The winter sports season is coming to a close and if the recent amount of snow has got you down, there’s some good news, as it has become apparent that the upcoming postseason is going to be more unpredictable than ever.

The girls’ hockey regular season has come to an end and the playoffs are set to begin. Boys’ and girls’ basketball wrap up by week’s end and the tournament starts next week. It won’t be long until the conference, regional and state championships are held for indoor track, swimming and skiing.

Here’s a look at where things stand now that we’ve flipped the calendar to February.

Girls’ hockey

Falmouth, Greely and Yarmouth/Freeport/Gray-New Gloucester’s girls’ hockey teams are all playoff-bound.

In the West Region, Falmouth was either the first or second seed (it hadn’t been decided at press time) after finishing 14-4. The Yachtsmen closed with wins over visiting defending state champion Scarborough (6-3), host Cheverus (5-1) and visiting York (5-1). Sarah Hutcheon had three goals versus the Red Storm. Camden Carrier had a hat trick against the Stags. Carrier and Hutcheon both scored twice in the win over the Wildcats. Falmouth is idle until the semifinals when it will play a yet to be determined foe.

In the East, Greely will be the third seed behind Lewiston and Edward Little/Leavitt after finishing the regular season 14-3-1. The Rangers closed with a 7-2 loss at Lewiston and an 11-0 home victory over Brunswick in a makeup game. Erin Molloy and Danita Storey both had three goals in the win. Greely hosted No. 6 Brunswick (3-15) in the quarterfinals. A win would have sent the Rangers to No. 2 EL/Leavitt (15-2-1) for the semifinals.

Advertisement

Yarmouth/Freeport/GNG wound up fourth at 10-7-1 after blanking host Winslow (3-0) and visiting Mt. Ararat (4-0). Emily Johnson scored twice against the Eagles to become the program’s all-time leading scorer with 99 points. Yamouth/Freeport/GNG hosted No. 5 St. Doms’ (7-11) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. A win would have sent it to top-ranked Lewiston (17-0-1) for the semifinals.

The semifinals are this weekend. The regional finals are Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Lewiston. The state final is Saturday, Feb. 14 in Lewiston.

Boys’ basketball

Yarmouth’s boys’ basketball team began the final week of the regular season holding off Morse and surging Cape Elizabeth for the top spot in the Western Class B Heal Points standings. Last week, the Clippers extended their win streak to five after holding off host York, 73-67, and downing visiting Lake Region, 87-55. Cody Cook had 17 points, Jordan Brown and Adam LaBrie both scored 16 and Cote Sawyer added 11 in the win over the Lakers. Yarmouth (13-3) was home against Gray-New Gloucester Tuesday and goes to Freeport Thursday.

Greely fell to 7-8 and ninth after dropping decisions last week at home to Fryeburg Academy (60-44) and Cape Elizabeth (61-41). Against the Raiders, Matt McDevitt had 12 points and Ryan Twitchell added 10. In the loss to the Capers, Gabe Axelsen led the way with 10 points. The Rangers hosted Wells Tuesday, go to Cape Elizabeth Thursday and close at York Friday.

Freeport was 0-16 and 15th in Western B after losses last week at Lake Region (76-46) and at home to Falmouth (76-33). Jack Davenport had 19 points versus the Lakers and had 11 (as did Brendan Qualls) against the Yachtsmen. The Falcons were at Kennebunk Tuesday and close at home against Yarmouth Thursday.

In Western A, Falmouth was third at 13-3 after defeating visiting Gray-New Gloucester (67-48) and host Freeport (76-33). The best news for the Yachtsmen last week was the return of junior standout Thomas Coyne, who missed most of the season with injury. In the win over the Patriots, Jack Simonds had 31 points, Colin Coyne added 16 and Luke Velas ended up with 12. Against the Falcons, Simonds had 29 points and Colin Coyne, Thomas Coyne and John Shaw all had nine. Falmouth was home against red-hot Cape Elizabeth Tuesday and closes at Kennebunk Thursday.

Advertisement

In Western D, North Yarmouth Academy began the week 7-9 and seventh after a 76-34 loss at Traip Academy Saturday. Jake Malcom had nine points in defeat. After going to Richmond Tuesday, the Panthers closed at home versus Seacoast Christian Thursday.

The tournament begins Tuesday with the preliminary round on the courts of the higher seeds. The Western A quarterfinal round is Friday, Feb. 13 and Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Portland Exposition Building. The Western B quarterfinal round is Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Expo. The Western D quarterfinal round is contested Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Augusta Civic Center.

Girls’ basketball

On the girls’ side, a special player on a dominant team celebrated a milestone last weekend. After handling host Fryeburg Academy (53-37) last Wednesday, Greely welcomed Cape Elizabeth Saturday and early in the contest, senior standout Ashley Storey eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark, becoming the first Ranger to do so. Storey had 26 points as the Rangers rolled, 63-30. Molly Chapin added 12 points and Moira Train finished with 10. Against the Raiders, Storey had 18 points. Greely was at Wells Tuesday, goes to Cape Elizabeth Thursday and closes at home versus York Friday.

Yarmouth was still chasing a playoff spot at press time, but was running out of time. Last week, the Clippers lost at home to York (46-35) and at defending Class B champion Lake Region (50-47). Against the Wildcats, Sara D’Appolonia and Johanna Hattan both had eight points. D’Appolonia had 14 points and Meredith Lane added 10 versus the Lakers. Yarmouth hosted Gray-New Gloucester in its home finale Tuesday, then finishes at Freeport Thursday. The Clippers (6-10 and 11th in Western B, where just 10 teams qualify) needed to beat the Patriots to get to the tournament.

Freeport fell to 1-15 and 15th after losses last week at home to Lake Region (54-42) and at Falmouth (49-29). Megan Cormier and Taylor Rinaldi both had eight points versus the Lakers. Bailey Karnes had a team-high eight points in the loss to the Yachtsmen. The Falcons were home against Kennebunk Tuesday and close at home versus Yarmouth Thursday.

In Western A, Falmouth was 10-6 and sixth in the Heals after a 60-36 home loss to Gray-New Gloucester and a 49-29 home win over Freeport. In the loss, Ally Hickey had 13 points. Hickey had 13 points against the Falcons, while Jess Burton added 11 and Adelaide Cooke finished with 10. The Yachtsmen were at Cape Elizabeth Tuesday and close at home versus Kennebunk Thursday.

Advertisement

In Western D, NYA was 3-13 and 15th in the standings (only 11 teams make the playoffs) following a 42-39 loss at Hyde and a 53-13 home loss to Traip Academy. The Panthers hosted Kents Hill Tuesday and close at home versus Seacoast Christian Thursday.

The tournament begins Wednesday of next week with the preliminary round on the courts of the higher seeds. The Western A quarterfinal round is Monday, Feb. 16 at the Portland Exposition Building. The Western B quarterfinal round is contested Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the Expo.

Boys’ hockey

Falmouth’s two-time defending Class A state champion boys’ hockey squad got back in the win column Wednesday with a 2-1 win at St. Dom’s to improve to 10-4 and first in Western A. The Yachtsmen had a pivotal game at Cheverus Thursday and welcomes Biddeford Saturday.

In Western B, Yarmouth was up to sixth at 5-7 after key wins last week over visiting Kennebunk (3-2, in overtime) and Gorham (2-1). Patrick Grant delivered the game-winner against Kennebunk. Grant and Sam Rouda scored against Gorham. The Clippers were at Maranacook Tuesday, play host to Waterville Saturday and go to York Monday.

Greely was 2-9-1 and seventh after a 0-0 home tie versus Kennebunk Saturday. The Rangers host Camden Hills Thursday, go to Messalonskee Saturday and play at Gorham Monday.

Indoor track

The final Western Maine Conference regular season meet was lost to bad weather.

Advertisement

The WMC championship meet will be held Friday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

The Class A state meet is Monday, Feb. 16 at USM. The Class B state meet is the same day at Bates College in Lewiston.

Swimming

The weather wreaked havoc on the final weekend of the swim season, but Greely’s girls’ team beat Scarborough in its finale last weekend, 61-33. The boys lost to the Red Storm in their finale, 65-28.

The North Division Southwesterns meet is Friday and Saturday in Westbrook.

The Class B boys’ state final is Saturday, Feb. 14 at the University of Maine in Orono. The Class B girls compete for state glory Monday, Feb. 16 in Orono, while the Class A boys’ state meet will be held at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. The Class A girls’ state meet is Tuesday, Feb. 17, also in Brunswick.

Skiing

Several local Nordic ski teams took part in a freestyle race last Wednesday at Starks Hill. Falmouth’s boys were first among eight teams, while Freeport placed third, Merriconeag was fourth and Yarmouth came in fifth. The Yachtsmen were led by Daniel Schmidt (20 minutes, 1 second) and Gabe Mahoney (20:26), who were second and third individually. John Lane led the Clippers with a fourth-place showing (20:32). Tucker Pierce (21:20) came in sixth to pace Merriconeag. The Falcons’ top finisher was Bennett Hight (eighth, 22:23). In the girls’ competition, Merriconeag was first, Yarmouth second, Freeport third and Falmouth fourth. Samantha Pierce (24:59) and Fiona Ahearne (26:21) were fourth and fifth individually to led Merriconeag. The Clippers were paced by Caitlin Teare (sixth, 26:46). The Falcons featured runner-up Lily Johnston (24:11) and third-place finisher Elizabeth Martin (24:59). The Yachtsmen’s top finisher was Anna Morin (ninth, 28:02).

Advertisement

On the Alpine side, Falmouth, Freeport and Greely joined Cheverus and Scarborough in a Western Maine Conference/Southwestern Maine Activities Association slalom meet last week where the Falcons boys were first and the Yachtsmen girls also took top honors. In the boys’ meet, Freeport was paced by individual runner-up Blake Enrico (who had a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 28.6 seconds). Runner-up Greely’s top finisher was Axel Lindsay (seventh, 1:39.05). On the girls’ side, Falmouth was led by individual champion Krysia Lesniak (1:34.89). Runner-up Greely’s top finisher was runner-up Kelsey Otley (1:39.23). Wynne Cushing (10th, 1:53.30) led Freeport.

The state meets are Feb. 16-18.

Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter:@foresports.

Sidebar Elements


Greely’s Caleb Normandeau drives to the basket during Saturday’s 61-41 home loss to Cape Elizabeth.

Greely’s Matt McDevitt blows past a Cape Elizabeth defender during Saturday’s setback.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.