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AUBURN — The Edward Little girls hockey co-op understands how monumental this season has been for the program, and how historic it could be when the final buzzer sounds for Wednesday’s regional championship game.

It’s something that crossed Kylie Dulac’s mind two weeks ago after the Red Hornets defeated Cheverus/Windham/Medomak 3-0 in a regular-season clash between the North and South leaders.

“This is a very special opportunity we get going into these playoffs, and if we keep going with this momentum, I think we’ll be able to get very far,” said Dulac, a junior.

That momentum continued, as the Red Hornets knocked off Penobscot 7-0 in the North semifinals this past weekend. That earned the Edward Little co-op (18-1), which includes players from Leavitt, Poland and Oxford Hills, a spot in the regional final Wednesday, and a chance to make history. 

Since girls hockey became a Maine Principals’ Association-sanctioned sport before the 2008-09 season, the Red Hornets have never won a regional or state title. They advanced to the regional final in 2022 but have yet to cross the threshold into champion status.

The top-seeded Red Hornets will have that opportunity when they face No. 2 Yarmouth/Freeport (15-2-2) in the North final at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.

“I feel like it means a lot,” sophomore Leksi Langevin said. “I mean, last year, we obviously didn’t make it that far, so this year we got a good team, great players, great environment, and I feel like if we continue this work, then we can go places if we put the work in.”

This season’s unparalleled success did not happen overnight. 

“I’ve been part of this program for 11 years,” head coach Dana Berube said. “Coach (Laurier Morin’s) been part of it from its existence. Coach (Anne McIntire) has been with me for nine years. My nephew’s on the coaching staff. One of my assistant coaches, I coached her growing up, very close to their family.” 

Those coaching ties built the foundation for the program. Then came the on-ice execution, which has been aided by an influx of young, talented players over the last two seasons.

The 14-game winning streak Edward Little carries into the regional final has been fueled by the two-headed monster of Langevin and Dulac on offense. Both have scored 28 goals. Langevin has a team-high 23 assists, and Dulac is not far behind with 21. 

“We all have a really good relationship with each other, not just on the ice but off the ice and outside, whether that be school or just other outside activities,” said Dulac, who transferred from Lewiston. “And that’s a big focus, because with that communication and trust in each other, that brings us a long way.”

Then there’s sophomore goalie Paige Fecteau. She has 12 shutouts, a .968 save percentage, and has allowed just nine goals in 19 games. 

“It’s been really awesome this year,” Fecteau said. “Everybody’s been playing super well. My teammates have been awesome, especially my defense. I feel like we all work really well together, and we’ve just been having so much fun playing the games and still love the sport.”

The Red Hornets have outscored their foes 111-9. Berube said the team’s offensive and defensive consistency are the result of hard work and the depth of the roster.

“They’ve been dialed in since Day 1,” Berube said. “They take it seriously, they work hard, but we have a lot of fun, too, because that’s what high school sports should be. We should be having a good time, and they do that every day. But last year, we didn’t have a lot of depth. This year, we have lots and lots of depth. We put out three lines … and we think we got one of the best goaltenders in the state.” 

Berube knows how significant a regional championship would be. However, he has preached the same thing throughout the season: Focus on the next day and getting better.

So if the Red Hornets are able to beat the Clippers on Wednesday, they’ll quickly turn their attention to Saturday’s state final against the South champion, either the Cheverus co-op or the Biddeford co-op. Their only loss was against Biddeford, and Cheverus is the three-time defending state champion.