Bishop Guertin's Laura Marino tries to deflect the ball away from Exeter's Emma Gillis (22) during a game earlier this season. The Cards open up tourney play tonight at 6 vs. Portsmouth. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The time is here. After this weekend is complete, it’s officially Winter Tourney Time.

We’ve actually delved into the postseason already with the Campbell boys basketball team reaching the Division III quarterfinals before being elmiminated.

But this coming week, through next Saturday, brings preliminary round as well as quarterfinals in boys and girls basketball and hockey. We’ll tell you who the local favorites are, examine their chances and go from there:

POTENTIAL FINALISTS

These are teams that could make the finals in their tourneys, and as you move down the list will have great chances to at least be in their semis

NASHUA SOUTH BOYS HOOP

The Panthers are one of two local teams that will go into the postseason with, in these eyes, as the best chance to at least be playing on the final day, March 16 at UNH’s Lundholm Gym.

While there are several teams with the same idea in Division I, none have a scorer with the success that South senior Josh Caruso has had during the season. Now, man does not live by Caruso alone, so the Panthers will need great games also by the likes of guard Josh Tripp and forward Daniel Karavanic, just to name a couple. They’ll likely be a top four team which would give the Panthers two home games before potentially heading out for the semis in Rochester a week from Wednesday. But Bedford, Trinity, Portsmouth and others all have the same idea.

BISHOP GUERTIN BOYS HOCKEY

The Cardinals have had one of those regular seasons in which you have to think they’re primed for tournament success. One never would have thought that after they fell 6-1 to Concord back on Jan. 18. But they haven’t lost since (11 in a row, finishing 15-3) and even avenged that loss with a 2-1 overtime win two weeks later up at Everett Arena. They’ve won three one-goal games since then and have a plethora of scorers, including goals leader Noah Cordiero, and leader overall James Mantone plus Ryan Mogielnicki, Jordan Delude, Dom Trepanier, etc. They’ve successfully rotated goaltenders Conor Hayes and Luke Bettencourt.

“We didn’t know the goaltending situation, and we’ve been alternating the and they’ve both been playing well,” Cards coach Gary Bishop said.

Bishop also reunited the senior line of Mantone, Delude and Cordiero after splitting them up early in the season because they weren’t moving the puck in the coach’s eyes. And with Cordiero, “He’s one of those guys the puck follows him.”

In Division I, there’s Concord, Hanover, Salem and Keene as worthy contenders. In this sport, you expect the unexpected.

MILFORD GIRLS BASKETBALL

Spartans coach Mike Davidson said back at the Nashua Holiday Tournament that his team wante two trophies: that holiday one in late December, which they got, and the other in March.

They got a lot of confidence with a comeback 37-35 win over Derryfield nearly two weeks ago and their win over fellow contender Pembroke on Friday to wrap up the regular season gives them a first round bye as they can wait until Saturday’s quarterfinals.

The Spartans get steady contributions from Avery Fuller, Shea Hansen, Lexi Bausha and others. They’ll likely be as good as they can defend and press.

“We take pride in the fact we can give teams three or four different looks in a game,” Davidson said. “We’ve had so many (close) games against the top teams. But there’s a lot of work ahead. So many good teams in our division this year. There’s six or seven teams that can win it all.” Laconia being one, which beat Milford 50-35 but that was way back on Jan. 3. Stay tuned.

MAY GET TO SEMIS, THEN …

BISHOP GUERTIN GIRLS BASKETBALL

What a turnaround. The Cardinals wrapped up the regular season at 14-4 and finshed fifth, finishing behind fellow 14-4 Concord Christian, a team they opened up with season with a 38-36 win on the road with. Last year with a new coach and a whole new team from the dynasty days, they made the tournament but were ousted in the prelims by Salem. But after a 1-2 start with losses to Bedford and Londonderry, they won 13 of 15 games, including a win over tough out-of-state opponent Mercy of Connecticut. But that win over Mercy, deemed a Division II school by the NHIAA, gave Guertin less points when it comes to a rating and the Cards finished behind a team they were tied record wise with and beat. And now tonight they get a tough, tough Portsmouth team (9-9).

After bowing to Pinkerton 52-43 back on Jan. 14, the Cards haven’t lost to a New Hampshire opponent.The question is, can they beat any of their fellow top four teams? They’ve got depth, with Holly Dufoe, Thalia Drapeau, Ayla Regan, Jas Rosario and a return to their pressing style has helped. Two home games should help them, and it would be a fabulous quarterfinal against Concord Christian. Of couse The Beast, Bedford, would await next if BG wins two games. Either way, the Cards have made great strides.

“This year we’re a year older, a year more experienced,” Cards coach Olivia Orlando said about a month ago. “Some of the games that would have been losses a year ago, we’re learning how to win. It’s a credit to the girls.”

ALVIRNE-MILFORD BOYS HOCKEY

It’s been a memorable season for a lot of reasons for the Admirals, who were looking to finish 13-5 as of this writing, and were fighting to try to get into the top four, something that seemed a certainty until back-to-back losses to seacoast teams Spaulding (14 wins as of this writing) and Dover. Remember, their first-year head coach, Jason Dango, stepped away but they didn’t miss a beat under the guidance of interim Molly Norton. They have scoring depth – Braydon Atwood, Brandon Ganas, Bryce Larco, etc., and goaltender Mason Komarek has improved since grabbing the starting reins. They had a huge win over Oyster River a couple of weeks ago, wins over the two Nashua-based Division I co-ops gave them extra points, so now the key is whether they can win a big likely 4-5 seed quarterfinal and go on from there. As Oyster River coach Peter Harwood said, “They’re going to be dangerous going forward.”

The Bobcats, St. Thomas, and Spaulding are all contenders in a very tough division.

HOLLIS BROOKLINE BOYS BASKETBALL

What a job in two years head coach Ryan Kelley has done, turning around a program that had gone through a tough three or four years of irrelevance.

They were hoping for a top four finish which would mean a home quarterfinal. Their centerpiece is 6-6 junior center Alton Williams, but there’s no doubt what the Cavs’ bread and butter is: Defense. They won eight in a row, but until Merrimack Valley beat them 61-57 to snap that streak just over a week ago, no team had scored 60 or more against them since Pembroke beat them 70-68 back on Dec. 20. That effort has been led by the likes of JohnPaul Torgerson and Yarie Ramas, among others. Don’t sleep on this team, either; they’ve beaten fellow contenders Pelham and Sanborn and lost to Hanover and Pembroke by a combined four points.

ALVIRNE BOYS BASKETBALL

Every few years the Broncos put together a tough team that reaches the Divsion I semifinals. Is this one of those teams? They’ve got two studs in junior forward Garrett Hall and then their heart and soul, senior point guard Sammy DeWitt, and a championship coach (Profile last year) in Mitchell Roy.

They’ll be a top eight team which gives them a home game in the first round, but Roy laments the home loss to Merrimack which basically keeps them out of the top four for a home quarterfinal.

But don’t sleep on these Broncos. They’ve beaten likely top four teams Bedford and Trinity and took Portsmouth to the wire, losing by a point on the road in a great defensive effort (39-38). They can definitely make a ton of tourney noise and get to the semis.

MERRIMACK-HOLLIS BROOKLINE-DERRYFIELD BOYS HOCKEY

This is a team that has some legit standouts in Alex Gertz, Jackson Woods, Will Farrell, and experienced goalie James Brew. They’ve struggled against some of the upper echelon teams, but they beat St. Thomas and tied Oyster River. Thus the WarHawks certainly could win a road quarterfinal.

COULD MAKE NOISE

These teams you won’t want to play in the first round: Bishop Guertin, Merrimack and Souhegan boys basketball.

The Cards finished 10-8 and got a home game vs. Windham, winning out on tiebreakers, as it’s a major step from last year when they missed the tourney altogether.They developed a top player on Connor McGowan and run their helter-skelter style through him. It comes down to how well they shoot.

Merrimack, led by Ryan Elliott, Mikey Flera, and others always gives teams a hard time. Can they pull off the upset over South on Wednesday night? The Panthers pulled away for a win over a month ago at the H.Dana Taylor Gym, and now they’re at the Belanger. Big difference.

The Alvirne girls go by how Ella Hartson plays. And she’s played well all season, but especially this past month.

“I knew she was going to be special when she was in middle school,” Broncos coach Frank Girginis said. “They way she has been playing down the stretch just proves me right. I’m going to miss her.”

The Broncos, as of now, get No. 7 Salem in the first round on the road. The teams didn’t play during the season. Salem won out in a potential questionable tiebreaker over Dover, which did beat the Broncos 54-46. Alvirne could have a quarterfinal rematch with Londonderry, which smothered the Broncos 62-34 six weeks ago.

The Sabers finished 8-10 and are awaiting their pairings (last Division II games were slated for Friday), but they’ve made great strides in the first year of the coach Greg Croteau era. Tess Jancar and Caroline Drum, among others, have been tough on the opposition. Let’s see how the pairings work out.

TOUGH PAIRINGS

As for the Nashua South girls, do you really want to have to bring the ball up against the Nicole De Jesus led press? If the Panthers press hard and hit their 3-pointers, they can do some damage, but they have one problem: They have to face No. 2 Londonderry in the first round. Not a good matchup, having lost to the Lancers 65-28 the first time. North, meanwhile, will be at Windham, who beat the Titans 68-31 just a week ago. They’ll need another 24-point effort (six 3-pointers) like they got from Angie King in the regular season finale vs. Merrimack. With Lilly Small and Madelyn Tino, the Titans still have a bright future.

One team that can go either way is the Hollis Brookline girls. The Cavs finished 8-10 and lost their last three (the last vs. Milford had players away) and they showed they can compete when they upset Oyster River (14 wins going into Friday), so we’ll see.