As Cheverus broke the mold last season, winning its first ever Class A title, so may another team this season. It’s not going to be an easy road, though.
The Stags are an early favorite to repeat, but the onus here will be on the defense. With such an explosive offense in recent years, some may have forgotten how good the blueliners have been.
To put it mildly, they were good. Real good.
A whole new back end, including a new goaltender, will leave Cheverus with some growing pains, but with such a powerful offense (when it wants to be), the Stags start as the favorite.
Five teams follow with as good a chance as any other to win the title. Lewiston, St. Dom’s, Brunswick, Scarborough and Thornton Academy will all be very tough this season.
The Blue Devils have a good mix of veterans and youngsters and can wear you down with three solid lines, but will need to stay out of the penalty box to have any measure of success.
Goaltender Brian Nason will need to be strong.
At St. Dom’s, the Saints have a great first line of Tom Gosselin, Tyler Martin and Alex Tyburski, and and solid goaltending in Brady Blackman, but will need to develop a solid third line and make some gains on the blue line if they hope to skate away with the hardware.
Brunswick may be the spoiler, and of all of the teams without a title, the Dragons have the best chance to win their first. Three solid, very fast lines and two goaltenders pushing each other every day is a solid formula for success.
Scarborough and Thornton have been close in recent years and have solid depth to make a run this year.
Teams on the cusp that may surprise some teams, and may even crawl into the top end of the Eastern Class A playoff picture are Waterville and Messalonskee.
In year three of a rebuild, the Purple Panthers didn’t lose much to graduation, while Messalonskee’s top line and goaltender may rival any of the others in the state.
Look for Edward Little to surprise some teams thinking that the Eddies will be a walkover, but it doesn’t look like they are quite ready to challenge for any trophies or plaques.
Cam Robichaud’s return helps the team, but only if he stays out of the penalty box. Corey Larue and Kevin Smith should also have solid years up front.
Portland lost a lot, but return All-State netminder Ray Quatrucci.
Gray-New Gloucester/Poland will benefit in their rebuilding year by a softer schedule thanks to the new scheduling allowances, which should help ease the transition.
Class B
The teams in Class B West are going to be sick of each other by the time the year is over. With just seven teams, the competition for a playoff berth should be intense.
Cape Elizabeth will be down from last year, but that only means that the Capers will be somewhat mortal.
Look for York and Greely to try and finally break through after close calls in each of the past two seasons.
Leavitt will likely battle Yarmouth for a spot in the top four this season.
The Hornets have two solid scoring lines up front, a solid pair of defensemen and an adequate goaltender.
Win-Dale and Maranacook will be missing most of their offense from last year, but Win-Dale gets the nod here thanks to a few more returning players and a potential all-conference netminder in Tavis Hasenfus.
In Class B East, Winslow is once again loaded, but will have to contend with a reloaded Orono team still hurting after a loss two years ago in the title game against Fryeburg.
Presque Isle is always a strong team, and Houlton-Hodgdon returns several top players and could make a run of their own in the state tournament.
Gardiner is down this season, but the Tigers always manage to play tough against the tough teams, and some surprise teams in the East might include Foxcroft Academy and John Bapst.
-Justin Pelletier
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