What in the world is going on in high school hockey?

Lisbon-Monmouth no longer exists, having to cancel its season when its roster dipped to seven players. Fryeburg announced last week that it, too, has become a casualty of numbers.

With eight players, athletic director Charlie Tryder made the call to end the Raiders’ season, leaving Western Class B with two less teams and some squads with four fewer games.

Lisbon had gone 0-2 before pulling out, while Fryeburg also remained winless at 0-8.

Some may see this as tragic. It’s too bad for the players, that’s for sure. I am sure they all enjoyed being at the losing end of 14-0 shutouts every time they took the ice. Terrible tragedy.

All sarcasm aside, it is too bad for those who were serious about the game, but the fact remains that they were (and are) a product of a failing system – the Maine Principals’ Association’s classification system.

In every MPA-sanctioned sport, schools are classified by their enrollment, regardless of history, tradition or talent.

Most sports justify this method with competitive regular seasons and tournaments. Look at the basketball tournament as an example of the system working well.

In hockey, though, something needs to be done.

St. Dom’s played Skowhegan recently. In an embarrassing win, the Saints sat out all of their seniors, and most of its regular players rode the pine after the first period. The Saints still won the game 17-1.

In Western Class A, Cheverus beat Massabesic by a score of 16-0, and took 107 shots on net. That’s an average of 2.37 shots per minute. The goalie still made 91 saves, and that will sure look good on his resume, but who learned something from that game?

Something needs to be done. In the last three weeks, the following games were played: Cheverus 13, Westbrook 0; Scarborough 14, Gray-New Gloucester/Poland 0; Kennebunk 15, Marshwood 0; Brunswick 12, Skowhegan 0. The list is much bigger when you start adding in games that aren’t shutouts.

The point is, when teams like G-NG/Poland and Marshwood play against each other, things are O.K. In fact, a contest between those two schools recently ended in a 3-3 deadlock. Games between the G-NG/Polands, Sanfords, Nobles and Bonny Eagles of the world are competitive, the players learn how to play the game against equally-skilled teams and everyone wins. The fans get to watch an exciting game for a change, and the referees and coaches aren’t dulled into a stupor.

So how to fix it?

Almost three years ago, I made a plea to the MPA, asking for a Massachusetts-like system by which teams were divided into tiers, and where teams at the top of the middle and lower tiers could move up and the bottom teams in the upper and middle tiers could move down after each season.

Jack Lowry of Cheverus agrees. He has for a long time, actually, but this year it seems that some coaches are starting to get organized behind the idea.

There are several arguments that Lowry will make, including accessibility to rink time, talent pool and, of course, tradition.

St. Dom’s is, by size, a Class B hockey school, but can play hockey in Class A and compete because of its hockey tradition and the strength of the youth programs in the surrounding communities.

Sanford players have to travel to Biddeford to play home games and draw players from the same pool as Biddeford, Thornton, Kennebunk, Noble and York.

In Class B, some may argue that the problem isn’t as large, but when the only teams that people talk about every year include Winslow, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth and Gardiner, maybe they also have a problem. Yes, York is enjoying a great season, and Greely is perennially near the top, but look at the list of recent champions.

And look at Fryeburg and Lisbon-Monmouth.

Fryeburg won the Class B state title last season (although there is still some debate about the Raiders’ methods), and this year they have no team?

Lisbon is looking into a potential partnership with Oak Hill of Wales in two years, but do they really want to be a Class A program? Combining the two school’s enrollment, they would be.

To those that matter in the MPA, please, I implore you, at least listen when Lowry and his friends come knocking. Tradition can get you far and should not be casually tossed aside, but when traditional methods of organizing schools by enrollment figures starts to jeopardize the students’ ability to learn a game and have fun participating, things have gone too far.

As a former athlete, I would rather have lost a 4-3 competitive game than win 18-0 with no effort.

The lack of competition is forcing several players to switch to junior teams and travel out of state, where they can get recruited and recognition against top-notch competition. This results in an even thinner talent pool in Maine.

Call me crazy, but I have a sneaking suspicion most high school players would agree that if the competition were strong, they’d stay. Those that still do stay would have much more fun, and their overall experience would be better.

The MPA is, after all, interested in bettering the experience for high school student-athletes, right?