The St. Dom’s boys hockey team was on the playoff bubble for the final month of the regular season.
The Saints (7-11) ended up on the right side of the bubble, finishing in the ninth and final playoff spot, a mere 0.68 of a Heal point ahead of Biddeford/Massabesic/Old Orchard Beach.
St. Dom’s will play No. 8 Lewiston (6-11-1) in the lone Class A prelim game Wednesday at 6 p.m. at The Colisee.
St. Dom’s coach Dan D’Auteuil said that when he checked the standings last week he was surprised the Saints were still in ninth, after the Biddeford co-op’s win against Fryeburg/Lake Region/Oxford Hills and St. Dom’s 7-1 loss to Falmouth last Wednesday.
The Heal standings weren’t finalized after Wednesday’s games because there was one game in Class B North, Brewer/Lawrence vs. Cony/Monmouth/Erskine/Hall-Dale/Winthrop, a makeup game scheduled for Friday and had playoff implications for both classes. The Saints continued to practice for the rest of the week.
“We went on the assumption that we were in,” D’Auteuil said. “We have been practicing, assuming we were playing Lewiston. My fear the whole time was I told the boys we were in, but what happens if something changes because that 0.68 isn’t much. It was 1.05 at one point (last week). Then 0.68 was the final — that’s not a lot of points.”
Now that the playoff seedings are set, the Saints can start focusing on their matchup with the Blue Devils.
Both teams can take positives from their two regular season meetings. St. Dom’s won every period this season, except the third period of the Jan. 7 game at Norway Savings Bank Arena when the Blue Devils scored seven times to erase a five-goal deficit and earn a 7-5 victory.
“Anytime you play a rivalry game, it doesn’t matter the records — everybody is going to show up for that game,” Lewiston coach Jamie King said. “The boys remember that last period, and we remember all the periods that we lost.”
St. Dom’s won the first game 4-1 on Dec. 23.
D’Auteuil said the message he has given to the Saints team focuses on how well they have played against the Blue Devils this season.
“That’s what I have been telling the boys — we have won five out of six (periods) and we had one meltdown period,” D’Auteuil said. “We carried the play the rest of the time.”
Both teams enter the playoffs on a cold streak, each going 1-4 in its past five games.
The winner will move on to face top-seed Falmouth in the quarterfinals, which has won 16 straight games after starting the season 0-2. Aaron Higgins, who grew up in Lewiston, and Mitch Ham each lead the Navigators and Class A in scoring with 60 points. Higgins has 33 goals and Ham has scored 23 times.
Falmouth defeated St. Dom’s 6-1 and 7-1 this season and beat Lewiston 6-1 in both regular season meetings.
The quarterfinals begins Friday.
Edward Little (15-3) enters the playoffs as the third seed and will host Bangor (8-9-1) at Norway Savings Bank Arena at 8 p.m. on Friday. The Red Eddies won both games against the Rams this season, 6-4 in the season opener on Dec. 10 and 4-1 on Jan. 21.
Red Eddies coach Norm Gagne is pleased with how Edward Little found its stride heading into the postseason.
“In the last five or six games, we have been playing really good hockey, and I think we have scored over 20 goals and only given up four or five,” Gagne said.
The Red Eddies are 5-1 in the past six games, the only loss coming against Falmouth, and during that stretch have outscored their opponents 25-4.
Bangor coach Quinn Paradis said that position changes for some players have helped the Rams play better since their loss to Edward Little in January.
“It wasn’t one of our better games. It was in that stretch where we struggled, and we have a different lineup now,” Paradis said after Bangor’s 4-1 win against Lewiston last Wednesday. “We are doing things differently, and I think it will be a very good playoff game between us and EL.”
The Rams are 4-1 in their past five games.
“We are excited; we are playing (good hockey),” Paradis said. “It’s the best time of year to be playing well. Hopefully, we can sneak in and get a big win down here.”
Gagne said the circumstances have changed from the two regular season games. For instance, Bangor was without its No. 1 goalie, Liam Doughty, in the first game.
“We have beaten them twice, but the first time, they didn’t have their goalie, he was sick,” Gagne said. “The second time ended up 4-1, but Quinn does a good job with his group. They are going to come ready to play.”
The winner will face either No. 2 Thornton Academy (14-4) or No. 7 Marshwood/Traip/Sanford/Noble (9-6-3) in the semifinals on March 7 at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, at either 6 or 8 p.m. The Golden Trojans defeated the Knighthawks 4-2 on Dec. 23.
Thornton Academy defeated Edward Little 2-1 in the semifinals last season.
The final quarterfinal game has No. 4 Scarborough (11-7), the defending Class A champion, hosting No. 5 South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport (10-8) in a rematch of last year’s semifinal game.
The Red Storm earned home ice by 0.06 of a Heal point over the Red Riots.
Scarborough or the South Portland co-op will face the winner of Falmouth and St. Dom’s or Lewiston in the other semifinal on March 7.
“I think the parity this year is very close,” Gagne said. “It will be interesting to see who will be in the final game for the state championship. I think there may be some upsets.”
The state championship will be on March 11 at 12:30 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena.
CLASS B SOUTH
The Poland/Leavitt/Gray-New Gloucester/Oak Hill Kings (10-8) enter the Class B South playoffs as the fifth seed and will travel to Dover Ice Arena in Dover, New Hampshire, to face fourth-seeded York (10-7-1) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in a quarterfinal game.
The Kings lost to the Wildcats 4-3 on Feb. 16.
“They beat us twice in the regular season, and the last game was a close game,” Kings coach Jason Rouleau said. “It came down to the last couple of minutes, and York pulled out a win. I think it gives our guys that energy to say, ‘Hey, we can beat this team.’ They beat us twice, but I think they will be ready to go come game day.”
York won the first game 4-2 on Jan. 2.
This will be the second straight season the Kings make the playoffs; they lost to Cape Elizabeth in the quarterfinals in 2022. Rouleau, who is in his first season as the Kings’ coach, said the team hasn’t talked much about that game.
“We haven’t really talked about it as a team,” Rouleau said. “I have had some coaches who have been involved with the Kings for a little while now. The bottom line is the Kings as a program — since it’s been established five or six years ago — we haven’t won a playoff game. We as a coaching staff and the players, are motivated to change that.”
The winner will face No. 1 Brunswick (15-1-2), the defending Class B state champion, in the regional semifinals, which begin Friday. The Dragons defeated the Kings and Wildcats twice each.
Third-seeded Cheverus/Yarmouth (10-6-2) hosts sixth-seeded Gorham (8-9-1) in the second quarterfinal contest. Cheverus/Yarmouth swept the regular season games 1-0 and 4-2.
Second-seeded Cape Elizabeth (16-2) has a bye into the regional semifinal and will take on the Cheverus/Yarmouth-Gorham winner. The Capers swept both teams this season.
The regional final will be on March 7 at 4 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena.
CLASS B NORTH
John Bapst/Hermon/Bangor Christian/Deer Isle-Stonington (15-3) earned the top seed and a bye into the regional semifinal, and will face the winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 4 Hampden Academy (9-9) and No. 5 Camden Hills (10-7-1).
No. 2 Messalonskee (15-2-1) will face No. 7 Gardiner/Waterville/Winslow (6-12) in a quarterfinal game. Third-seeded Presque Isle (12-6) hosts No. 6 Old Town/Orono (5-12-1) in the third quarterfinal game.
Colby College will host the Class B North regional final on March 8 at 6 p.m.
The Class B state championship game will be played at Cross Insurance Arena on March 11 at 10:30 a.m..
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