If the regular season was any indication of what hockey fans can expect to see in the playoffs, this postseason may be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. 

Team records didn’t seem to mean much during the regular season, either. There were, however, memorable moments. 

St. Dominic Academy and Lewiston played to a tie in their first meeting. Both teams got all they could handle from Edward Little as the Red Eddies took the Saints to overtime and defeated the Blue Devils in their second of two meetings. Those same Blue Devils strung together wins against Falmouth, Bangor, Biddeford and Scarborough during a strong midseason stretch. 

After two months of beating up on each other, the Eastern Class A playoff field is set. St. Dom’s (15-2-1) emerged from the scuffle with the top seed and a bye into the regional semifinals. The Saints were 8-0-1 against the East during the regular season, despite lingering health issues. 

“These guys have had high expectations and they’ve gone through quite a bit of adversity this year dealing with a lot of injuries, dealing with a lot of sickness,” St. Dom’s coach Steve Ouellette said. “I think they’re well-tested. They know other people can step up. It’s been that next-man-up, 24-man mentality. It’s been kind of our theme.” 

The Saints will gladly take the extra few days to get their team as healthy as possible before gearing up for their semifinal game against the winner of Edward Little and Lawrence/Skowhegan. St. Dom’s isn’t resting too easy, knowing the No. 1 seed doesn’t guarantee a regional championship. The Saints were the third seed last year when they advanced to the state championship game. 

“We know there’s a tough road ahead because we’ve been the team — the No. 3 seed and so forth, and having that tougher draw — so we kind of know what can be done,” Ouellette said. “It doesn’t matter just because you’re No. 1, you’re not entitled. It’s a whole new season, it’s one-and-done. But we are excited to finish the way we did.” 

While the Saints rest, the other six qualifying teams will play a quarterfinal game. The second-seeded Blue Devils match up against Windham, which they didn’t play this season. They have no common opponents, either. 

Lewiston (12-5-1) enters the postseason the winner of three straight after posting a 5-4 overtime win against Bangor in the regular-season finale. The Blue Devils trailed 4-1 in the second period. 

The margin for error lessens come playoff time. Three-goal deficits are hard to overcome when there’s more than just Heal points on the line. For Lewiston, it still doesn’t hurt to know it has the capability of pulling off a comeback of that caliber.

“You have to bring it every minute,” Lewiston coach Jamie Belleau said. “The record’s over. Everyone starts 0-0. I know it’s cliche, but it’s so true in high school sports. We have to execute. We have to play well. If we do that, we think we can have some success, but not a lot of room for error. Our kids have to be ready to go.” 

The boys’ hockey team hopes to build on Lewiston’s already successful winter season. The girls’ hockey program completed an undefeated season with its second state championship last weekend. The girls’ indoor track and field team placed second at the state meet, its best showing in program history. And the boys’ basketball program has advanced to its first regional final since 1991. 

The Blue Devils have won the regional championship every other year since 2011. If history holds true, they’ll have another regional title to add to their trophy case. 

“It’s exciting for our community and for our school and for our administration and for our student-athletes,” Belleau said. “We all recognize what’s going on. There’s been a lot of positive things happening at the athletic department at Lewiston High School. You like to think those types of things that have been going on during the summer in the emphasis in strength training, conditioning and core training and agility training is starting to pay off. I think it is.” 

For Edward Little (9-9), this postseason has a little different feel to it. For the first time in several years, the fifth-seeded Red Eddies did not draw either St. Dom’s or Lewiston in the regional quarterfinal. They instead will travel to take on No. 4 seed Lawrence/Skowhegan, which beat them both times during the regular season, 7-3 and 5-3.

Edward Little coach Craig Latuscha said his team will be near full strength this time around, unlike the Red Eddies’ previous meeting with the Ice Bandits (11-6-1).  

“We’re going to adjust and we’re going to change things up a bit,” Latuscha said. “For the first time all season we have probably 99 percent of the kids on board. The last time we played them we had 12-13 kids in the stands, so that’s a big difference. You play with the cards you’re dealt.” 

The Red Eddies were 2-6 against Eastern playoff teams this season — three losses were by two or fewer goals. Edward Little has played well against the East’s top two seeds, taking the Saints to overtime and beating the Blue Devils for the first time in nine years. If the Red Eddies and Blue Devils meet again, it will be for the regional championship. EL would play St. Dom’s if it got past Lawrence/Skowhegan. 

“Our team will have to be all on board,” Latuscha said. “We’ll have to be unselfish and we’ll have to bring the intensity and bring the hype I know they can bring. If they played like the way they played against Lewiston, St. Dom’s and Bangor, you never know how far we can go.” 

The postseason begins Tuesday.