The Cape Elizabeth High School ice hockey team looks to make it three straight Class B state championships as they begin the regular season at Lake Region on Saturday afternoon. Cape has won three of the last four Class B state titles and four of the last eight as they continue their successful run as one of the top teams in Maine.
The Capers get an early indication of exactly how good they are when they host an always tough Falmouth team on Tuesday followed by the two-time defending Class A state champs from Cheverus one week from today.
And the Cape boys and girls swim teams always have their sights set on a state championship as they begin their regular seasons on Friday with a home meet against McAuley.
Varsity boys basketball
Coach: Jim Ray
Last year: The Capers went 16-2 in the regular season. They entered the regional tourney as the No. 2 seed and they were ousted by No. 3 Falmouth in a West B semifinal.
Players to watch: Seniors – Will Hall (guard), Austin Brown (guard), Nick Goodykoontz (forward); Juniors – Shaine Burks (forward), Steve Whitten (forward), and Tom Ray (guard).
Outlook: Eight seniors graduated from last year’s 14-man roster including their three key big men under the basket. Cape will need to come up with some front line help for what should be a strong backcourt. Brown is a solid point guard and he’ll guide the Capers until the younger players gain some game experience.
The Capers may struggle right out of the gate, but that’s to be expected when you lose so many key players. Once they find some new go-to guys they’ll be OK. They’re always in the mix come tournament time and this year should be no different.
The Capers host Gray-New Gloucester in the season opener on Friday evening.
Varsity girl basketball
Coach: Todd Plummer begins his first year as the Capers head coach.
Last year: The Capers ended the regular season at 3-15 and they lost to Mountain Valley in the West B prelims.
Players to watch: Sam Culver (senior guard), Brennan Balfour (senior forward), Jackie Moran (senior guard), Anna Boulos (senior forward), Tess Wiggins (junior center), Anna Traffaglia (junior guard/forward), and Katie Weatherbee (senior forward).
New comers: Stephanie Burkhardt (senior guard), Katrina Ross (junior forward), Colleen Martin (sophomore guard), Haley Thompson (sophomore guard), and Lisa Kaplan (sophomore forward).
Outlook: “We’re going up-tempo and try to run and emphasize our defense,” said Coach Plummer.
The Capers lost just two seniors from last year’s team as a number of experienced players return to this year’s squad. There’s leadership and quickness and plenty of enthusiasm. The Capers are looking to play an exciting brand of basketball and they’re eager to get going. They open at Gray-New Gloucester on Friday night.
“Our goal is to get to the playoffs and get to that second season,” Plummer said. “We’re just trying to get better everyday.”
Varsity ice hockey
Coach: Jason Tremblay begins his third year as head coach.
Last year: The Capers won their second straight Class B state championship. They actually began the playoffs as the No. 2 team in West B before they moved on to another title to finish with a 16-7 record.
Players to watch: Senior captains Ben Davis (defense), Andrew Gibson (forward), and Tom Rich (forward); Seniors – Eric Knight (defense) and Maureen Kertes (defense).
Juniors – Lincoln Jordan (goalie), Max Foner (forward), Colby Pearson (forward), Matt Roy (forward/defense), Griffin Rockwell (defense), Peter Kelley (forward), Joe Wolanski (forward), and Chris Ciraldo (defense).
Sophomores – Ben Lydon (forward), Sean Eubanks (forward), Peter Kane (forward), Mike Holden (forward/defense), Zach Breed (defense), Nate Murray (forward), Tanner Tremblay (forward), Sether Hanson (forward), and Jackie Newell (forward).
Outlook: There are very few breathers on the Caper’s regular season schedule as Coach Tremblay tries to prepare his team to peak for their usual post-season run. As usual, the squad will have gained lots of experience and they’ll be well-tested come playoff time.
Cape will again have speed and the goals could come from a variety of sources in a variety of ways. They’ll be scrappy and tough defensively and they’ll once again be the team to beat in Class B.
Swimming
Coach: Ben Raymond begins his first year as the head coach of the Capers. He’s been an assistant since 1994.
Last year: The boys finished third at the Class A state meet and the girls placed second at the state championship.
Boys to watch: senior Nick Daly, juniors Alex McFarlan and Miles Kelly, and freshmen Zach Gavin and Chris Mackrides.
Girls to watch: seniors Alex Ciraldo and Bogie Foden, junior Lilly Wenndberg, and sophomores Nora Daly, Rosie Wenndberg, Melanie Pinette and Morgan Mancall.
Outlook: “The team goal is to win the state meet,” said Raymond.
And the Capers will again be among the teams that have a chance at winning the state title thanks to some very strong swimmers. Both the boys and the girls will field solid competitors in all events with young swimmers complimenting the experience of the older competitors.
“It’s a good group of upperclassmen and underclassmen and they’re getting along well,” said Raymond. “Both teams are evenly spread out with good distance swimmers and good sprinters.”
Indoor track
Coach: Doug Worthley
Last year: The boys finished seventh at the Class B state championship and the girls placed 14th at the state meet.
Key returners: Senior Kyra Tuttle and juniors Blair Griffin, Ashley Robinson, Shannon Lyons and Carly Ricker; and sophomore Susan Tuttle.
The boys return seniors Pat Murphy and Taylor Gouin, junior Tucker Emerson, and sophomore Marcus Goldbus. Other athletes to watch will be seniors Brendon Nicholas, Joshua Loring and Sean Meagher along with freshman Brendon Shields.
Outlook: The girls have a returning state champion in Blair Griffin – she won the 200 at the Class B state meet. Griffin and Susan Tuttle finished seventh and eight in last year’s 55-meter dash at the state meet.
They also have strong sprinters in the Tuttles, Robinson and Ricker. Lyons is a threat in the mile.
Murphy and Gouin are solid sprinters and Emerson will be a contributor in the jumps. And there are several linemen from the Cape football program who should help earn some points in the shot put.
“It’s a building season for us and we look to be somewhat competitive in the sprints and relays,” said Coach Worthley about the girls team.
“We lost a couple of strong guys,” Worthley said about the boys squad. “But we look pretty strong on the sprints.”
The Capers will compete in a couple of pre-season meets – the Bowdoin Relays take place on Dec. 16 and the USM New Years Classic is Dec. 29 – before they open the regular season on Friday, January 5.
Skiing
Coaches: Deven Morrell is the nordic skiing coach and Terry Long is the alpine skiing coach.
The team has been doing some dry land training while everyone waits for colder temperatures and snow in ski country. The first meets of the regular season are scheduled for the first week of January with the Western Maine Conference championships in early February.
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