The NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament gets under way this weekend, which will bring Ohio State fifth-year senior Zach Pelletier closer to home.

The Maine Moose Super Elite and Elite teams are in the International Junior Hockey League finals this weekend.

Waterville boys Dennis Martin called timeout with 10 minutes, 17 seconds remaining in the Panthers' Eastern A semifinal game vs. Bangor on Saturday. The Panthers were about to begin a 5-on-3 power play, which would last 1:09, and were trailing by a goal.

FINAL: Eric Aldrich scored with 5:11 left to give Waterville an improbable 4-3 win over Bangor in the Eastern A semfinals.

AFTER 2: Waterville got back into the game, scoring a power-play goal with 6:22 left in the period to go into the locker room down 3-2.

Waterville took advantage of a special teams opportunity when Tim Locke pounded in a rebound of a shot by Nick DeBlois. Eric Aldrich took the intitial shot for Waterville and when Bangor goalie Zach Hamilton failed to cover the puck, DeBlois was able to get a second shot off. It deflected off Hamilton to the right post, where Locke pushed it in.

Waterville nearly tied it with a short-handed goal, but Josh Gaudette was stopped by Hamilton on a breakaway.

AFTER 1: Playing without its best player, defenseman Shawn Lee, the Waterville Senior High School boys hockey team fell behind 3-1 in the first period of its Eastern A semifinal against Bangor.

Bangor was out quick and dominated the period, taking a 2-0 lead just over five minutes into the game on goals by Alan Reese and Nick George. Joey Seccareccia added a goal with 38 seconds left before Eric Aldrich got Waterville on the board with five seconds remaining.

It's playoff hockey, and that means one thing: It's time for Winslow-Gardiner.

Again.

Ian Rowe was a defenseman throughout his youth hockey days, so moving back to the position on special teams is pretty natural for the Waterville Senior High School senior.

Messalonskee coach Mike Latendresse shouted across the hallway outside the lockerrooms at the Kennebec Ice Arena in Hallowell.

The first hockey Class A coaches/media poll will be released sometime this week. Here's my top 10 as I await Brewer-Waterville showdown Saturday morning at 10:30 at Colby:

A World Series champion was behind the visiting team's bench at the Kennebec Ice Arena on Saturday night.

The MHW Hawks have new hockey uniforms, and each of the three high schools -- Maranacook, Hall-Dale and Winthrop -- are represented.

Yes, it’s been humid and hot, but if you’re a hockey fanatic or just looking to chill out then then the Kennebec Ice Arena is the place for you this weekend.

FINAL: Forrest Chadwick scored with 4:11 left as the Tigers earned a berth in the Eastern B regional final with rival Winslow by beat John Bapst 4-3.
The Crusaders scored two goals in the first two minutes to tie the game at 3.

Klinton Peckham scored two short-handed goals 23 seconds apart to give the Tigers a 3-1 lead after the second period.
John Bapst tied the game with a 5-on-3 goal by Andrew Casey 4:24 into the period. With Gardiner still down a man, Peckham chased down a long clearing passing that was orginally played by John Bapst goalie Derek Duff. Peckham gathered the puck before Duff could get back into position and gave Gardiner a 2-1 lead by slipping the puck through Duff's legs with 10:20 left in the period.
Peckham then made a great individual effort to make it 3-1. After chasing down a puck at the John Bapst blue line, Peckham tipped it by a defender, then jumped around that defender into the attacking zone. Peckham got the puck between the circles and slipped a wrister through Duff's legs with 9:57 left.

Kevin May ripped in a shot between the circles on a pass from Forrest Chadwick to give Gardiner 1-0 lead after the first period in the second Eastern B semifinal at Sukee Arena.

Sean Bourgeois and Jesse Cullivan scored in the first four minutes of the third period as Winslow High School earned a 4-2 win in the Eastern Maine Class B regional semifinals over Houlton/Hodgdon at Sukee Arena.
Bourgeois scored his second goal of the game 1:03 into the period and Cullivan scored at 3:08 to give Winslow the lead for good.
The Black Raiders did not allow a shot in the third period. They'll play the winner of tonight's second game between Gardiner and John Bapst at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Maine in Orono.

AFTER 2: Winslow 2, H/H 2: Houlton/Hodgdon took advantage of seven Winslow penalties and scored two goals in the final seven minutes of the period to tie the game at 2.
Winslow went up 2-0 when Jeff LaFrance's shot from the blue line snuck through Malik Abouleish's legs with 7:28 left. Winslow then played at least a man down for the major of the final seven minutes at least a man down, and most of it two-men down.
Houlton/Hodgdon got within one on a power-play goal by Taylor Martin, then tied it with a power-play goal by Zach Chase with 3:04 left in the period.

AFTER 1: Winslow 1, Houlton/Hodgdon 0: Sean Bourgeois scored 1:28 into the first period to give Winslow a 1-0 lead in its Eastern B semifinal against Houlton/Hodgdon at Sukee Arena.
Bourgeois skated in from behind the Houlton/Hodgdon red line to the front of the net, where he backhanded a shot past Blackhawks goalie Malik Abouleish.
Winslow dominated the period, taking 18 shot, compared to just four by Winslow.

In one of the most exciting games I’ve seen all year, Lewiston edged Waterville 4-3 at Colby College’s Alfond Rink on Monday.

Messalonskee senior Matt DelGiudice will attend Bridgton Academy next fall.

Amid the hoop hoopla, there stands the Winslow boys hockey team.

The basketball tournaments are here (finally) and the hockey season is entering its final full week of the regular season. It’s a great time of year for all you winter sports fans.

The Lawrence hockey team buried Brewer 5-3 Thursday night, a huge victory for the upstart Bulldogs.

In the aftermath of Friday night's brawl at a Lawrence High basketball game, security was tight and visible at Saturday night's hockey game between Lawrence and Messalonskee at Sukee Arena in Winslow.

In the latest Maine Class A Hockey Coaches Association coaches and media poll, Lawrence High School was listed as one of the teams also receiving votes. After Tuesday night, the Bulldogs could move into the top 10.

Flipping through the Waterville Senior High School hockey team's program, you realize just how dominant the Panthers have been a times.

That the Rams lost to rival Gardiner 10-1 on Saturday night is probably disturbing enough to Cony hockey fans. But a greater concern is the lack of players on the Cony roster.

Members of the Spaulding High Crimson Tide boarded a bus Wednesday at 6 a.m. in Barre, Vt., and headed to Waterville for the annual Holiday Tournament at Alfond Rink.

The Waterville Senior High School hockey team will host its annual Christmas Invitational Dec. 26 and 27 at Colby College.

The Winslow Black Raiders play at Houlton/Hodgdon Saturday then get a few days off before taking part in the prestigous Maine High School Hockey Invitational.

Former Lawrence High School head coach Josh Blaisdell has joined the coaching staff at Winslow High School, serving as an assistant to Corey Lessard.

This just in: Ben Grant (Winslow) and Matt DelGiudice (Messalonskee) can play a little hockey.