By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Frustrating may be too mild to describe the current hockey season for the Leavitt Hornets.

At practice, the players zip from one end of the ice to the other, chasing after assistant coach Adam Dube, who has the only puck.

The drive, it seems, exists there.

At one end of the rink, three players fire pucks at goaltender Kenny Gauthier, who, with two or three exception, has been the biggest constant on the team this season.

They seem fired up there, even celebrating each goal like it was the winning tally for the Class B state title.

But, at 5-9 through Wednesday, the Hornets haven’t been able to parlay that emotion into big games.

“We have such a good team,” said sophomore forward Evan Longchamps. “We just can’t seem to click.”

“We came in with such high expectations for everything,” added forward Justin Rouillard. “To play such great games like we have and lose, it makes it tough to want to keep going.”

In those nine losses, Leavitt has held the lead in five of the games. Against York, still the only undefeated team in the state this season, the score was 2-1 until a late empty-net goal sealed the Wildcats’ win.

Against No. 2 Cape Elizabeth, Leavitt lost with less than 10 seconds on the clock, and against Winslow, currently leading Eastern Class B, the Hornets lost in overtime after leading in the third period.

The back-breaker, though, may have been a surprising loss to Maranacook less than two weeks ago.

“It was so hard to try and make them realize that the games would start getting easier,” said coach Fern Racine. “That was a tough stretch, and we played well. It’s hard to keep them going when they know they played well and still lost games.”

Wednesday, the team showed signs of life, and perhaps made a case for a playoff spot, with a win over perennial power Yarmouth, and in close fashion to boot.

Leavitt has two games remaining and currently sits in eighth place among eight teams in Western Class B. The games ahead include Gorham and York.

“We can beat the teams we have left,” said Racine. “Even York. We can, we just have to figure out how to do it mentally.”

In the recent stretch, solid goaltending from Gauthier was a constant.

“It’s hard on me sometimes back there,” said Gauthier. “To make 40 or more saves a few times and still lose, it kind of stinks. All I can do is do what I can back there, and the same with the rest of the guys. We just have to keep playing hard and hope that we get the bounces.”

Staying together as a team is a lot harder than it sounds when everyone’s best efforts seem to go for naught.

“We all try to be supportive,” said defenseman Kurt Knight. “It’s not like they are all coming in and beating us all the time. We just seem to self destruct, and then turn toward each other sometimes. Hopefully, that is all behind us, though.”

“We try to contain that anger,” added Rouillard. “We try to take it out on the next team.”

Despite the record, the number of Heal Points between the Hornets and the playoffs (which means leapfrogging Maranacook and Gorham or Win-Dale) is seven. A win over York would probably be enough.

Leavitt may also need some help from other teams, but that is far from their mind.

“All we can do is win our own games and worry about ourselves,” said Racine. “It’s been frustrating, but if we can sneak into the playoffs, we still have a chance.”