished the regular season 5-13 after last week’s 6-3 home loss to Biddeford. Falmouth/Scarborough faces Biddeford again in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Greely finished 0-18 after a 3-2 overtime home loss to York, a 6-0 setback at Brunswick and a 6-1 home loss to Gorham. Against the Wildcats, Charlie Louie made 28 saves and Tacie Dougan and Zoe Trepaney scored a goal apiece. Louie made 34 saves in the loss to the Dragons. Against the Rams, Trepaney scored the goal and Louie made 46 saves. The Rangers go to No. 2 Portland/South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Deering/Waynflete (13-5) for the quarterfinals Wednesday.
The regional finals for girls hockey will be contested next Wednesday in Auburn. The state final is Saturday, Feb. 15 in Portland.
Boys basketball
Falmouth, Greely and Yarmouth’s boys basketball teams are tournament-bound, while Freeport still had some work to do at press time.
In Class A South, the Navigators appear locked in to the No. 2 spot behind Noble. Falmouth took a 13-3 record into Tuesday’s home game versus Biddeford. The Navigators close the regular season Thursday at home against Scarborough.
Greely dropped to 9-8 and fifth in Class A South following losses at Brunswick (48-44) and Gray-New Gloucester (69-56). Against the Dragons, Luca Cimino had 13 points and Kade Ippolito added 12, but the Rangers let a 16-point lead slip away. In the loss to the Patriots, Greely cut a 34-point fourth quarter deficit to nine, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Ippolito scored 14 points and Rocky Axelsen finished with 12, but they were no match for Gray-New Gloucester’s John Patenaude, who went off for 40 points.
“We can’t wait until the fourth quarter to play like we did,” Rangers coach Travis Seaver said. “That’s how we can play and that’s how we play in spurts. We just can’t pick and choose when to play that way. They came out strong in the first quarter. We got punched in the face first and we didn’t punch back. Johnny had a great game. We didn’t put pressure on them. We didn’t dictate what we were doing.”
Greely wrapped up the regular season at home versus Yarmouth Tuesday.
“Everything we’re doing wrong is fixable,” Seaver said. “I still think our defense can be top-notch. We want to go into the tournament on a positive note. We’ll put everything we can into Tuesday, then we’ll get ready for the Expo. I believe we can play with anyone, but unfortunately, we can also lose to anyone. That margin of error is pretty small.”
Freeport was 4-13 and 11th in Class A South entering its finale at Mt. Ararat Tuesday, but only nine teams make the cut in the region. Last week, the Falcons lost at home to Lake Region (66-50). Conner Smith had a team-high 15 points in defeat.
In Class B South, Yarmouth was 9-7 and sixth at press time (the top six teams avoid a preliminary round game). Saturday, the Clippers fell at undefeated York, 62-40. Evan Oranellas had a team-high 16 points. Yarmouth went to Greely Tuesday and finishes the regular season at Wells Thursday.
In Class C South, North Yarmouth Academy fell to 0-16 and 16th (11 teams qualify for the tournament) after losses to visiting Lisbon (64-50), St. Dom’s (76-19) and Traip Academy (82-37). Against the Greyhounds, Mansuk Loboka had 20 points, while Gage Kloza and Liam O’Shea each added 11. In the loss to the Saints, Lado Loboka led the way with 10 points. The Panthers hosted Sacopee Valley Tuesday and close at Old Orchard Beach Thursday.
Girls basketball
On the girls’ side, Freeport was 11-6 and fourth in the Class A South Heals entering Tuesday’s home finale versus Mt. Ararat (see our website for game story). Last week, the Falcons won at Falmouth (83-27) and Lake Region (52-45). Against the Navigators, Maddie Cormier led the way with 22 points, while Ky Kennedy added 15, Emily Groves finished with 14, Abby Giroux had 13 and Sydney Gelhart tallied 12. In the win over the the Lakers, Gelhar and Giroux each had 15 points.
Greely’s Lily Wawrzecki-Stein fends off a Gray-New Gloucester defender during Saturday’s loss. Hoffer photo.
Greely fell to 6-11 and eighth in Class A South after a 39-24 home loss to reigning state champion Brunswick and a 63-33 home setback to Gray-New Gloucester. In the loss to the Patriots, Avery Bush had 11 points and Hannah Hussey added nine.
“We’ve had a lot of games like this one today,” Rangers coach Todd Flaherty said. “We look at it like we can’t practice like that. We get better by playing a good team.”
“I feel like we’re probably about where we should be,” said Flaherty. “We’d probably like another win or two. We want to get better and go in and play our best game our first game of the tournament. We still hope to climb into seventh, but seventh or eighth, it won’t be a picnic. We’ll stay together and we’ll be fine.”
Falmouth fell to 1-15 and 11th in Class A South (where only eight teams make the playoffs) after an 83-27 home loss to Freeport last week. Violet Meyer had a team-high 13 points. The Navigators went to Windham Tuesday and finish the season at Scarborough Thursday.
Yarmouth’s Giselle Jabar attempts to block a shot during last week’s loss at Gray-New Gloucester. Andree Kehn / Sun Journal
In Class B South, Yarmouth was 7-9 and eighth (10 teams make the tournament) following two losses last week to Gray-New Gloucester (55-21 in Gray and 34-24 at home) and a 47-37 setback at York. Rory Tompkins had eight points in the loss at the Patriots. Against the Wildcats, Marian Pitney had a team-high 14 points and Tompkins added 10. The Clippers hosted Greely Tuesday and finish at home versus Wells Thursday. Yarmouth will take part in a preliminary round tournament game next week. The foe and location are unknown.
In Class C South, NYA was 10-6 and eighth after sandwiching wins last week at Lisbon (48-24) and Traip Academy (53-37) around a 46-32 home victory over St. Dom’s. Ella Giguere scored 17 points in the win over the Greyhounds. Against the Rangers, Giguere led the way with 18 points and Ava Wilkinson added 10. The Panthers were at Sacopee Valley Tuesday and close Thursday at home versus Old Orchard Beach. They will take part in a preliminary round playoff game next week. The foe and location are unknown.
Boys hockey
Greely’s Finn Craven races up the ice during last week’s win at Cape Elizabeth. Hoffer photo.
Greely’s boys hockey team is battling to make the playoffs in Class B South. Last week, the Rangers were blanked at York (3-0), edged host Cape Elizabeth (1-0), then shut out visiting Gorham (1-0) to improve to 3-11 and seventh in the region (eight teams make the postseason). In the win over the Capers, goalie Tucker Goddu stopped 19 shots and Noah Baril scored his first varsity goal, from Mitchell Lambert, to produce the margin of victory.
“It was an insane experience,” said Baril. “I had an amazing pass and I was just able to get the puck in the back of the net. I was just yelling to (Mitchell) and he made a pass through three guys and I just had to put it in.”
“This was huge,” said Goddu. “A shutout is a team effort, not one person. We played an amazing game. I was nervous, but we persevered.”
“We had to have a little bit of grit to prevail,” added longtime Greely coach Barry Mothes. “That was kind of a desperate hockey game. I give (Cape) credit for fighting hard. We’re both at the lower end of the league and we’re trying to find ways to win.”
The Rangers host Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester Saturday.
“I feel like can build momentum off this,” said Goddu. “Playoffs are a lot of what-ifs. We can’t worry about that right now. What we do worry about is how we’re going to play over the next couple of weeks. I hope we can continue this.”
The Cheverus/Yarmouth boys hockey co-op team, the reigning Class B state champion, was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten last Thursday with a 3-0 loss at Kennebunk/Wells. Saturday, the squad improved to 12-1 and first in Class B South after surviving Cape Elizabeth,1 -0, in overtime. Brayden Fitch made 19 saves in the setback. Colby Carnes scored the winner against the Capers. Cheverus/Yarmouth has a showdown of reigning champions at Lewiston Wednesday and welcomes Gorham Saturday.
In Class A, Falmouth was 10-2-1 and third after a 3-2 home win over Marshwood and Saturday’s 2-2 tie at Thornton Academy. In the victory, the Navigators erased a two-goal deficit. Jacoby Porter, Cale Hanson and Rowan Hinkley scored the goals, with Hinkley producing the winner. Goalie Dan Rawding made 21 saves. Falmouth goes to Edward Little Wednesday and hosts Lewiston Saturday. Those two teams handed the Navigators their lone losses this season.
Indoor track
Falmouth’s boys finished third and the girls were fourth at a four-team league meet last weekend. Gorham, Windham and Scarborough also took part.
Next up for the Navigators is the Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship meet Saturday.
The Western Maine Conference championship meet is Friday.
Swimming
The South and North Division Southwesterns championship meets are being held this week in Cape Elizabeth.
Skiing
The WMC Nordic championships are this week, with the classic race Wednesday and the freestyle competition Saturday.
The WMC Alpine championship meet is Tuesday of next week.
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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