Portsmouth’s hockey team made the trip to Providence College’s Schneider Arena Tuesday afternoon to compete in the first of three days of Prout High School’s annual Christmas Classic Tournament.

This is the third time the team has participated in this tournament.  The Patriots skated in the inaugural event in 2019 and then again in 2020.  The contest was not held in 2021 because of COVID, and Portsmouth withdrew before last year’s tournament over COVID concerns.

The competition always features teams from out of the state providing a unique opportunity to skate against squads from completely different leagues.  Portsmouth headed to today’s game expecting to play St. Rita of Cascia, an all-boys Catholic high school from Chicago, Illinois.  Unfortunately, due to the winter storm gripping the central part of the nation, St. Rita’s team’s flight to Rhode Island was canceled.  Short a team for the event, the organizers scrambled to find a squads to fill the open slot, and provide an opponent for the Patriots on the first day of the tournament.  With all the other teams already playing in Christmas events, Bishop Hendricken offered its Junior Varsity squad. Hendricken, a perennial contender for the Division I state championship, is backed by a large and talented JV team.  The JV Hawks would be an excellent fit into the tournament which is largely comprised of Division II equivalent teams.  And so that’s who Portsmouth faced off with in the opening round of the tournament.

Whether it was due to not skating for the previous four days, or perhaps the effect of Christmas break on the players’ routines, the Patriots came out flat.  That sluggishness resulted in the team being down 2-1 at the end of the first period.  In fact, the squad managed only five shots in the period to the Hawks’ 10, and they needed a five-on-three advantage for Joey Levreault to net the power play goal, assisted by Shane Temple, that got the team on the scoreboard.

The second period did not start off any better for the Patriots; Hendricken added to its lead with another goal five minutes into the period.  That was the wake-up call for Portsmouth.  Beginning about halfway through the second period, the team came alive and ended up outshooting Hendricken 10-8, all while having to kill two penalties along the way.  While the Patriots did not close the 3-1 scoring gap, they kept the Hawks from doing any further damage.

Portsmouth regrouped during the second intermission and came out strong to start the third period.  Just 40 seconds into the final session, Temple picked off a puck and headed into the Hawks’ zone on a breakaway.  His shot beat the goalie to make it a one-goal game.  Temple tallied again midway through the period to tie the game.  Both of his goals were unassisted.

But Hendricken wasn’t done.  With Just over two minutes left in the period the Hawks took the lead once again.  Down a goal with time running out, Coach Cunningham pulled Steve Dutra from the goal for an extra skater with 45 seconds remaining in the game.  The tactic worked.  Levreault scored his second goal of the game, unassisted, with 27 seconds left on the clock.

The tie held until the final horn sounded to end the game.  Unlike regular season games the tournament does not play overtime or conduct shootouts in the case of a tie score.

The team is back at it again tomorrow, Wednesday, December 28 at 5:30 at Schneider Arena, for game two of the Crusader Classic Christmas Tournament.  The Patriots’ scheduled opponent is the co-op team from Dighton Reboboth / Seekonk, Massachusetts.  Come see the game.  Cheer for Portsmouth.

See you at the rink.