League play is set to begin tonight for Portsmouth High School’s varsity hockey team as it opens with a home game at the Abbey against the North Kingstown Skippers.  Gametime is 7:00 pm.

Official practices for the team began two weeks ago, but the players were not sitting idle since winning the Division 2 state championship last spring.  Most of them played in the RIHS summer league, or with the Newport Whalers in the off season.  That was followed by the annual Solar Bears conditioning program once school was back in session.  When practice began and Head Coach, Greg Cunningham and his assistant coaches, Matt Chappell and Andrew Alvanas, were permitted to work with the team again, it has been a busy two weeks preparing for tonight’s game

The Patriots took advantage of two tune-up opportunities last weekend to show the coaches how quickly the team was coming together, and to highlight things they needed to focus on as the league games approached.  On Saturday the team traveled to the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts for a scrimmage with the Attleboro High School Blue Bombardiers.  That was followed the next day by the annual Injury Fund exhibition game at the Abbey, with the Division 1 Barrington Eagles.

The squad is now ready for the puck to drop on the new season.  North Kingstown, this evening’s  opponent, played in Division 1 for the last two seasons.  Prior to that, over the last 15 years, the Skippers have played for short periods in Division 1 but competed most of their seasons in Division 2.  Their last campaign in Division 2 was the  2021-22 season in which they won the state championship.  The Patriots regularly played the Skippers when the team was in Division 2 but it has been nearly three years since the teams have met.  At that time the seniors on both teams were freshmen.

Head to the Abbey for the exciting start of the new season.

See you at the rink.