Sam Frechette of Lewiston picks up a pass to a Blue Devil teammate while being pressured by Colin Doherty of Cheverus High School during the first period in Lewiston earlier this season. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal File Photo)
Despite roster turnover going into the season and dealing with an influx of injuries during the season Lewiston was still the class of Class A North boys’ hockey this season.
The Blue Devils (16-2), who enter the postseason as the No. 1 team in the region and who are going for their third straight regional and state championships, went undefeated against their A North counterparts this year. That includes two wins each against No. 2 Edward Little and No. 2 St. Dominic Academy. The only teams to beat the Blue Devils this season were Class A South’s top two seeds, in Cheverus and Falmouth.
A North
The Class A North tournament will run through Lewiston, both figuratively and literally. After the quarterfinal round both the semifinals and regional final will be played at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
The Blue Devils receive a bye to the semifinals, where they will await the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Bangor (11-7) and No. 5 Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (8-8-2). The Bangor Rams won the lone regular-season meeting on the road in overtime.
The other quarterfinal pits Norway Savings Bank Arena co-tenants St. Dom’s (8-8-2, No. 3 seed) and Poland/Leavitt/Oak Hill/Gray-New Gloucester (11-7, No. 6 seed). The Saints routed the Kings midway through the season. The winner of that game will face another team that calls Norway Savings Bank Arena home, the second-seeded Red Eddies (11-6-1). EL, in its first season under head coach Norm Gagne, split with the Saints and twice narrowly beat the Kings.
Lewiston went 8-0 against the other playoff teams in A North, though they didn’t face the Kings. The Blue Devils beat those opponents by a combined score of 35-8.
A South
The South region in Class A has been owned by Falmouth and Scarborough for the past five years, but there could be a new regional champion this season. Cheverus, which hasn’t been to the state championship since winning the second of back-to-back Class A titles in 2006, secured the top spot in the region with a 13-4-1 record.
The Stags were one of two teams to beat Lewiston, though they were 0-2 against No. 2 Falmouth (12-5-1). The Yachtsmen, defending regional champs, split with the Blue Devils, but also lost twice to No. 3 Biddeford.
The top two teams get to skip the quarterfinal round and go straight to the semis. Biddeford (12-6) will have to face No. 6 South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete (10-7-1) to get there. The Tigers won the lone meeting. The winner of the playoff matchup will face Falmouth in a regional semifinal.
No. 4 Portland/Deering (8-8-2) will host No. 5 Thornton Academy (11-7) in the other quarterfinal. The teams split a pair of one-goal games during the regular season. The winner of the rubber match will face Cheverus in the semis. The Stags went 2-1-1 against their potential opponents, with two of the games going to overtime.
The semifinals and regional final in Class A South will also be played at the Colisee.
B North
Old Town/Orono dominated its region this year to earn the No. 1 seed in B North. The Black Bears went 17-1, with the only loss coming in overtime to No. 6 Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Katahdin.
The Black Bears wouldn’t have to face the Blackhawks (8-9-1) again until a potential regional semifinal. There is plenty left to be decided before then, however.
Like the other regions, the top six teams in B North qualified for the playoffs, with the top two seeds skipping straight to the semifinals, which will be played at Colby College. The regional final will be played at Alfond Arena on the campus of University of Maine at Orono.
The Black Bears will face either the Blackhawks or No. 4 Hampden Academy (12-6) in one of the semifinals. The other will pit No. 2 Waterville/Winslow (11-7) against either No. 3 Presque Isle (12-6) or No. 6 Camden Hills (8-10).
B South
The Class B champion hasn’t come out of the South region since 2013. That was second of back-to-back state titles for Greely.
The Rangers will look to break the North’s four-year stranglehold and get back to the state title game as the No. 1 seed in the South.
Greely went 15-2-1, with its lone losses against No. 2 Cape Elizabeth (14-2-2) in overtime against Class A Scarborough. The tie came in the regular-season finale against St. Dom’s.
The Rangers’ postseason will begin with a semifinal against the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Yarmouth (10-6-2) and No. 5 Gorham (9-9). The Capers will face the winner of the other quarterfinal, which pits No. 3 York (13-5) — last year’s regional champ — against No. 6 Brunswick (9-9).
The semifinals and regional final will all be played at the Colisee.
The venerable arena will host both the Class A and Class B state championships on Saturday, March 10.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
Aaron Perkins, left, and Marius Morneau, right, of Edward Little High School compete for the puck with Nate Marcotte of Poland/Leavitt/Gray-New Gloucester/Oak Hill during the first period in Auburn earlier this season. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal File Photo)
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