With less than a week left in the regular season, the races for playoff berths are just about done but there’s still a lot of jockeying for position.

Top spots appear to have been locked up by Thornton Academy (Western Class A) and Brewer (Eastern Class B), but teams are still competing for the top seed in Eastern Class A and Western Class B.

In Western Class B, Greely and Cape Elizabeth are nearly neck-and-neck for the top spot. Each has three games left, and the top slot in the regional tournament could come down to the final day of the regular season next Wednesday when they play each other.

In Eastern Class A, Bangor and Lewiston are competing for the top spot in that regional tournament. The Blue Devils played Thornton on Wednesday night, and a victory in that game could propel the Devils into the top spot. Bangor plays cross-river rival Brewer tonight in Orono, and a win could nail down the top seed in the regional for the Rams.

In Western Class A, Thornton Academy, Scarborough, Falmouth, Marshwood-Traip Academy, Kennebunk, Cheverus, Biddeford and Bonny Eagle appear to have secured playoff berths but not necessarily in that order. Fryeburg Academy-Lake Region and Massabesic-Old Orchard Beach are still in contention for the one remaining spot in the regional tournament.

In Eastern Class A, Bangor, Lewiston, St. Dominic, Hall-Dale-Winthrop-Maranacook, Cony, Edward Little, Brunswick and Skowhegan appear to have nailed down tournament berths. Again, the seeding order could change in the next seven days.

In Western Class B, Greely, Cape Elizabeth, York, Yarmouth and Camden Hills all seem on the verge of qualifying for playoff berths.

In Eastern Class B, it looks like Brewer, Messalonskee, Presque Isle, Hampden Academy, Old Town, John Bapst and Orono are in.

The state tournaments start Feb. 25 with the prelims and end March 10 with the championship games in Lewiston.

THE WESTERN Class B Hockey Coaches Association recently named its players of the month for January.

For the second consecutive month, Cape Elizabeth senior Kirby Saari was named goaltender of the month. He posted a 4-2 record while compiling a 2.00 goals-against average.

Conor O’Brien, a senior from York, was named defenseman of the month. The Western Class B defenseman of the year for the 2010-11 season, O’Brien had three goals and 10 assists, and a plus-16 rating as the Wildcats went 3-3.

Alex Kurtz, a senior from Yarmouth, was named forward of the month after he had 14 goals and 10 assists to help the Clippers go 5-1 in January. For the second consecutive month, Greely freshman Mitchel Donovan was named rookie of the month with six goals and four assists in seven games.

SCARBOROUGH SHOULD get a lift when center Jack Gross returns to the lineup tonight against Portland. Gross, who led the team in goals last year as a freshman, has spent the first nine weeks of the season recovering from shoulder surgery.

“With him out, I was worried about how we were going to score goals,” Scarborough Coach Norm Gagne said, “but everybody else picked up the slack.”

With three games left in the regular season, the Red Storm are 11-2-2.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH