The Cony High School hockey team has won 11 of its last 12 games, including an overtime victory over rival Maranacook/Hall-Dale/Winthrop in an Eastern A quarterfinal this week.
“We’ve been playing well,” Cony first-year coach Chad Foye said. “I like the way we’ve been going at it.”
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Next up for No. 4 Cony (15-4-0) is an Eastern A semifinal game at noon today at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee against top-seeded Lewiston (14-4-1) the defending Eastern A champs.
No. 2 Bangor (14-5-0) will meet No. 3 St. Dominic (13-6) in the other semifinal, also at the Colisee.
In Eastern B, No. 2 Messalonskee (16-3-0) will try to make history tonight when it plays No. 3 Presque Isle (12-7-0) in a regional semifinal at 5 p.m. at Sukee Arena. No. 1 Brewer (18-1-0) and No. 5 Old Town (10-8-1) will follow at 8 p.m.
Cony, which didn’t play Lewiston in the regular season, faces its biggest test. The Blue Devils have the depth and skill to wear out opponents. And they are playing their best hockey of the season.
Lewiston is 13-1-1 since starting the season 1-3-0.
“I know they’ll be good,” Foye said. “I expect we will have to be at the top of our game to compete with them. This is our biggest opponent to date. To get Lewiston in Lewiston is always a tough matchup. They have the tradition. We’ll definitely have our hands full.”
Dallas Clark and Dakota Bowie each have 25 points to lead the Rams. Senior goalie Matt Swan will need another big performance for the Rams to spring an upset. He has an .886 save percentage and a 2.05 goals against average this season.
“We expect them to be a disciplined, gritty team,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “I expect them to play a mistake-free game. I expect them to give us everything they have. If we try to do too much and get away from our game, they can make our life difficult.”
Senior defenseman Brandon Tiner, who was named a Travis Roy Award semifinalist this week, leads Lewiston. Senior captain forwards Matt Therrien and Desmond Gagne provide some of the scoring punch.
“We’ve played well,” Belleau said. “We skate three to four lines. We’ll be ready.”
Messalonskee, which moved from Eastern A to Eastern B this season, is gunning for its first-ever trip to a regional final.
“We’ll have to be at our best to beat them,” Messalonskee coach Mike Latendresse said. “It’s going to come down to a couple of breaks here and there.”
Messalonskee beat Presque Isle 8-3 in the regular season, although that game was over two months ago, on Dec. 16.
“This is going to be a much different team from what we played earlier,” Latendresse said. “We have to forget that game and look at what they’ve done in the second half.”
The Wildcats, who lost in the regional quarterfinals last season, are 7-2-0 in their last nine games. One of their losses was in overtime to Brewer, the two-time defending Eastern B champs.
“It can go either way,” Presque Isle coach Dr. Carl Flynn said. “My kids are confident we can do this if we stick to the plan that we have. But we realize we are the underdogs. We know we have our work cut out for us, but I think we have a legitimate chance to upset them.”
The Eagles and Wildcats feature two of the most explosive lines in the league.
Sam Dexter, Chase Cunningham and James Varney have combined for 165 points for Messalonskee. Dexter leads the team in scoring with 41 goals and 27 assists for 68 points. Cunningham has 62 in 17 games while Varney checks in with 35.
Senior captain Isaac LaJoie leads Presque Isle with 54 points while Brennan Shaw has 51. Linemate Adam Flynn has 30 points in just 12 games.
“The key to them is to neutralize their first line and beat their second line,” Carl Flynn said. “Their speed impressed us the first time we played them, but I don’t think it will this time around. We’ve caught up to them.”
Added Latendresse: “They have some great players and their kids are playoff-tested.”
Presque Isle is playing in its fourth Eastern B semifinal game in seven years. The Wildcats are have won their last three appearances in the semis.
Carl Flynn said he hopes his Wildcats that experience will come into play tonight.
Bill Stewart — 621-5640
bstewart@centralmaine.com
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