Kian Corcoran's play in goal is one of the big reasons the Alvirne-Milford boys hockey team goes into the Division II tourney as the No. 1 seed. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

Welcome to the party, hockey.

The sport joins the wild local tourney fray as the Division I and II tournaments get underway locally today with quarterfinal rounds, and there’s three teams in action.

In fact, there’s a doubleheader at Skate 3 in Tyngsborough, Mass, with the area’s lone postseason Division I team, No. 3 Bishop Guertin, hosting No. 6 Keene (11-7) at 4:10 p.m.

That will be followed by Division II top seed Alvirne-Milford (14-4) hosting No. 8 Somersworth Coe-Brown (7-11). Meanwhile, No. 7 Merrimack-Hollis Brookline-Derryfield (9-8-1) is at No. 2 St. Thomas of Dover at 4 p.m.

All are glad the long week of waiting is over.

They have plenty of reasons. The Cards beat Keene 5-2 on the road back on Jan. 21, and go into the tourney on a four-game winning streak.

In that Keene game, senior captain Jordan O’Hearn had a hat trick and assist for a four-point game. It’s tourney time, and seniors are essential.

“You take anyone from the top 10 and they can give you a game,” Cards coach Gary Bishop said. “We know who are top two lines are, etc.”

MHBDS was in the finals last year, losing to St. Thomas of Dover, and certainly would love a return trip. The WarHawks (9-8-1) are the No. 7 seed, and guess who they have to take on first? Yes, the Saints lost out in the quest for the top seed.

That’s because that spot was grabbed by Alvirne-Milford, the Admirals beating Divison I’s Nashua North-South 3-0 in last Saturday’s regular season finale and getting a higher point rating because of it to edge the Saints. That’s also despite losing to St. Thomas 4-3 back in their only meeting on Feb. 4.

“We knew the top seed was at stake,” Admirals coach Kathy Griswold said. “We knew we had home ice advantage (in the quarterfinals) but we wanted that top seed.”

They’ve already beaten Somersworth Coe-Brown twice, 3-0 on the road and 6-1 at Skate 3.

They ended the regular season a week ago with a 3-0 win over Nashua North-South, the fourth shutout of the season for Admirals netminder Kian Corcoran (30 saves), who has the program record of six – and that’s after not playing with the team last year.

“We have an amazing goaltender,” Griswold said.

Nashua was handed the advantage of a five-minute power in the opening period play thanks to a major boarding call against the Admirals, but could only manage three shots on Corcoran.

“We work a lot on our special teams,” Griswold said. “That was one thing when I took over the team, I was a little unclear on how special teams were organized so that was my first task. … They’ve certainly stepped it up.”

Meanwhile, there was a cost for the Admirals in this one, as Ganas was hit with a game misconduct penalty/ejection after a hit into the boards on Nashua’s Jack Russin-Morgan.

That carries a one-game suspension and cause Ganas to miss the quarterfinals.

“My staff and I have worked very hard to develop multiple scoring combinations and progress every player on our roster,” Griswold said. “So we will move forward.”

Either way, the Admirals have taken Division II by storm. Did Griswold expect this kind of season?

“Yes, I saw a lot of potential, I saw a lot of things I needed to clean up,” Griswold said. “The key to going forward is just focus.”

That’s what the WarHawks plan on doing, especially defensively. They’ve only given up more than two goals a game four times in 18 games, and two were against Division I teams Keene and Nashua. Their issues in the majority of their losses has been generating offense, but they have players who can put the puck in the net, such as Alex May, who had a hat trick in the regular season finale win over Somersworth Coe-Brown.

And don’t forget, they did gain some earlier measure of revenge over the Saints, beating them 3-1 back on Jan. 28 at Manchester’s West Side Arena.

In that game, the WarHawks got a goal and an assist by Colin Hamlin, plus goals by Will Farrell and May, plus they have a very good goalie as well in Liam Gagne. He had 44 saves that night.

BOYS BASKETBALL

DIVISION I QUARERFINALS

There are three games involving locals, and it starts early: No. 5 Bishop Guertin (15-4) is at No. 4 Pinkerton (16-3) at 12 p.m. at the Hackler Gym. The Cards won the regular season game in Derry 78-75 in the early part of a season-changing nine-game win streak.

At 2 p.m., No. 6 Alvirne (13-6) is at No. 3 Trinity of Manchester (16-3). The Pioneers, coached by Nashua North and Daniel Webster College alum Ray Farmer, beat the Broncos in Manchester 72-59 back on Jan. 30. Alvirne’s lost only twice since.

Finally, at 6 p.m. it’s No. 7 Nashua South (12-7) at No. 2 Bedford (17-2), and the Bulldogs will look to avenge one of their two regular season losses as South shocked them in Nashua Feb. 3 to start its current stretch of eight wins in last nine games.

The winners advance to next Wednesday’s semifinals in Rochester. The other quarter is No. 8 Exeter at No. 1 Portsmouth.

DIVISION II QUARTERS

This 2 p.m. game is rescheduled from Friday, the second straight rescheduling for the Souhegan boys. The No. 11 Sabers (11-8) are at No.3 Manchester West (15-4). Don’t sleep on the Sabers; they lost a close one to the Blue Knights in Amherst, 58-56.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

DIVISION II QUARTERS

The hottest team in the area, the No. 5 Hollis Brookline girls (15-4) who have won a whopping 12 straight are at No. 4 Pelham (15-4) at 5 p.m. The Ana O’Donnell-led Cavs lost to the Pythons by just two, 45-43, waaaay back on Dec. 16. That’s almost three months ago.

Meanwhile, at 6 p.m., No. 7 Souhegan (14-5) will be at No. 2 Derryfield (16-2). The Sabers actually handed the Cougars one of their two losses, 38-33, back on Jan. 23. Derryfield hasn’t lost since, winners of nine in a row, earning the Cougars a first-round bye.