Portsmouth boys’ hockey team eliminated from D-II tournament

Loses both quarterfinal games to Ponaganset

Posted 3/4/19

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Patriots boys’ hockey team’s season came to an end Sunday after a loss to Ponaganset High School in the Division II quarterfinals at the Portsmouth …

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Portsmouth boys’ hockey team eliminated from D-II tournament

Loses both quarterfinal games to Ponaganset

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Patriots boys’ hockey team’s season came to an end Sunday after a loss to Ponaganset High School in the Division II quarterfinals at the Portsmouth Abbey rink.

PHS lost the first game of the best-of-three series at the Levy Community Ice Center in Harrisville on Friday night by a score of 9-3. The Patriots were eliminated in Sunday’s afternoon matchup at Portsmouth Abbey, 7-4. (Game two was originally scheduled for Saturday at the Abbey, but was pushed back a day due to the snowstorm.)

The Patriots came into the series as underdogs, with a 7-8 record in Division II and 7-10 overall. The Chieftains, meanwhile, boasted a 13-3 record in league play and were 15-3 overall.

Ponaganset went up quickly in Friday’s game, scoring two goals within the first five minutes. Portsmouth’s Gus Nightingale, with an assist by Mac Dunn, made it 2-1 a little over a minute later, but then Ponaganset on a power play with a little over three minutes left in the first period to make it 3-1.

The Patriots struck right back, however, with a power-play goal of their own by Max Dooley with just seconds left in the period. Nightingale had the assist.

Portsmouth kept up the pressure, with Connor Little tying the game at 3 with an unassisted goal just three minutes into the second period. 

Ponaganset managed to sap the Patriots’ momentum, however, by scoring three goals in four minutes to end the second period up 6-3.

The Chieftains kept it up, scoring another goal less than a minute into the third and final period to make it 7-3. They’d go on to score two more goals to win the first game, 9-3.

Patriots’ goalie Sam Stamoulis had 41 saves in the loss.

Portsmouth couldn’t stop another late surge by Ponaganset in game two at the home rink. The teams were tied 3-3 heading into the final period, but the Chieftains rang up four goals to the Patriots’ one to win it 7-4. 

Despite the loss, Portsmouth’s Connor Little had an outstanding game, scoring three goals and an assist on the other goal by Dooley.

Stamoulis had 51 saves.

This was the third year in a row in which the two teams met in the opening round of the playoffs. The Chieftains came out on top in 2017 after the two teams played three games. The Patriots advanced to the semifinals last year after sweeping Ponaganset.

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