Portsmouth headed to Lynch Arena in Pawtucket on Super Bowl Sunday for an early afternoon game with the Cumberland Clippers and came away with a 4-3 win.

 

Lynch Arena is usually a close rival to the Abbey for coldest rink in the state but Sunday it was no contest.  The compressor for the system that makes the ice sheet in the rink failed so to keep the ice available the rink workers brought the whole interior of the building below freezing by opening the Zamboni door to the outside.  With the temperature outdoors in the teens and the wind blowing into the open door the ice stayed frozen.  It was in essence indoor Pawtucket Pond Hockey.

 

Despite the cold, the Patriots got off to a hot start .  Five and a half minutes after the start of the first period Connor Rogers, with an assist by Hadrian Dougherty, opened the scoring with his third shorthanded goal of the season. 

 

Portsmouth gained a 2-0 lead on a goal by Luke Brule at 2:39 of the second period with assists by Becket Snyder and Oliver Melanson.   Less than a minute later, though, Cumberland scored to cut the Patriots’ lead ack to a single goal.

 

In a two-minute span during the middle of the third period the situation changed quickly for both teams.  First, at 6:36, Cumberland tied the score with their second goal of the game and then took the lead 58 seconds later with a goal that brought the score to 3-2 in the Clipper’s favor.  Then at 8:22 Cumberland took their only penalty of the game, putting Portsmouth on a power play.  The Patriots quickly took advantage of the situation.  Just eight seconds after the faceoff in the Clippers’ zone, Luke Brule scored his second goal of the game which tied the score once again.  His goal at 8:40 of the third period was assisted by Rogers and Melanson.

 

With time running out in the third period and the prospect of overtime looming, Portsmouth’s leading goal scorer, Kane Brule, netted the go-ahead tally with 57 seconds remaining in regulation time.  Dougherty and Melanson earned assists on the goal.

 

After the neutral zone faceoff, Cumberland pulled its goalie for the extra skater, but PHS was able to run out the clock by icing the puck several times and eventually tying it up in the Clippers zone until the final horn ended the game.

 

Cumberland outshot Portsmouth 21-19.  PHS goalie Ben Humm had 18 saves

 

Portsmouth scored on its only power play in the game.  The team also successfully killed three penalties.  In the first two shorthanded situations PHS held the Clippers shotless while Connor Rogers scored a shorthanded goal on the first one and had a shorthanded shot during the second one.  The Patriots defense allowed only two shoots by Cumberland during the third penalty kill which Humm easily stopped.

 

Game Notes:

• Goalie Ben Humm earned his Division leading ninth league game win of the season.
• Oliver Melanson’s led all PHS scorers with three assists for three points in the game

Next Saturday, February 14, at 6:00 PM the Patriots will play the Lincoln Lions for the second time this season.  This is an important game for two reasons,  First, The top spot in the division standings is at stake as PHS trails first-place Lincoln by only .026 in the RPI ratings.   Second, it will be the  annual seniors game celebration featuring a pre-game ceremony honoring the six seniors who will close out their high school hockey careers at the end of the season.  This will be a game you won’t want to miss.

 

See you at the rink.