Messalonskee’s Owen Kirk had 24 goals and 19 assists last season for the Eagles, who earned the No. 1 seed in Class B North, but were upset in the quarterfinals. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

A year after winning a Class B North title, the Messalonksee boys hockey team finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 14-4 record, to earn the No. 1 seed in the region. It seemed that the Eagles were on their way to another state title game.

Until they weren’t.

In a stunner, Messalonskee fell to No. 8 Old Town/Orono, 3-1, in the B North quarterfinals. The Eagles, who enter the 2024-25 season with most of their offensive force returning, have a chip on their shoulder.

“We’re ready to go, we’re real excited,” Messalonskee head coach Dennis Martin said. “(Last year’s ending) is a big driving force and they’re really ready to get going.”

The Eagles are young – Owen Kirk is the only senior on the roster – but carry plenty of experience, with a large junior class that received a lot of playing time last season. Kirk (24 goals, 19 assists) is the team’s top returning scorer, followed by junior Tatum Doucette (four goals, nine assists). As a team, the Eagles scored 88 goals last year, an average of 4.6 goals per game.

“We’ve got a lot of depth up front,” Martin said. “We’ve developed a lot of guys who have gotten stronger and stronger up front.”

Junior Denny Martin (six goals, 14 assists last season) will lead the defensive unit. Fellow defenseman Liam McFadden is currently out with an injury, leaving an opportunity for younger players to see some playing time.

Sophomore Nathan Kirk has the task of taking over the goaltending duties after the graduation of Hunter Hallee, who posted a 1.89 goals against average. Kirk gained some experience as a freshman, posting a shutout in his lone start.

Cony’s Cooper Clark had 17 goals and 11 assists last season for the Rams, who went 14-6 and reached the B North semifinals. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Cony – which includes players from Maranacook, Hall-Dale, Winthrop, Richmond and Erskine Academy – made huge strides in Class B last season, going from a 2-15-1 record in 2022-23 to 14-6 and a trip to the B North semifinals under first-year coach Doug Dieuveuil. With success under their belts, the Rams are ready to take another step forward this winter.

“We’re extremely excited,” Dieuveuil said. “We’ve had a few weeks of practice now. We’re off to a solid start for sure, but the boys are really excited to get into (the season).

“The continued depth and growth (is key). We rode three lines last season, so a lot of these players who are returning logged a lot of varsity time last season. They know what to expect. I think that’s going to be one of the things that helps us throughout the whole season.”

Cony has several key returners, led by junior Cooper Clark, who recorded 17 goals and 11 assists last season. He’s joined by senior Zack Waddell, who had 15 goals and nine assists.

“I think we have a pretty balanced approach overall,” Dieuveuil said. “We want to play with tempo, aggression and intensity. We have a lot of goal scorers on our team, I’ll say that for sure. We have good goaltending in the back… Our defense has only gotten stronger, that’s the area that’s grown the most since last season.”

Cony has to replace graduated goaltender Landon Foster, a standout for the club for years. The junior duo of Ryan Bourque and Caleb Morgan, both Maranacook students, will share time between the pipes.

The Gardiner/Winslow/Waterville co-op is rebuilding after an 0-18 season. The team is still trying to raise numbers – there are 17 on the roster – but has added Lawrence to its co-op. The group has some returning talent, including junior goaltender Noah Robertson, junior defenseman Landon Getchell and junior defenseman Brett Lambert.

Local players will also be counted on as contributors for other area co-op programs. Nokomis senior Boston Merrow, a forward, scored eight goals and added nine assists for a Hampden Academy team that reached the Class B North final last season and is among the Broncos’ top returners. Baylon Cram, Grant Cram, Eddie Goff and Josh Hitchings, all Skowhegan students, will once again suit up for Brewer. The Witches reached the B North quarterfinals last year.

One of the biggest developments this winter is the new high school hockey program at Kents Hill School. The Huskies still have their prep program, but have added an additional program to their ranks that will compete in Class A, led by Bill Desmarais, a co-owner and coach of the Maine Moose junior hockey program. Forward Alex Wang, defenseman Nathan Roy and goaltender Gabe Robinson are expected to be standouts for the program.

“We’re just trying to get a feeder system for the prep team and more kids in the school… Most of my kids are juniors and seniors,” Desmarais said.

Desmarais said playing varsity games in Class A beats the potential of a junior varsity schedule in the prep ranks.

“(Junior varsity), I won’t say it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s playing random teams and games. Now we can have rivalries as things progress.”

Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Messalonskee/Lawrence/Erskine/Maranacook/Mt. Blue’s Leah Michaud had 13 goals and nine assists last season. Morning Sentinel file photo

In girls hockey, the Black Tigers — made up of players from Winslow, Gardiner, Messalonskee, Erskine, Mt. Blue, Cony, Lawrence and Waterville — will look to improve upon a 10-10 record from last season. The team reached the state semifinals.

“So far, we’re doing okay, there’s still plenty of things to work on early in the season,” Black Tigers head coach Bill Boardman said. “So far so good, no complaints.

“Our defense is really what’s standing out, we’ll be strong defensively. We hope to continue that and work on that.”

The defense is led by junior Leah Michaud (13 goals, nine assists last season), who Boardman believes is one of the best in the state. She’ll be joined by junior Alexa Caccamo. The Black Tigers return plenty of firepower on offense in junior Katie Berard, who scored 39 goals last season, and added 13 assists.