Six local girls basketball teams will attempt to advance to the tournament at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor when they compete in preliminary playoff games Tuesday.
Caribou, Central Aroostook and Washburn all have home games, while Fort Fairfield, Hodgdon and Easton are on the road.
A major regular season hockey match is also scheduled as the Presque Isle Wildcats and the Black Hawks renew their rivalry in Houlton.
In basketball, Caribou (8-10, 74.1975) is ranked eighth in Class B North and will host No. 9 Oceanside (9-9, 66.9136) at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will play No. 1 Hermon in the quarterfinals in Bangor on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 3:05 p.m. The Vikings are looking to advance to the tournament for the first time since 2011.
In Class C, Central Aroostook (12-6, 99.2953) holds the No. 6 position and will host No. 11 Calais (13-5, 66.7901) at 6 p.m. The winner has a date with No. 3 Narraguagus (17-1) in the quarterfinals Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 9:30 a.m. in Bangor.
Fort Fairfield (12-6, 81.0494) is the No. 10 seed and will play an Aroostook County foe, No. 7 Fort Kent (12-6, 89.8765), in a 6 p.m. prelim at Fort Kent. The Warriors swept the regular season matchups, coming out on top by a score of 40-31 Dec. 14 and squeaking out a 33-29 victory on Jan. 11 in Fort Fairfield. The FF-FK winner plays No. 2 Dexter (15-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 11:05 a.m. in the quarters.
Hodgdon (9-9, 612.1111) is ranked 13th and will be on the road against No. 4 Stearns (15-3) at 6 p.m. in Millinocket. It marks the first time in several years that the Hawk girls have qualified for postseason action. The winner plays either No. 5 Central of East Corinth (16-2) or No. 12 Penobscot Valley High School of Howland (11-7) in the quarterfinal round Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7:05 p.m.
In Class D North, the Washburn Beavers (5-13, 22.0370) and Jonesport-Beals Royalettes (8-10, 19.3732) face off in Washburn at 3:30 p.m. The winner meets the No. 1 Southern Aroostook Warriors Monday, Feb. 19, at 3:35 p.m. in the quarterfinals in Bangor.
Easton (5-13, 14.7531) snuck into the playoff field on the final night of the regular season by beating Washburn on Thursday. The Bears were tied with Van Buren for the 10th and final playoff spot heading into that contest. The Bears, who broke a long tourney drought last year by advancing into the semifinals, will travel to East Millinocket to take on No. 7 Schenck (9-9, 39.5679) at 6 p.m. The winner plays No. 2 Woodland (15-3) in the quarterfinals Saturday, Feb. 17, at 9:05 p.m.
In hockey, the No. 2 Presque Isle Wildcats (11-4) play No. 5 Houlton/Hodgdon/Southern Aroostook/Katahdin (5-8-1) in a Class B battle between the only two varsity hockey programs in Aroostook County. The puck drops at 6 p.m. at the Millar Arena in Houlton.
PI is coming off a 7-2 victory over No. 4 Hampden Academy on Saturday, while the Black Hawks, the Houlton-Hodgdon-Southern Aroostook-Katahdin hockey team, pulled off a huge upset Friday, sending No. 1 Old Town/Orono to its first loss of the season, 4-3 in overtime.
The Wildcats have won both regular season matchups against the Black Hawks by scores of 5-3 and 5-2.
