As Maine’s high school basketball tournaments wind down to the final 10 teams this weekend, the state’s boys hockey playoffs will start warming up.

The regular season wrapped up Thursday night and the road to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee will begin with a series of quarterfinal games Tuesday.

Waterville’s sophomore defenseman Chase Wheeler stands in front of goalie Nathan Pinnette during a game against Lewiston earlier this season at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Staff file photo by Joe Phelan

Locally, four teams — Winslow, Messalonskee, Gardiner and Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale — will be in action, while Waterville, the No. 1 seed in Class B North, will wait to find out its semifinal opponent.

“This time of year it comes down to basically taking care of your end, doing all the little things and not having any breakdowns,” Waterville coach Dennis Martin said.

The Purple Panthers (16-1-1) will await the winner of No. 4 Winslow (12-4-2) and No. 5 Brewer (10-7-1). The two teams — who met Wednesday with the Witches pulling away in the third period for a 5-2 win — will play at 7 p.m. at Sukee Arena.

No. 3 Messalonskee (11-5-2), meanwhile, will play the early playoff game at Sukee at 5 p.m. against No. 6 John Bapst (11-6-1). The winner of that matchup will face the winner of No. 2 Camden Hills (15-3-0) and No. 7 Old Town/Orono (6-10-1) in the other semifinal opposite Waterville.

“Messalonskee, Waterville, Camden, they’re all tough teams,” Winslow senior Dameron Rodrigue said. “Once we get into the playoffs we just kind of have to battle. We’re going to have to come out playing every game our best and hope we get a win.”

No. 2 Gardiner (13-4-1), meanwhile, will look to try and navigate a very competitive Class B South. The Tigers will open up with defending regional champion Gorham (7-11-0), the No. 7 seed, at 6:20 p.m. at the Camden National Bank Ice Vault on Tuesday.

“Our South region is open to anybody right now,” Gardiner coach Sam Moore said. “It’s really competitive and anybody can beat anybody on any given night.

“It’s going to come down to depending on that goaltending to bring you through a game or two.”

If Gardiner can get past the Rams a meeting with the winner of No. 3 Brunswick (9-8-1) and No. 6 Cape Elizabeth (7-9-2) awaits in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Yarmouth (14-4-0) received a first-round bye and will face the winner of No. 4 York (11-7-0) and No. 5 Kennebunk (9-8-1).

In Class A North, Cony/Monmouth/Hall-Dale (12-6-0) landed in the No. 6 seed after some movement in the standings late in the season. After wrapping up the regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 11 it looked as if the Rams might have had a shot at hosting a playoff game, but Bangor’s win over top-seeded Lewiston (14-2-2) and wins for No. 2 St. Dominic (10-7-1) over Scarborough, Bangor and Biddeford saw an end to that.

“It’s just kind of the way things shook out and I think it just kind of demonstrates how tight things were,” Rams coach Chad Foye said. “One game made the difference for everybody and that’s just kind of the way things go.”

The Rams will open up against No. 3 Edward Little (10-8-0) on Tuesday at Norway Savings Bank Arena, and with a win would face the Saints. Foye said he was still awaiting final confirmation on the time of the game but that it would likely be around 7 p.m. In the other quarterfinal, No. 4 Bangor (9-7-2) will host No. 5 Windham/Westbrook (13-5-0), with the winner earning a semifinal date against the Blue Devils.

In Class A South, Scarborough (13-2-3) held off Falmouth (14-4-0) for the top seed and will open up against No. 8 Massabesic/Bonny Eagle/Old Orchard Beach. The winner will meet either No. 4 Cheverus (8-9-1) or No. 5 Biddeford (8-10-0) in the semifinals.

The Yachtsmen, meanwhile, will take on No. 7 South Portland/Freeport/Waynflete (5-11-2) in a quarterfinal, with the winner meeting either No. 3 Thornton Academy (11-6-1) or No. 6 Noble/Wells (9-9-0).

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley

Related Stories