Evan Alvanas had a hat-trick, and six other Patriots each added a goal to carry Portsmouth to a 9-0 victory over the Pilgrim Patriots at the West Warwick Civic Center, Saturday night.  In addition to Alvanas, Portsmouth’s other goals came off the sticks of Matt Alexander, Alec Roderiques, Ben O’Hearn, Tim Jackson, Matt Faria, and Christian Schenck.

Ten players were credited with assists for Portsmouth.  Josh Arkins led the team with three, followed by Kevin Manning, Jack Cavanagh, and Michael Adkins with two each.  Collecting one assist apiece were Kyle McGowan, Noah McHugh, O’Hearn, Jackson, Cam Mello, and Schenck.  Schenck’s goal and assist were the first of each in the freshman forward’s high school career.

Portsmouth outshot Pilgrim 61-6 in the game.  Gage Aguiar in goal for the Patriots during the first two periods had two saves and recorded the win.  His record now stands at five wins, two losses, and one overtime loss.  Aguiar was replaced in in the crease at the start of the third period by Matt Nordhill who made four saves to finish the game.  The two goalies combined to deliver the second shutout by Portsmouth this season.

The Patriots will wrap up their regular season play next Saturday, March 7, at 8:30 PM, at the Cranston Veterans Memorial Rink.  Portsmouth will face off with the Toll Gate Titans in that final game before the playoffs.

The race for positioning in the Division-2 standings remains tight among all the teams as the regular season heads to its conclusion.  Although Portsmouth has already secured a spot in the playoffs, the team’s final game remains important.  The Patriots will finish the regular season in either sixth or seventh place, depending on the results of their final game, and the outcome of several other contests with critical impact on the final standings.  Likewise, the team’s opponent in the first round will not be known until the completion of all of next weekend’s games.

Plan now to head to Cranston next Saturday and cheer for Portsmouth as the squad looks to close out its campaign with a momentum building win before heading to the post-season.  See you at the rink.