With the basketball tournament set to begin this week (see story), there has already been an abundance of postseason excitement in the other winter sports.
With more to come.
Here’s an overview:
Girls’ hockey
Cheverus’ Mikayla Talbot skates in and scores the lone goal in the Stags’ 1-0 win over York in Saturday’s South Region semifinals. Michael Hoffer / For The Forecaster
Cheverus’ girls’ hockey team, the top-ranked team in the South Region, earned a bye into the semifinals where Saturday, they squeaked past No. 4 York, 1-0. Mikayla Talbot scored the game’s lone goal in the second period.
“It wasn’t easy to hold them off and keep the lead,” said Talbot. “That’s playoff hockey, it’s always going to be a one- or two-goal game. All playoff games are tough. We just played together and worked hard as a team. It’s really nice to get to the regional final. It’s good for our team to get past where we were last year.”
“I’d love to score more, but we’re happy to advance,” said Cheverus coach Scott Rousseau. “We played a beautiful hockey game. Everything gets tighter and tougher in the playoffs.”
The Stags will face No. 2 Gorham (13-6) in the regional final Wednesday at 7 p.m., in Portland. Cheverus and Gorham played just once in the regular season, with the Stags winning at home, 5-1. Cheverus handled Gorham in last year’s quarterfinal round, 10-3, in the teams’ lone prior playoff encounter.
“We have to keep practicing the basics and keep working as a team and stay relaxed,” said Talbot.
“We don’t have a player who has gotten out of this round,” said Rousseau. “We’ve had success as a program, but as a team, we’re new to this. We just have to stay in the moment. We have to execute what we do in practice and play well shift after shift.”
If the Stags move on to the state final Saturday at 3 p.m., in Portland, they’ll battle either Yarmouth/Freeport (16-2-1) or Penobscot (15-3-1).
The Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland co-op team, ranked third in the South, lost in overtime at No. 2 Gorham, 4-3, in the semifinals to finish 11-8. Marina Bassett scored twice and Libby Hooper also had a goal.
Portland/Deering finished 3-15 and seventh in the South, but only four teams from the region took part in the playoffs.
Indoor track
Cheverus’ James Baur reacts after clearing the bar in the boys’ pole vault open division at Saturday’s SMAA championship meet. Baur wound up third as the Stags placed 10th as a team. Ben McCanna / Portland Press Herald.
The SMAA indoor track championship meet Saturday saw Portland’s boys tally 122 points and come in second to South Portland (159). Charlie Jacques was first in the junior 800 (2 minutes, 8.63 seconds), Myles Hang won the senior shot put (44 feet, 7 inches), Nathan Blades captured the open mile in 4:21.87 and the Bulldogs’ sprint medley relay team (Reegan Buck, Morris Tifiano, Ben Prestes and Blades) came in first as well (3:46.93). Blades also won the Will Fulford Award as most outstanding distance runner during the regular season and the George Vinall Trophy as the SMAA meet boys’ MVP.
Cheverus (35 points) was 10th. Dominic Cortez won the open pole vault (11-6).
Deering (7 points) finished 16th.
In the girls’ meet, won by Scarborough with 160 points, Portland was runner-up with 123. Samantha Moore was the champion of the junior 800 (2:23.3) and the open mile (5:18.81). Anneliese Collin won the junior high jump (5-0). Alice Anderson was first in the open 600 (1:37.65). The Bulldogs also took the junior 800 relay (Collin, Alisandra Lindos, Avery Moore and Black, 1:55.65) and the sprint medley relay (Evana Wakati, Joy Mba, Anderson and Moore, 4:39.98). Samantha Moore won the Emily Fletcher Award for most outstanding distance runner during the regular season and the Angie Abrahams Trophy as the SMAA meet girls’ MVP.
Cheverus (40 points) was eighth. Maddie Hom took home the girls’ spirit award.
Deering (38) finished 10th. Claire Dunn was first in the senior high jump (5-0).
The Class A state meet is next Monday, Feb. 20, in Gorham.
Swimming
City teams took part at the North and South Division Southwesterns last weekend.
The Deering-Portland girls had 170 points and were third in the North Southwesterns (Cape Elizabeth was first with 351 points). Cheverus (115 points) placed sixth.
In the boys’ meet, won by Cape Elizabeth with 329 points, Deering-Portland (95) finished fifth. Cheverus (36 points) placed seventh.
In the South Division meet, Waynflete’s boys had 109 points in came in fifth (Gorham was first with 215). The 400 freestyle relay team (Nico Herrera, Michael Marston, Wyatt Adams and Ty Davin) came in first with a time of 4 minutes, 00.90 seconds.
The Flyers were sixth in the girls’ meet with 101 points (Thornton Academy was first with 218 points). Kestrel Linehan won the 100 backstroke (1:03.17).
The state meets are Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Skiing
Waynflete’s girls were third behind Freeport and Yarmouth at the WMC Nordic ski championship meet last week, as Leah Kramer came in fourth in the classic (22 minutes, 46.5 seconds) and Sarah Morgan was eighth in the skate (17:33.3).
Waynflete’s boys were fifth. The Flyers featured Will Barmby (14th in the classical, 19:50) and Oliver Eames (27th in the skate, 15:59.8).
In the SMAA Alpine championship meet, Cheverus’ girls were fourth in the slalom and fifth in the giant slalom. Individually, Maddy Marcisso was was fourth in the slalom (a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 57.99 seconds) and placed seventh in the GS (1:09.29).
Cheverus’ boys didn’t score as a team. William Ray finished ninth in the GS (1:08.32) and was 10th in the slalom (2:08.12).
The Alpine state meet begins Wednesday. The Nordic state meet starts Feb. 22.
Wrestling
The Class A South wrestling championship meet was held Saturday in Kennebunk. Deering came in 10th and produced the 195-pound champion in Pedro Lombi, who upset Sanford’s Canton Hill, 6-3, in the final to become the Rams’ first regional champion since Chris Solo in 2017.
Portland/South Portland’s Henry Spencer won the 170-pound crown.
The state meet is Saturday in Sanford.
Boys’ hockey
Boys’ hockey is the only sport which is still in the midst of its regular season.
The Cheverus/Yarmouth co-op squad was 10-3-2 and third in Class B South following a 5-2 loss at Leavitt (which snapped an 11-game unbeaten streak) and a 4-1 home win over Messalonskee. In the loss, Quinn McCoy and Truman Peters had the goals. In the victory, Andrew Cheever, Brian Connolly, Owen Walsh and David Swift all scored. After playing at Edward Little Wednesday, Cheverus/Yarmouth visits York Saturday, then closes the regular season at Cape Elizabeth Feb. 22.
South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport was 7-8 and fifth in Class A after 1-0 loss at Lewiston and a 3-2 home win over Marshwood. Goalie Jasper Curtis stopped 17 shots in the setback. In the victory, Richie Gilboy and Liam Anderson helped the squad erase a deficit and Roan Hopkins produced the winning goal with just 12 seconds left. South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport welcomes Biddeford Thursday, goes to Windham Saturday and closes at reigning Class A champion Scarborough Tuesday of next week.
The boys’ hockey playoffs begin with the Class B South preliminary round next Saturday on the home ice of the higher seeds. The Class A preliminary round begins March 1.
Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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