WINSLOW — What effect does a dramatic, opening round playoff win have on a team in its next postseason game?

That is what the top two seeds in the Eastern B boys hockey tournament, Messalonskee and Waterville, will find out Saturday when they play their semifinal contests at Sukee Arena.

No. 4 Brewer (9-7-3) scored a goal with less than 1 minute to play and added an empty netter soon after to top John Bapst 4-2 in its quarterfinal contest, and as a result will get top-seeded Messalonskee (17-1-0) at 5 p.m.

No. 2 Waterville (13-4-1) and No. 3 Winslow (13-6-0) will cap off the night in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. The Black Raiders scored a pair of third period goals, the game-winner coming with 2:51 to play to score a come-from-behind 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Hampden Academy in the quarterfinals.

“We’re going to have almost a week and a half break so we’re going to have to be right on the bounce to try to get stuff going right off,” Messalonskee coach Joe Hague said. “They got an emotional win right there to get into the next round. It could be anyone’s game but I hope we come out ready to play.”

Outside of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship game against Lewiston on Feb. 20, the Eagles will have not played a game in two weeks when they take the ice Saturday.

The layoff and pressure of being the favorite is something Messalonskee is used to though, as each team was aiming for the Eagles last season but they still managed to complete an undefeated season.

“They’re ready for the pressure,” Hague said. “That’s one thing with this team, I think they’ve had that experience of being in the top spot for a long time now. They understand how to handle the pressure and they just want to go out and play the game and make it happen.”

The Witches and Eagles played twice during the regular season and each time Brewer played Messalonskee tough. The top-seeded Eagles won 3-0 on Jan. 3 and 4-1 on Feb. 10.

“They’ve got a good centerman up there with (Gabe) Valley and the goalie (Tyler Friel) can definitely play,” Hague said. “We just need to really attack their defense and put some pressure on the goaltender. They’re a good team so they’re going to bring a challenge.”

Waterville and Winslow split during the regular season, with the Purple Panthers taking the most recent contest 7-4 on Feb. 11 and the Black Raiders winning 4-3 on Dec. 26.

“Every game means something when you play Winslow but obviously you throw away the records and everything that’s happened in the first two games,” Waterville coach Dennis Martin said. “Either you win or you go home.”

“It’s the Winslow-Waterville rivalry and we’re really excited to get back at them after they beat us here,” Winslow junior Jacob Trask said. “You never know what’s going to happen in that (game).”

Winslow gained plenty of confidence from its play in the final two periods Tuesday, but Waterville will not exactly be rusty when it takes the ice Saturday night despite its last regular season game was over one week. The Purple Panthers tuned up for the semifinals by scrimmaging St. Dominic Academy, the top seed in Eastern A, Tuesday.

“It went pretty good,” Martin said. “They’re a very good hockey team and to skate with them it maybe opened our eyes a little bit.”

The winners of Saturday’s semifinal games will play for the Eastern B championship Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena.

Evan Crawley — 621-5640

ecrawley@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Evan_Crawley