Only a week remains in the girls’ ice hockey regular season, and the Leavitt/Edward Little Red Hornets appear to be catching fire at just the right time.

“Ability-wise, we’re there, we’ve proven we can win big games,” coach Eric Geoffroy said. “It’s whether or not we come to play.”

After a 3-0 shutout against rival Lewiston, the Red Hornets defeated Greely for the second time this season, this time by a count of 4-3. The Rangers still sit in second place in the East, though with a stretch of wins to end the season and a little bit of help, the Red Hornets could conceivably catch up and earn home-ice in the regional semifinal round.

One of the big reasons for the Red Hornets’ success this season has been the play of Taylor Landry. Only a sophomore, Landry is up over 30 goals on the campaign. Her ability to mesh well with her teammates has also allowed other players, like Tori Mae Couture and Kayla Royer, to step up and contribute.

“The game against Lewiston, Tori Mae had a heck of a game, and Kayla’s been playing like a monster,” Geoffroy said. “Emma Martineau, as a freshman, has really stepped up well. Sabrina (Lapointe) has been doing a lot better on the backcheck, and our defense has been incredible this year, all of them.”

Lewiston also has three games remaining, but even a sweep, though that would get the Blue Devils to 10 wins, will likely not be enough to vault the team any higher than fourth, meaning Lewiston will face either Winslow or Yarmouth/Freeport in a 4-5 preliminary game.

Halftime changes

One oft-quoted definition of insanity is to continue to do the same things over and over again and expect different results each time. Taking that to heart, after a tough first half of the season, the Gray-New Gloucester/Poland Patriotic Knights are making some changes to the young squad, hoping to spark a resurgence in the second half.

“We have six seniors on the team, but we play a lot of young kids,” coach Aaron Rand said. “My second line is all sophomores and one junior, and my third line is all freshmen, and they’re doing well, they’re my bright spots right now.”

Gray-NG/Poland began the season well, but an overtime loss to Leavitt, which also included an injury to Rand’s son, Nevin, seemed to send the team spiraling.

“We’ve lost seven in a row since Nevin broke his arm,” Rand said. “That’s not the only reason, of course. It’s been other things, injuries and grades.”

Caleb Bridgham has so impressed the coaching staff, Rand said, that he’s earned a letter for his jersey.

“He’s really stepped it up leadership-wise,” Rand said. “He’s been great to deal with and he’s been doing well on the ice.”

The changes Rand alluded to aren’t just line structures. He’s considering moving to a third option at goalie.

“We haven’t been getting what we’ve needed, so I think we’re going to make the change,” Rand said. “Things have to change. Hopefully, starting (Saturday), we’ll have everybody, and we’ll see what we can do now that we’re halfway through. We’re looking ahead. We have a lot of young players. We’ll win what we can and build for the future.”

Streaking

In this space one month ago, the reality of the early-season high school standings shocked some people. At that time, neither Lewiston nor St. Dom’s, perennial powers, would have been playoff teams.

My how times change.

Now across the halfway mark of the season for most teams, and the Saints and Blue Devils are right back to where most people are accustomed to seeing them: among the top three in Eastern Class A.

Both teams have arrived there with impressive streaks, both of which are still, for the moment, alive, and both of which started after similar stunning defeats on the same night, in the same building.

In the teams’ first games following the holiday break, St. Dom’s fell hard to Thornton Academy, 8-1, on Jan. 4. Lewiston lost to Falmouth that same night by a 6-1 count.

Since then, the Blue Devils are 6-0-1 and have victories over Eastern A No. 1 Bangor and top Western A contender Biddeford, as well as a tie with the Tigers on the road.

The Saints, not to be outdone, are 5-0 since that day, and count among their victories a pair of shutouts, a victory over Biddeford and one against a pair of top Class B teams in York and Greely.

St. Dom’s has its big rematch with the Golden Trojans of Thornton on Saturday, while Lewiston will host York. One week later, the schools will meet for the second time. The Saints earned bragging rights in the first meeting this season with a 3-2 victory over the Blue Devils.

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