Portland: Challenges loom, but local teams overcome

The games go on, most of them anyway, and the action continues to turn heads.

There’s still a long way to go in the winter sports regular season and nothing is guaranteed, but local athletes are grateful to be able to compete and the best should still be yet to come.

Here’s a look back at the week that was:

Boys’ basketball

Deering boys’ basketball coach Todd Wing began the week on the brink of a landmark victory. Last week, the Rams lost at reigning Class AA champion Edward Little (83-55), then improved to 2-5 with a 61-59 victory at Windham, which gave Wing 99 wins in his time at Deering. Against the Red Eddies, Evan Lagasse led the way with 16 points and Remijo Wani added 15. In the victory, Wani scored a late layup to win it and 19 points, while Lagasse added 18. The Rams hosted Cheverus Tuesday (see theforecaster.net/sports for game story). Deering then goes to Westbrook Friday and plays host to Lewiston Monday of next week.

The rest of the local story was about games not played due to COVID complications.

Portland had to postpone games at Oxford Hills and Windham and at home against Cheverus. The Bulldogs (4-2) were scheduled to return to action Monday at Windham. After hosting Thornton Academy Tuesday, Portland welcomes Oxford Hills Friday (see theforecaster.net/sports for game story) and plays host to Windham Monday.

Cheverus last played Dec. 23 and had five straight games postponed. The Stags (2-3) returned to action Tuesday at Deering, go to Hampden Academy Friday and play at Edward Little Monday.

Waynflete had games postponed last week at home against Sacopee Valley and at Old Orchard Beach Saturday. The Flyers (2-2) were back in action Tuesday at home versus North Yarmouth Academy, then welcome Yarmouth Thursday (see theforecaster.net/sports for game story) and go to Poland Friday and Lake Region Monday.

Girls’ basketball

Cheverus’ girls’ basketball team won its first five outings, but the last time the Stags took the floor was Dec. 23. After five straight games were lost to COVID (and will be made up), Cheverus was scheduled to return to action Tuesday at home versus Deering. The Stags welcome Hampden Academy Friday and go to Edward Little Monday of next week.

Portland fell to 1-6 after a 42-32 home loss to Windham last Thursday. Naulissa Tuza had a team-high nine points and Elizabeth Yugu added eight. After going to Thornton Academy Tuesday, the Bulldogs visit two-time reigning Class AA champion Oxford Hills Saturday and go to Windham Monday.

Deering fell to 0-7 after home losses to Edward Little (50-33) and Windham (44-32) last week. Maya Gayle scored 21 points against the Red Eddies. In the loss to the Eagles, Ella McGowan led the Rams with 13 points. Deering sought its first victory when it went to Cheverus Tuesday. After welcoming Westbrook Friday, the Rams go to Lewiston Monday.

Waynflete hasn’t played since Dec. 21. The Flyers (1-4) were scheduled to return to action Monday at home versus Old Orchard Beach. After playing at Yarmouth Thursday, Waynflete hosts Poland Friday and welcomes Lake Region Monday of next week.

Boys’ hockey

Cheverus/Yarmouth’s Wyatt Header delivers a hit during last week’s 2-1 loss to Edward Little. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald

The Cheverus/Yarmouth boys’ hockey co-op team split a pair of 2-1 games last week, losing at home to undefeated Edward Little, then winning by that score at Leavitt. Against the Red Eddies, Truman Peters scored a goal and goalie Neal McQuarrie made 16 saves, but a valiant effort fell just short.

“I thought we played a great game,” said Cheverus/Yarmouth coach Dave St. Pierre. “They’re one of the best teams in the state this year and we went toe-to-toe with them. Our guys battled really, really hard. I’m really proud of the effort, nothing to hang our heads about. We competed and did a lot of good things.

“We were missing two of our top six defenders and that made the other four guys have to go hard all night and I thought they played a phenomenal game. I thought we had a great week of practice and a high-energy, up-tempo week. That carried forward. Our forecheck was on target all night long. What I’m most proud of is we didn’t fold. We had chances at the end to tie it up, but we couldn’t convert.”

In the victory, Andrew Cheever and Kevin Connolly had the goals. Cheverus/Yarmouth (3-3) is home versus St. Dom’s Saturday and goes to two-time reigning Class B champion Greely Monday.

“We have a lot of hockey left and we’ll see where it takes us,” St. Pierre said. “We have depth this year and can go at anybody.”

The South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport co-op team improved to 5-1 with wins las week at St. Dom’s (7-2) and at home over Marshwood (7-1). Against the Hawks, Cullen Adams scored two goals and added two assists, and goalie Jasper Curtis stopped 31 shots. SP/Waynflete/Freeport goes to Cape Elizabeth Thursday.

Portland/Deering had games postponed last week against York and Windham. Portland/Deering (0-5) returns to action Thursday at Biddeford, then hosts Scarborough Saturday.

Girls’ hockey

Cheverus’ Lily Johnson, left, and Elle Cooney of Cheverus keep the puck away from goalie Ella Lemieux during last week’s 8-0 win over Falmouth. Shawn Patrick Ouellette / Portland Press Herald

On the girls’ side, Cheverus is surging and last week, improved to 7-1-1 after blanking visiting Falmouth (8-0) and winning at home over Gorham (9-1). Against the Navigators, Maddie Doherty had a hat trick, while Mikayla Talbot added two goals and goalie Ella Lemieux stopped 17 shots.

“We’ve all helped each other,” Doherty said. “We’ve stayed connected as a team even with COVID and people getting injured. We work really hard in practice and that seems to help us in games.”

“The games are starting to have a little more excitement to them,” Cheverus coach Scott Rousseau said. “This is our team moving forward and this is how we play. I really like our team. We have great camaraderie.”

In the win over the Rams, Marina Friedman had a hat trick and Olivia Bradford added three assists. Saturday’s home tilt versus Scarborough was postponed. After going to St. Dom’s Wednesday, the Stags visit Edward Little Saturday, then go to reigning state champion Lewiston Monday of next week.

“In this year of all years, you have to be prepared to be flexible and roll with whatever comes next,” Rousseau said. “You just can’t make excuses. You have to play the cards you have to play.

“We’re anxious to see Lewiston. We might not get our full roster until the end, and I’m sure there will be some more curveballs, but I think we’ll be right there at the end. Hopefully, we’ll keep getting better every game.”

Portland/Deering fell to 0-9 after a 9-0 loss at Mt. Ararat/Morse, then got in the win column Saturday with a 7-2 victory at Brunswick. Jane Flynn scored four goals. Portland/Deering hosts York Thursday, goes to Gorham Saturday and plays at Biddeford Monday of next week.

The Cape/Waynflete/South Portland co-op team takes a 6-1-1 record to Edward Little Wednesday. The squad hosts York Saturday and visits Falmouth Monday.

Skiing

Waynflete’s boys’ and girls’ Nordic ski teams were second to Yarmouth at a Western Maine Conference freestyle meet last week in Fryeburg. Julia Werner was second in the girls’ competition with a time of 16 minutes, 29.6 seconds. Henry Wagg was the fastest Flyer on the boys’ side, placing seventh in 14:55.3.