Boys' Hockey: After Falmouth, there's a logjam in Class A South

Players to Watch: Sr. F Tanner McClure, Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach/Bonny Eagle; Sr. F Robbie Armitage, Falmouth; Jr. D Brandon Caron, Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach/Bonny Eagle; Sr. F Ricky Ruck, Biddeford; Sr. F Dom Tocci, Portland/Deering; Sr. F, Donato Tocci, Portland/Deering; Jr. F Brandan Hickey, Falmouth; Jr. F Theo Hembre, Falmouth; Jr. G, Spener Pierce, Falmouth; Sr. F Reece Armitage, Falmouth; Jr. G Jason Halverson, Cheverus; So. Justin Ray, Cheverus; Fr. F Devon Hannah, South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport; Jr. G Brandon Wasser, Scarborough; Sr. D Eric Murrary, Scarborough; Sr. F Skylar Pettingill, Scarborough; Sr. F Brady Crepeau, Biddeford.

Favorite: Falmouth

Just like Class A North, it’s top-heavy in Class A South, with Falmouth earning the No. 1 seed. The Yachtsmen have played very well this season with one hiccup in the middle of the season where they lost two of their three games on the year to Lewiston and St. Dom’s. They split the season series with both of those teams.

The only team the Yachtsmen have yet to defeat this season is Scarborough. The two teams that have dominated the Class A South the past four years tied 3-3 early in the season and the Red Storm defeated the Yachtsmen 4-2 at the beginning of February.

They won both games against the No. 2-seeded Cheverus Stags with wins of 5-0 and 4-3. They also swept the No. 6 Biddeford Tights 4-3 and 3-0.

Falmouth doesn’t have one go-to guy, with only one player with 30 or more points Robbie Armitage has 33. What they do have is depth. Brendan Hickey, Theo Hembre and Reece Armitage each have 22 points. In total they have seven players with ten or more points this season. In goal, Spencer Pierce is one of the best netmiders in Class A, sporting a 14-3-1 record, a 1.85 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

Dark horse: Biddeford

Don’t let the seeding fool you, the Tigers aren’t your ordinary No. 6 seed. They have the experience in senior forwards Ricky Ruck and Brady Crepeau who lead the team in scoring with 30 and 19 points respectively.

They are also on the right side of the bracket where they don’t have to face Falmouth until the regional final, if both teams get that far. They have have No. 3 Scarborough in the quarterfinals. They split the season series with the Red Storm with the Tigers winning the first game 2-1 and losing the second, 4-3.

Biddeford also split the series with Cheverus, who would be their opponent in the regional semifinal if they get by Scarborough. They won the first game 3-2 and lost the second 2-1.

Fun Facts: There are local connections on the benches of the South teams. Scarborough has assistants Jake Brown, who played for Norm Gagne at Lewiston and Mike Hefty… Biddeford has former St. Dom’s player Jake Rutt, who also played at Scarborough under Norm Gagne. He played for Biddeford head coach Jason Tremblay’s brother, Sean Tremblay, at the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs before his collegiate career at the University of Maine. He spent last season with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL… Tanner McClure of Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach/Bonny Eagle leads all Class A in scoring with 49 points.

Overview: There seems one clear-cut team heading in and that’s Falmouth. After that you can make a case for either Cheverus, Scarborough or Biddeford getting to the regional finals. Teams that have played a Tier II/III schedule have given Falmouth fits in the past in the regional semifinals, like Noble/Wells in 2014. They will face a team that played a Tier II/III schedule in the regional semifinals this year as they face the winner of Portland/Deering-Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach/Bonny Eagle.

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