The Penobscot Pioneers girls ice hockey team reached the Class A North championship game a year ago in just its first season of existence.
The Pioneers, composed of girls from Bangor High, Brewer, Hampden Academy, Hermon, John Bapst of Bangor, Old Town and Orono, would like to go even further this season and they begin that quest on Wednesday night when they host Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland in an A North quarterfinal at the Penobscot Ice Arena in Brewer. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
The Pioneers are the second seed and will bring a 14-4 record into the game against a seventh-seeded Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland team that is 7-11.
They met once this season with the Pioneers earning a 10-2 road win back on Dec. 2 thanks to a seven-goal first period.
In the other quarterfinals, top seed and defending regional champ Yarmouth/Freeport, 14-4, will entertain 1-17 Mt. Ararat/Lisbon/Morse/Medomak Valley; third seed Brunswick, 9-9, will host No. 6 Lewiston/Oak Hill (10-8) and No. 4 Saint Dominic Academy from Auburn (11-7) will await a visit from No. 5 Winslow/Gardiner/Cony/Messalonskee/Lawrence/Erskine Academy/Maranacook (9-9).
The Penobscot-Edward Little winner will take on the winner of the Brunswick-Lewiston game in Saturday’s semifinal at the rink of the higher seeded team while the Yarmouth/Freeport-Mt. Ararat victor will meet the Saint Dominic-Winslow co-op survivor in the other semi.
The regional championship game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at the Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn while the South regional title game will be at the Troubh Ice Arena in Portland.
The state championship game will be on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.
Cheverus-Gorham-Windham is the defending state champ courtesy of a 3-2 win over Yarmouth-Freeport in the A final a year ago and is currently 15-1 and the top seed in the South.
The Pioneers come into Wednesday’s game on a high after winning their last three regular season games including impressive road wins over Yarmouth-Freeport (4-1) and Gorham/Bonny Eagle/Massabesic/Fryeburg/Lake Region/Westbrook (3-1), who had each beaten the Pioneers in Brewer earlier this season.
In fact, the victory over Yarmouth-Freeport was the first in five tries for the Pioneers, who had gone 0-3-1 in the previous four contests against the Clippers.
The Gorham co-op team wound up 12-6 and is the second seed in the South.
The Pioneers won their first ever playoff game last season, 6-3, over the Winslow co-op team in the A North semifinals before losing to Yarmouth-Freeport 3-1 in the North title game.
A pair of Brewer High School junior centers, Jordin Williams and Paige Oakes, are the Pioneers’ leading scorers. Williams, daughter of head coach Jarrod Williams, has 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points and Oakes has 28 goals and 10 assists for 38 points.
Hampden Academy senior winger Meghan Delahanty, who sustained an injury in practice and couldn’t play in the North final last year, has bounced back to have a productive campaign with 20 goals and 11 assists.
Impressive John Bapst freshman Isabelle Brideau has 5 goals and 18 assists and can play up front or on defense while Hermon junior winger Delaney Carr and Orono senior defenseman Anna Molloy each have 11 goals and 11 assists.
Orono sophomore Abbie Derosier has started all 18 games in goal and has a 2.25 goals-against average and a .899 save percentage.
The Red Hornets have been paced by scoring leaders Kylee Spugnardi and Avery Cologna. Izzy Jalbert has been a workhorse in goal.
