As its Saturday evening contest with the South Kingstown approached, Portsmouth expected to have its hands full dealing with the surging Rebels.  The Patriots had four top players, three of them defensemen, down with injuries and unable to play in the game.  The team knew there would need to be lineup adjustments, the best players would have to deliver, and each of the junior skaters would have to step up their game.

With all the adjustments to player positions required to compensate for the absent regular performers, the Patriots could be forgiven for falling behind early in the game.  The Rebels took a commanding lead when they scored two goals within 55 seconds before even five minutes had been played in the first period.  Portsmouth was able to hold off the Rebels for the remainder of the period, and as the Patriots adjusted to the new lineup, the game began to turn in their favor.  Despite putting up only seven shots to South Kingstown’s 14, Portsmouth made the most of its opportunities.  Late in the period Chris Oliveira scored unassisted at 12:35 to bring Portsmouth back to within one goal of the Rebels.  Just 1:44 later, Oliveira combined with Matthew Harrigan to assist on the goal by Steve Souza that tied the game at 14:19.  The adjustments had worked and when the buzzer sounded to end the first period, Portsmouth had taken back the momentum in the game.

When the squad took the ice for the second period, the players picked up right where they left off at the first intermission.  Oliveira earned his second assist of the game when he set up Harrigan at 1:30 after play resumed.  The goal gave Portsmouth a 3-2 lead;  things were looking up.

South Kingstown managed to pull even with Portsmouth at 9:38 of the second period, but the Patriots continued to play well and generated good scoring opportunities.  Then at 11:44 things took a turn for the worse when Harrigan was called for boarding and was given a five minute major penalty.  It took the Rebels nearly three minutes to solve Portsmouth’s strong penalty kill effort, but solve it they did.  With just 26 seconds remaining in the second period South Kingstown scored the power play goal that put the Rebels up 4-3 heading into the second intermission.

Unlike minor penalties where the penalized player returns to the ice immediately if the opposition scores on the power play, players called for major penalties are required to remain in the penalty box for the duration of the call.  Their team continues to play shorthanded even if their opponent scores.  So it was as Portsmouth started the third period with a minute and 44 seconds still remaining to kill on the penalty.  Just 57 seconds after the puck dropped to start the period, the Rebels increased their lead to two with their second power play goal on the major penalty.  The Patriots had two power play opportunities of their own later in the period but were unable to cash in on the man advantage situation.  While Portsmouth’s defense did a good job in holding the Rebels to only two shots for the remainder of the period after the South Kingstown’s goal in the first minute, the Patriots were unable to generate many scoring opportunities themselves as they were limited to just five shots in the final stanza. 

Portsmouth goalie Matt Maggiacomo made 25 saves in the loss.  The Patriots were unable to score on three power play opportunities and gave up two goals while on the penalty kill. 

The loss puts Portsmouth’s league record this season at 8 wins / 4 losses / 2 ties / 2 overtime losses, with two league games remaining on the schedule.  The loss eliminated the Patriots from the possibility of finishing first in D-II South.  The top four teams in the South subdivision, as well as the top four in the North, will qualify for the playoffs.  Currently in D-II South, both Prout and Middletown have secured playoff spots.  Three teams, Portsmouth, South Kingstown, and East Greenwich are vying for the remaining two slots in the post-season play.  The Patriots will lock-in a spot in among the top four with one more win, or tie, or if East Greenwich loses one more game.  Although Portsmouth is out of the running for first place in its subdivision, second through fourth place are still up for grabs.  Just where the team finishes depends not only on what it does in its last two league games this week, but also what happens in the games with the other four contenders.

The regular season schedule is quickly headed to a close.  Portsmouth has only three more games left to play this week before the playoffs get set to begin.  First up, the Patriots will meet the Patriots - the Pilgrim Patriots - in a non-league contest Wednesday afternoon, February 22, at Thayer Arena in Warwick.  With the schools out for Ski Week the teams are available to play earlier than usual, so the game is set to begin at 2:30 PM.  The way the schedule was set up this season, the teams from the North and South subdivisions did not play each other in the regular schedule.  The first round of the playoffs will pair teams from the North with those from the South.  This game will be a good opportunity for each team to see a potential playoff opponent in a real game setting.  This game is not a scrimmage, but rather a regulation non-league game; just as those in the Coastal Cup Tournament were.  Pilgrim is currently in second place in D-II North, contending with Coventry and Cumberland for the top three spots in the standings.  Those Patriots feature senior forward Nicholas McGuirl, the leading scorer in D-II with 24 goals / 23 assists / 47 points.

The contest with Pilgrim will be followed by games Friday and Saturday evenings, February 24 & 25, as the Patriots close out their regular season.  First up will be Narragansett at Thayer Arena at 8:00 PM.  That game will be followed by the season finale at the West Warwick Civic Center at 7:30 PM, where Portsmouth will take on current D-II South leader, Prout.  The final standings, and thereby the playoff seeding, are at stake in these last two games.  The Patriots will be giving it their best; come out to the rinks and cheer them on to win-out the season.