Five to Follow: Down to the wire

It's down to the final week of the regular season - and for some the final game - for girls basketball teams around the state.

Same goes for the local hockey teams, as they get ready for the postseason to start next week.

For the Souhegan girls basketball team, its just one more big game on Tuesday. The Sabers are coming off a week in which they defeated three teams with a winning record - John Stark, Bedford and Lebanon, which, like Souhegan, was undefeated heading into that game.

Souhegan now gets to take its 15-0 record in Division II up against Hollis/Brookline (15-2) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Amherst. The teams met once before back on Jan. 11, and the Sabers pulled out a 65-54 victory to hand the Cavaliers their first loss of the year.

In that game, H/B got up by nine points in the first quarter but was outscored 42-19 in the second and third quarters and trailed by 18 points going into the fourth. The Cavs went on to lose their next game, a 46-44 loss to Portsmouth, but have won nine in a row since then.

Despite the undefeated record, Souhegan has had to fight for just about all of its wins this year, and after surviving Saturday's matchup with Lebanon, the Sabers have the inside track at the No. 1 seed in the division. Of course, they have to beat H/B first.

2. Merrimack at Nashua North girls basketball, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

The Tomahawks and Titans are in similar boats. Both started off strong and have tailed off as of late and at least one will be going on the road for the first round of the Division I playoffs.

After opening the year 6-3, Merrimack has lost three straight and five of seven overall. The three most recent losses came to the upper echelon of the division - Dover, Londonderry, Pinkert0n - but the two other loses came against Nashua South and Keene.

North has lost four in a row and six of eight since getting off to a 6-2 start this season. Again, those losses have come against Londonderry, Manchester Memorial, Pinkerton, Dover and Winnacunnet.

3. Dover at Alvirne girls basketball, Friday, 7 p.m.

The Broncos snapped a three-game losing streak their last time out, knocking off Spaulding 63-47 last Friday. This game against the Green Wave is the second of two big ones for Alvirne this week, as it will also play Pinkerton on Tuesday.

Alvirne can still finish fourth in Division I, but it would mean winning both games against Pinkerton and Dover, and having the Green Wave lose to Manchester Central on Tuesday and have Exeter upset Memorial. Dover has gone 9-3 in its last 12 games, with its only losses to Londonderry, Winnacunnet and Pinkerton.

Even if the Broncos (11-5) end up losing both games, they should still end up with a top eight seed and a home game in the first round of the playoffs.

4. Pinkerton at Bishop Guertin boys hockey, Wednesday, 7:50 p.m.

It was less than three weeks ago that the Cardinals were 8-0 and sitting atop the Division I standings. Since then, Bishop Guertin has gone 2-4 in its last six games and has a narrow lead over Hanover for the fourth spot in the playoffs, which is key, since the top four teams in the division receive a bye.

The Astros (12-3-1) come in having won four in a row and 10 of their last 12 to jump up to second in the division. During the winning streak, Pinkerton has outscored its opponents 18-1. That presents a challenge to a Cardinals team that hasn't scored more than four goals since the calendar turned to February.

5. Alvirne at Belmont-Gilford boys hockey, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

This is the only meeting between the two teams in the regular season and with the Broncos (14-2) and the Bulldogs (13-3-1) holding on to the No. 2 and 3 spots in Division III, respectively. A win by Alvirne would wrapup the No. 2 seed, and but B-G in danger of slipping fourth or fifth in the standings.

Since being humbled by Somersworth, Alvirne has won six straight games going into Monday night's contest against Con-Val. The Bulldogs have headed in the other direction. After starting the year 9-0, they're just 4-3-1 since.

South still alive

The Panthers stopped a 10-game losing streak last Tuesday with a win over Exeter, and then made it back-to-back wins by beating Manchester West on Saturday. South (4-11) still has three games remaining and if it can win two of those three, it should be able to get into the Division I playoffs, something that seemed almost impossible a week ago.

After heading to Trinity Tuesday night, the Panthers return home to host Timberlane (0-13) on Friday and Keene (3-11) on March 4. And with Keene and Concord (3-11) playing Tuesday, South has its playoff destiny in its own hands.