In an exciting come-from-behind victory Portsmouth defeated the Barrington Eagles by a Score of 5-4 on Saturday evening at the Abbey.

 

For the past several years the Eagles, a Division 1 team, met PHS in the pre-season Injury Fund exhibition game.  It was a natural pairing since both teams called the Abbey their home ice.  Barrington dominated the Patriots in those games which highlighted the differences between good D1 and D2 teams. This season the squads each elected to play other opponents in that early event  but there was still a desire for the teams to meet so a regular season game was set up.

 

With the advent of RPI standings last season, it is now possible for all RIIL squads to play cross division games and have them count in the league standings.  While that would have been the ideal arrangement for this game, because it was added after the season had begun, it could not be included for the standings.  As such it was played as a non-league game which, while it did not count in the RPI calculations, but nothing to diminish the level of competition.

 

After a scoreless first period in which Portsmouth outshot their opponent 14-2 the teams headed into the second period and a scoring free-for-all.

 

Barrington got on the scoreboard first with a goal five minutes into the period.  Less than 25 seconds later, Finn O’Connor responded for the Patriots to even the score at a goal apiece.  O’Connor was assisted by Connor Rogers and Lucas Roberts, who returned to play for the first time after missing the first half of the season with an injury.  The score was tied but then things took a turn for the worse for Portsmouth.

 

In the span of a little less than three minutes the Eacles rang up three unanswered goals.  Two of those tallies came on Barrington power plays as the Patriots ran into penalty problems midway through the session.  With just under six minutes left in the period Barrington had taken a commanding 4-1 lead.

 

The Patriots’ situation looked grim; the team was down by three goals with a little over five minutes remaining in the second period.  Down in the score, yes - but definitely not out.  Less than half of a minute after the Eagles’ fourth goal of the game, Patrick Chouinard started a Portsmouth rally that took off quickly.  He was assisted on his goal by Rafe Dionne and Becket Snyder.  Portsmouth’s leading goal scorer, Kane Brule, with assists by Luke Brule and Oliver Melanson, then brought the team to within a goal of Barrington by notching his ninth tally of the season,  Rogers then capped the effort by tying the score with a power play goal assisted once again by Luke Brule and Melanson.  Rogers’  goal was scored less than three minutes after Chouinard began PHS’ successful drive to close the scoreboard gap.  Along the way the Patriots outshot the Eagles 11-10 in the period.

 

The scoring fest ended with the second period.  The teams returned from the second intermission and traded shots throughout the third period with both goalies locking down their goals once again.  Then with a little less than sox minutes remaining in regulation time Rogers scored his second goal of the game to give the Patriots the lead for the first time in the contest.  Luas Roberts earned his second assist of the game on Rogers’ goal.  But the Patriots drama wasn’t done.

 

Portsmouth has a slim one-goal lead as the as the clock headed to the end of the third period.   With four minutes left before the final horn, Portsmouth was called for its third penalty of the game   After scoring on its first two opportunities earlier in the game, Barrington’s power play would go to work once again for half of the remaining time in the period.  The Portsmouth penalty killers were up to the task.  Limiting the Eagles to only two shots that PHS goalie, Ben Humm, handled easily the Patriots held the lead until returning to full strength with two minutes remaining.

 

Barrington pulled its goalie for the extra skater with a little over a minute and a half left in the game.  Although the play remained in Portsmouth’s zone for most of that time, the team’s defense limited the shots by the Eagles and held on to the lead until the final horn to end the game. Shots in the third period  were  10-8 in favor of Portsmouth for a game total of 35-20 for PHS.

 

The Patriots return to league play later this week and are headed into a busy time with six games in 16 days as the regular season heads to a close on February 20.  The run to the playoffs begins next Thursday, February 5, at 6:00 PM. at the Abbey when the Patriots will host the South Kingstown Rebels.  It will be the only regular season game between the teams this season.  That will be followed by PHS’ annual Salute to Service game with Coventry at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 7, at the Abbey.  AN afternoon road game with Cumberland is on tap for Sunday, February 8 to round out the week.  The complete up-to-date schedule can always be found on the team’s website at phspatriotshockey.com.  Come out and cheer for Portsmouth as the team makes its push to the post-season

 

See you at the rink.