High school sports coverage is proudly supported by Maine State Credit Union. 

AUBURN — The two teams that have topped the Northern Maine girls hockey standings all season will meet for the regional crown.

The Edward Little co-op and Yarmouth/Freeport clinched berths in the North title game with victories Saturday at Norway Savings Bank Arena. The Red Hornets took down Penobscot, 7-0, in the first game of the afternoon before the Clippers defeated Brunswick, 6-2.

Edward Little and Yarmouth/Freeport will face off Wednesday at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland for a chance to play in the state final, which is next Saturday at Norway Savings Bank Arena.

“It feels amazing,” said Leksi Langevin, a sophomore who had two goals and an assist for the Edward Little co-op, which includes players from Leavitt, Poland and Oxford Hills. “Last year, we came up short, but this year, we’re ready. It’s been an awesome experience, and we’re happy to keep it going.”

Despite an early barrage of shots, top-ranked Edward Little (18-1) didn’t break through until late in the first period, as Penobscot goalie Abbie Derosier made numerous saves. But the Red Hornets finally scored twice in quick succession, getting goals from Kylie Dulac at 10:49 and Langevin at 11:28.

Khloe Nadeau, a freshman, spurred the Red Hornets in the second period, scoring a pair of goals to make it 4-0 before providing assists to Langevin and Avianna D’Auteuil. Langevin and Dulac then assisted Sophia Drouin on a goal that made it 7-0 to round out the scoring.

“She means so much; to do what she does as a freshman, that’s crazy,” Langevin said of Nadeau. “I feel like keeping our head in the game and keeping the pressure up helped us as a team to be energized. In between periods, we were ready to go out there again and keep it up.”

The Red Hornets, who are the unanimous No. 1 in the latest Varsity Maine poll, outshot Penobscot 54-7. They’ve outscored opponents 111-9 this season.

Derosier made 39 saves for the fourth-seeded Pioneers (9-10-1), while Paige Fecteau stopped six shots for the Red Hornets.

Fast-starting Clippers

No. 2 Yarmouth/Freeport (15-2-2) wasted little time taking the lead in the second game, getting a goal from Maya Nasveschuk 1 minute, 59 seconds into the first period. Erin O’Connor made it 2-0 six minutes later, scoring with two seconds left on a power play, off an assist from Celia Zinman.

Shortly after an O’Connor penalty at 6:24 of the second period gave third-seeded Brunswick (10-10) a power play, Solveig Ledwick put the Dragons on the board. O’Connor’s second goal at 12:34 restored Yarmouth’s two-goal lead, but a Sydney Perham goal two minutes later cut Brunswick’s deficit to 3-2.

“We just had to regroup (after the second period) and focus on not getting penalties,” said Yarmouth/Freeport coach David Intraversato. “They’re good on the power play, and they’ve got a sniper who’s going to find space. We talked about doing the little things right before the game, so we just told them to focus on that.”

The Clippers made it 4-2 at 7:48 of the third on an unassisted goal from Zinman. A second goal by Nasveschuk at 11:02 and a tally from Macy White with 1:01 remaining clinched Yarmouth/Freeport’s place in the regional final.

Like the Edward Little co-op, Yarmouth/Freeport dominated in shots on goal, 41-8. Hensleigh LaBonte made 35 saves for the Dragons, while Lydia Costa stopped six shots for a Clippers team that avenged a loss to Brunswick in last year’s regional final.

“After (our fourth goal), we definitely picked our heads up,” O’Connor said. “We couldn’t let up on them because they’re a good team with a lot of talent that can score if we do that, but it definitely calmed us down.”

The Red Hornets are the only team to defeat Yarmouth/Freeport this year, beating the Clippers 4-1 on Jan. 3 in Auburn and 2-1 on Jan. 19 at Travis Roy Arena in Yarmouth. Intraversato said his team’s best chance of prevailing this time around would be in a defensive battle.

“If we can keep them from shooting and keep them off the board and keep peppering, maybe we can sneak out of there 1-0 or 2-1,” Intraversato said. “I think it’s going to be that type of game, and if they score, we can’t take it personally; we’ve just got to hit back.”