There are less than two weeks left in the Maine girls hockey regular season, and while no team has to worry about missing the playoffs, seedings and home-ice advantage are still undecided. 

Here are a few storylines to keep an eye on this week as girls and boys teams start thinking about the postseason.

PLAYOFF PICTURE UNFOLDING

The Edward Little co-op and Yarmouth/Freeport girls teams have comfortably separated from everyone else in the North. They are in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the Heal point standings, which would mean a first-round bye for both teams. The Red Hornets would also have home-ice in the semifinals, which will be played at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn. Brunswick (8-7) and Penobscot (7-7) will likely host quarterfinal games.

The top seed and lone bye in the South could come down to the Jan. 31 season finale between Cheverus/Windham/Medomak Valley (10-2-2) and Biddeford/Thornton/Kennebunk/Wells (11-4), but the Stags have the inside track. As of Tuesday afternoon, Falmouth/Scarborough (4-9-2) has less than a 0.4 Heal point advantage over the Portland co-op (6-8) for the South’s fourth-seed and a quarterfinal on home ice. 

The Class A boys bracket is still taking shape midway through the season. Cheverus/Yarmouth (7-4) holds a narrow lead over Thornton Academy (9-1) for the top spot. The Lewiston co-op (6-3-1) is battling rival Edward Little (7-3) for the third spot. Those two teams face off at the Colisee on Saturday night. The fifth through seventh seeds (Fryeburg/Lake Region/Oxford Hills, Scarborough and Falmouth) are separated by less than 0.6 Heal points. 

FRESHMEN MAKING AN IMPACT

Basketball courts aren’t the only place where the Class of 2029 is excelling this winter. As their first season of high school hockey is more than halfway done, some first-year players are showing why they are earning valuable minutes on the ice. 

In B South boys, the No. 1 Gorham/Massabesic team is getting solid production from freshman forward Isaiah Waterman, who is third on the team in goals (five) and scored the overtime winner in last Saturday’s 4-3 victory over the Class A Windham co-op. 

No. 2 Kennebunk/Wells is led by the freshmen duo Jacob Corthell (10 goals, second-most in the region) and Dylan Page (20 points, second-most in the region). Corthell scored twice and added an assist in Monday’s 4-1 win over Cape Elizabeth, and Page had two assists.

Max Joly and Joe Graceffa have reached double digits in points for the Navigators (6-4), who knocked off Class A’s top team, Cheverus/Yarmouth, on Monday. 

Three of the top 10 goal scorers in the girls South region are freshmen: Logan Curry (16 goals, 21 points) for Cheverus, Mikaela Furt (15 goals, 24 points) for the Portland co-op, and Marlo Elwell (10 goals, 13 points) for York. Khloe Nadeau, a forward for the Red Hornets, is the lone freshman on the North leaderboard with 10 goals and 18 points.

CENTRAL MAINE STAKING CLAIM IN B NORTH

So far, the top two teams in Class B North boys hockey this season aren’t too far north. Messalonskee (8-2) and the Cony co-op (8-2) had a strong start to the season and enter the second half with victories over PLOG and Hampden Academy, respectively, on Monday.

Messalonskee, ranked fourth in the Varsity Maine poll, has won four straight, including a victory over second-ranked Cheverus/Yarmouth. A senior-led offensive group that includes Alex Beckwith, Logan Baron, Denny Martin, Christian Salvadori and Tatum Doucette, leads the way for the Eagles.

Learning to win and closing out tight games is a skill that Cony coach Dan Foster said his team has worked on this season. The fifth-ranked Rams have won four of their six games decided by one goal. Senior captain Cooper Clark, who leads the team with 20 points, said the team is motivated to move past the B North semifinals, where their 2024-25 season ended with a loss to Messalonskee.

The Eagles have road games against the Houlton co-op on Friday and Presque Isle on Saturday. The Rams take on John Bapst/Hermon/Bangor Christian at the Thomas College Ice Vault on Saturday night.