February is here and it’s time to crown champions- Northern edition

The postseason is upon us.

By the time this article hits the streets, the girls’ hockey playoffs will be underway and there is much, much more to follow in the weeks to come.

Here’s a glimpse at where things stand now that February is here:

Girls’ hockey

The girls’ hockey postseason is short and sweet and a pair of local teams will take part in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

In the North Region, Yarmouth/Freeport finished with the number four seed after a 9-9 regular season and hosts No. 5 Winslow (9-8-1). The teams split in the regular season, each winning on the road (Winslow, 2-1, in Yarmouth in the season opener Nov. 23 and Yarmouth, 3-0, Dec. 27). The teams met in last year’s quarterfinals, a 5-2 Yarmouth/Freeport win.

If Yarmouth/Freeport advances to the semifinals, it will go to top-ranked Lewiston (17-0-1) Friday or Saturday. The Blue Devils won both meetings this year, 5-0, Dec. 7 in Yarmouth and 6-0 Jan. 8 in Lewiston. The Blue Devils have taken two of the prior playoff meetings, with an 8-0 win in last year’s semifinals the most recent.

Greely finished 4-13-1 and seventh in the North Region, but just six teams made the playoffs. The Rangers closed with losses to visiting Edward Little (8-0) and host Falmouth (4-0).

In the South Region, Falmouth finished 5-13 and sixth after beating visiting Greely (4-0) and falling at home to York (2-0) last week. Kate Kinley had a hat trick against the Rangers. The Yachtsmen go to No. 3 Cheverus (13-5), the defending state champion, for the quarterfinals. Cheverus won the regular season encounter in overtime, 2-1, Jan. 14 in Falmouth. The teams split two prior playoff meetings.

If the Yachtsmen spring the upset, they’ll go to No. 2 Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland (12-5-1) for the semifinals Saturday. Falmouth lost both meetings with the co-op squad this year, 7-0 in Portland Dec. 4 and 6-1 at home Dec 18. The teams split two prior playoff meetings.

Looking ahead, the regional finals are Wednesday of next week and the state final is Feb. 15 in Lewiston.

Boys’ basketball

Three local boys’ basketball teams were playoff shoo-ins entering the final week of the regular season, while two others had work to do.

Falmouth and three-time defending state champion Greely are once again very much in the Class A South title mix.

The Yachtsmen improved to 13-3 and third in the region after downing host Brunswick, 57-29, last Tuesday. Mike Simonds led the way with 15 points, Brady Coyne added a dozen and Emmett Hamilton had 11. After hosting Leavitt Tuesday, Falmouth closes the regular season at Marshwood Thursday.

Greely was also 13-3 at the start of the week after extending its win streak to five games last week by downing visiting Lake Region (79-54) and host Gray-New Gloucester (71-63). Against the Lakers, Logan Bagshaw had 27 points and Nick Butler added 22. In the win over the Patriots, Bagshaw and Butler scored 25 points apiece. The Rangers (fourth in Class A South) had a big showdown at top-ranked, undefeated York Tuesday and close at home versus Fryeburg Academy Thursday.

In Class C South, North Yarmouth Academy was 12-4 and sixth after an eventful 3-0 week. The Panthers first held off visiting Traip Academy (56-50), as senior star Te’Andre King scored 27 points to eclipse Tim DeLuca and become the program’s all-time leading scorer (see story). Logan Welch added 12 points and Chris Hamblett finished with 10. NYA then downed visiting Temple Academy (75-46) and host Seacoast Christian (64-22). Against Temple, King had 27 points and 12 rebounds. In the win over Seacoast, King scored 19 points, Hamblett added 16 and Welch finished with 14. The Panthers, who are hoping to finish in the top four in the region to avoid a preliminary round game, hosted Old Orchard Beach Tuesday and close at Sacopee Valley Thursday.

In Class B South, Freeport and Yarmouth were on the outside looking in at press time.

The Falcons were 9-7 and ninth in the region, but just eight teams make the playoffs. Last week, Freeport lost at home to York (66-51), then won at Yarmouth (70-49). Colby Arsenault had 15 points and Blaine Cockburn 14 in the setback. The Falcons had a key showdown Tuesday at home versus Wells, then close with another critical contest at Lake Region Thursday.

Yarmouth was 6-10 and 11th in Class B South after a 39-28 win at Cape Elizabeth and a 70-49 home loss to Freeport. In the victory, Matt Waeldner had 15 points and Peter Psyhogeos added 10. The Clippers hosted Poland Tuesday and close at Wells Thursday.

Girls’ basketball

Yarmouth’s Avery May goes up for a shot as Freeport’s Rachel Wall defends during the Falcons’ 52-42 victory Saturday. Bob Conn / Times Record

On the girls’ side, two-time defending state champion Greely will be the top seed for the upcoming Class A South tournament. Last week, the Rangers downed host Lake Region (63-45) and visiting Gray-New Gloucester (46-42) to improve to 15-1. In the win over the Lakers, Brooke Obar had 24 points and Camille Clement added 18. Against the Patriots, Clement led the way with 24 points and Obar added 11. After hosting York on Senior Night Tuesday (see our website for game story), Greely finishes the regular season at Fryeburg Academy Thursday.

Falmouth fell to 9-7 and seventh in Class A South after a 46-41 home loss to Brunswick last week. Sloane Ginevan led the Yachtsmen with 16 points. Falmouth was at Leavitt Tuesday and closes at home versus Marshwood Thursday.

In Class B South, Freeport was fighting to hold off Oak Hill for the top at press time. Last week, the Falcons improved to 13-3 by downing host York (56-42) and visiting Yarmouth (52-42) to extend their win streak to nine games. Against the Wildcats, Rachel Wall had a career-high 27 points and Caroline Smith added 14.

“We have a lot of height on our team and our teammates were really good at getting the ball inside tonight and that was pretty helpful,” said Wall. “We just ran everything smoothly, like it was supposed to, and we executed great plays.”

“It was an exciting one for sure,” said Smith. “We knew it was going to be a battle. We were lucky to win by that margin.”

“That’s the best we’ve played in a long time,” added Freeport coach Seth Farrington. “(The girls have) been in big games, won big games, lost some big games. They’re not afraid of the moment.”

In the win over the Clippers, on Senior Day, the Falcons erased a 10-point first half deficit and pulled away late behind 21 points from Wall, 13 from Smith and 10 from Catriona Gould.

“We stayed mentally engaged, worked hard and stayed positive,” Gould said. “(The seniors have) all played all four years together, some of us together since fourth grade, and getting to play together here today was really special, especially with the community behind us. I love playing with all of them, so today was a little bittersweet.”

“This senior class has won 52 (regular season) games in four years and the next closest class was 1978 with (39),” said Farrington. “This team’s won a lot. We’ve become a successful program because multiple kids have contributed.”

Freeport was at Wells Tuesday and closes at Lake Region Thursday.

Yarmouth downed visiting Cape Elizabeth, 37-30, last Tuesday, then fell to 9-7 and fifth in Class B South after Saturday’s 52-42 loss at Freeport. In the win, Katelyn D’Appolonia had a team-high 12 points. Against the Falcons, D’Appolonia and Margaret McNeil both had 10 points.

“I’m not disappointed because I thought we played hard most of the game,” said Clippers’ coach Dave Cousins. “We’ll get in a groove and we’ll score easily, then we get into situations where we press too much. We have to find other ways to get to the rim when our outside shot isn’t falling. The effort was good down the stretch, but a couple tough calls hurt us.”

Yarmouth was at Poland Tuesday and finishes home Thursday versus Wells.

In Class C South, NYA had its six-game win streak snapped last Tuesday, 34-31, by visiting Traip Academy, then improved to 14-2 and third after downing visiting Temple Academy (71-24) and host Seacoast Christian (54-33). Anna Drummond had 11 points in the loss. Against Temple, Katie Larson led the way with 13 points. The Panthers hosted Old Orchard Beach Tuesday and close at Sacopee Valley Thursday.

Boys’ hockey

Falmouth freshman Mitchell Ham watches the puck fly after taking a shot during the Yachtsmen’s 4-1 loss at Portland/Deering Saturday. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

Greely’s defending Class B state champion boys’ hockey team improved to 9-2-1 and first in Class B South after wins last week at Leavitt (8-2) and at home over Gorham (4-1). Ryan Moore had a hat trick in the first victory. The Rangers hosted Thornton Academy Tuesday, go to defending Class A champion St. Dom’s Wednesday and play at Gorham Saturday.

Yarmouth fell to 7-5 and fourth in Class B South after 3-1 losses last week at Gorham and St. Dom’s. Mark Harlow scored versus the Rams. Isaac Grondin had the lone goal against the Saints. The Clippers are at Cape Elizabeth Thursday, welcome Edward Little Saturday and play at Mt. Ararat/Morse/Lisbon Tuesday of next week.

In Class A, the South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op team was 7-4-1 and fourth in Class A at press time after wins last week at Windham (5-2) and Marshwood (6-1). After going to Edward Little Wednesday, the squad is home versus Lake Region Saturday.

Falmouth was 6-6-1 and sixth in Class A after beating visiting Thornton Academy (5-2) and losing at Portland/Deering (4-1) last week. In the loss, the Yachtsmen’s first to the Bulldogs in 17 tries, dating to 2004, Aaron Higgins had the lone goal.

“We came in after a big win (over Thornton Academy Thursday) and came in here and didn’t play a game with a sense of urgency to put the puck in the net,” said Falmouth coach Deron Barton. “When you don’t come in 100 percent, you get behind, lose momentum, give the opposing goalie more confidence, the puck doesn’t go in and there’s an invisible glass behind their net.”

The Yachtsmen host Portland/Deering Saturday, then welcome Portland/Deering Tuesday of next week.

Indoor track

Freeport’s Lucy Bradford wins the junior 55 hurdles at last weekend’s regular season-ending meet. John Jensenius / For The Forecaster

The final regular season SMAA and WMC indoor track meets were held Saturday at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.

In a seven-team WMC meet, the Yarmouth boys were second behind Gray-New Gloucester and Freeport placed fourth. In the girls’ competition, won by Cape Elizabeth, the Falcons came in third, while the Clippers were fourth.

Greely’s boys and girls were each third at an eight-team WMC meet (York was first in the boys’ and girls’ competitions). NYA’s boys finished sixth and the girls placed seventh.

Falmouth’s girls were third and the boys fourth at a six-team SMAA meet (Deering’s boys and Bonny Eagle’s girls came in first).

The SMAA and WMC championship meets are both Saturday in Gorham.

The Class B state meet is Feb. 15 at Bates College in Lewiston.

The Class A state meet is Feb. 17 in Gorham.

Swimming

In the pool last weekend, Falmouth swept Waynflete, as the boys prevailed, 109-55, and the girls were victorious, 119-29.

Yarmouth was swept by Kennebunk, with the boys losing, 88-53, and the girls falling, 118-61.

The Southwestern championship meets will be held later this week.

The Class A boys’ state meet is Feb. 15 at the University of Maine in Orono. The Class A girls’ meet is Feb. 17 in Orono, while the Class B girls’ state meet is the same day at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. The Class B boys’ meet is Feb. 18 in Brunswick.

Skiing

Local Nordic skiers took part in a freestyle race last Wednesday at Stark’s Hill in Fryeburg.

Falmouth’s boys were first among 13 teams, as Vance Boyd had the fourth-best individual time (13 minutes, 10.7 seconds). Freeport placed second, Maine Coast Waldorf third, Yarmouth fourth and Greely 12th.

In the girls’ competition, Yarmouth was first and was paced by Annie Bergeron, who had the sixth-best individual time (14:57.4). Falmouth had the top individual (Eva Clement, 14:29.4) and placed fourth as a team. Freeport came in sixth, Greely was eighth and MCW 10th.

On the Alpine side, in a six-team giant slalom meet last week at Shawnee Peak, Falmouth’s boys and girls’ teams each came in first. A.J. Noyes was the top male individual with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 2.30 seconds.

The SMAA and WMC conference ski meets will be held this week.

The Class A state Alpine meet is Feb. 13-14. The Class A and C Nordic state meets will be held Feb. 17-18.

Portland Press Herald staff writer Mike Lowe contributed to this story.