Christian Schenck led the way with the team’s first Hat Trick of the season, and Cam Mello had three assists, as the Patriots took Game 1 in the playoff quarterfinal series by a score of 5-2 over the Ponaganset Chieftains Friday night at the Abbey.  The win in the best of three series puts the team just a game away from advancing to the semi-final round.

 

The Patriots got off to their, all too common bad start and found themselves trailing 1-0 just one minute into the game.  Given the history of the games these two teams have played over the past two seasons, everyone expected a low scoring affair where a single goal could provide all the margin needed to gain the victory.  But if there was concern over that fact, it wasn’t from the players on the ice.  Portsmouth answered with a goal of their own, the first of the night by Schenck, at 4:38, to tie the game.

 

As has been the case in many of their games during the season, the Patriots began to play better as the period wore on.  Confidence was building throughout the last ten minutes of the period, but then one of the worst things that can happen to a team late in a period occurred.  Portsmouth gave up its second goal to the Chieftains with just seventeen seconds remaining until the buzzer to end the period.  Ponaganset was up 2-1 at the first intermission.

 

Almost always, a goal in the final minute of a period will hand all the game momentum to the team that scores.  But that didn’t happen in this contest.  Portsmouth shrugged it off and went right back to playing as they did in the latter part of the first period.  And it didn’t take long until their patience paid off.  Schenck tied the game for the second time with his second goal of the night at just 2:10 into the period.  Seven minutes later the Patriots took a decisive lead.

 

At the 9:14 mark of the second period Portsmouth grabbed the lead for the first time in the game on a goal by Niklas Pedersen.  Schenck followed that up just twenty-three seconds later with his third tally to complete is Hat Trick and give his team a commanding lead.

 

Where the Chieftains had outshot the Patriots 13-8 in the first period, Portsmouth returned the favor in the second by outshooting Ponaganset 15-5.  The squad was in control of the game, but needed to play well in the third period to gain the win.

 

Ponaganset ran into some penalty trouble with about six minutes left in regulation time.  The result was a long five-on-three power play for the Patriots.  They needed only eight seconds of it though, until Tim Jackson added the insurance goal the team needed to be sure the game was out of reach of the Chieftains.  The power play goal at the 9:44 mark ran the lead to three goals and effectively closed out the game.

 

In addition to Mello’s three assists, six other players added one assist each.  Goal scorers Pedersen and Jackson were among those picking up an assist, while the others were credited to Matt Marion, Nolan O’Brien, Isaiah Kittel, and Connor Little

 

Overall the Patriots outshot the Chieftains 33-24.  Portsmouth goaltender Matt Nordhill had twenty-two saves.  The team scored once on three power play opportunities, and was perfect on three penalty kill occasions

 

Portsmouth travels to the Levy Community Ice Center in Burrillville on Sunday for Game 2 of the quarterfinals.  The squad will be looking for a victory to close out the series with the Chieftains and advance to the semi-final round.  The game starts at 3:00 pm, so why not head to Burrillville, see the game, and cheer for the Patriots.  It’s playoff hockey!

 

See you at the rink.