High school hockey season is set to begin tomorrow, Sunday, December 5 for Portsmouth’s team as the Patriots take on the Barrington Eagles in a non-league contest to benefit the league’s injury fund.  Game time is 2:30 pm at the Abbey.

 

The new campaign brings a return to normalcy and features a raft of positive changes following last season’s shortened schedule and abbreviated playoff format due to COVID-19 restrictions.  The only holdover from last season is that the players and coaching staff will continue to wear masks during the games in accordance with league policy.  Beyond that this should be an exciting season for the players, as well as their families, friends, and fans of Patriots hockey.

 

New Division Organization

Last season Divisions II and III were combined into a single 15-team group under the banner of Division II.  This time around the league has returned to its traditional three division organization.  The usual Division III teams returned to their customary place along with several regular Division II teams which also made the move to the lower level of competition.  There were also a couple of Division II teams that made the jump to Division I for a greater challenge.  After all the moves, only seven teams remained in Division II.  Along with Portsmouth, the other squads are Cranston West, Lincoln, North Kingstown, North Smithfield, PSW, and RMR.  The last time Division II was this small was twelve years ago.  The Patriots had a very successful campaign during that 2009-10 season finishing in first place in the division before moving on to claim the state championship for only the second in the team’s history

 

Schedule

After four years of reduced league play, RIIL has expanded the schedule back to the more common, 18 league-game season.  Conveniently for Division II, where each squad has six potential opponents, it works out to playing each team three times over the course of the season.  Of those 18 games, the Patriots will play nine of them on their home-ice at the Abbey.

 

The playoffs are scheduled to return to their traditional format where each round is a best-of-three series.  Due to the COVID restrictions, last season’s playoffs moved to a one-and-done, single-game elimination style.  Twelve years ago, the last time Division II had only seven teams, the top six in the final season standings made the playoffs, with the top two earning a bye in the first round.  This time the playoff qualification standard will be based on the teams’ Win Points Percentage, with forty percent being the minimum to get into the post-season.  Inasmuch as forty percent of 36 points works out to be 14.4 points to qualify, it is not clear at this time if the league will round that figure up or down since points in the standings are only whole numbers.  In either  case, under this new standard it will be possible for a team to make the playoffs with a losing record in the regular season.

 

In addition to the 18 regular season league games, each team is authorized to schedule up to seven additional games during the season for a total of up to 25 games.  At this time Portsmouth has added five additional non-league games and is open to two others if opportunities arise.  The additional games already on the schedule include the opening contest with Barrington, a three-game Christmas Tournament hosted by Prout High School where the Patriots will play teams from Massachusetts and Maryland, and a game with WWEWG, a Division III squad.

 

Special Events

The Patriots have a number of special events planned for the season.  Within the regular season schedule two big celebrations are planned, one with a long history, and the other completely new.  The traditional one is, of course, the ceremony honoring the seniors on the squad in their last home game at the Abbey.  That celebration will take place on February 20, when the Patriots play the North Kingstown Skippers.  With a prominent military presence in the area, including some team members from military families, the squad will host its first ever Salute to Service at its game with PSW on January 16.  Several ceremonies and one special surprise are planned to honor members of all the Services.

 

Outside of the official game schedule the team will hold several on-ice events just for fun.  Some, like the Alumni Game, Father-Son Game, and hosting the skating party for the special needs kids from the high school and middle school have all been done regularly in past seasons.  New this year, the team is looking to add a game where the team sponsors take on the varsity.  That should be an interesting affair since a number of the sponsors were accomplished hockey stars in high school, college, and junior leagues who continue to play in adult leagues in the area.

 

The latest information on all Patriots hockey events can be found right here on the team’s website.  You will also find lots and lots of other stuff about the current team and past teams, so have a look around.

 

There is a lot in store this season.  Plan to come to the games and support the Patriots as they skate to the playoffs.  See you at the rink.