Portsmouth edges North Kingstown on the ice, 3-2

McHugh’s first goal of year is difference-maker

Nick Friend
Posted 12/21/16

PORTSMOUTH — Late-game heroics from senior defensemen Noah McHugh proved to be just enough as the Portsmouth boys’ hockey team defeated North Kingstown 3-2 Tuesday night at the …

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Portsmouth edges North Kingstown on the ice, 3-2

McHugh’s first goal of year is difference-maker

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Late-game heroics from senior defensemen Noah McHugh proved to be just enough as the Portsmouth boys’ hockey team defeated North Kingstown 3-2 Tuesday night at the Portsmouth Abby Ice Rink.

After going out 2-0 quickly in the first two minutes of the game, North Kingstown proceeded to fight their way back into the contest to tie things up. But with just over nine minutes remaining, co- captain McHugh netted his first goal of the year to lift the Patriots to a win and a 3-2 record in league games.

“We have some decent speed and we took advantage of that which caught their goalie by surprise,” Portsmouth head coach Michael Monahan said. “In the second (period) we had a lot of turnovers and they took all the momentum. We then played a more discipline game which allowed us to squeak it out.”

Portsmouth started off fast with goals from Alec Roderiques (his second of the year) and Timothy Jackson (his first). Despite some offensive pressure from North Kingstown, Portsmouth would hold onto their 2-0 lead behind an 11-5 shot advantage in the period.

In the second period, North Kingstown stormed back and took advantage of turnovers by the Patriots, which left the score tied at 2 heading into the final 15 minutes.

Despite the end result, Mr. Monahan said he wasn’t sure that the setup for McHugh’s goal was going to work at first. “I wasn’t so certain of the choice to pass it to him in that situation,” he said. “It didn’t seem like the pass was going to create anything, but (McHugh) didn’t waste any time and it was huge.”

North Kingstown would not give up however, as they pressured the Patriots up until the final buzzer.

“They were really winning one-on-one battles at the end,” Mr. Monahan said. “North Kingstown had the momentum and at that point our guys were playing not to lose.”

Still figuring things out

With just five out of their 18 league games played, Mr. Monahan has already learned a lot about this year’s team, which is trying to replace some lost senior talent.

“We have a lot of depth and quality hockey players,” he said. “The biggest challenge has been trying to figure out who is going to standout above the others. We are starting to have some guys emerge a little bit, but I feel like I can throw out four lines right now. It has been hard to figure out who I should put in preference over the other. I am trying to create some competition within.”

While the coaching staff has been pleased overall with the Patriots' performances through the first five games, they realize some things the players must change.

“These guys sometimes only go as hard as they need to and they have to stop that,” Mr. Monahan said. “They need to be going full speed the whole time. We have to really do the simple things well if we want to get anywhere.”

Defensively, Portsmouth will be led by two seniors in McHugh and Mike Adkins. Both bringing valuable experience being key players on last year’s team.

“We will go as far as they take us,” Mr. Monahan said.

Offensively, Cameron Mello and Roderiques are going to bring the speed while other players will bring physicality which can make Portsmouth a consistent threat to score a lot of goals.

“Kyle McGowan is a physical specimen and is very close to having a break-out season,” Mr. Monahan said. “He just has to fine-tune a couple things and I think he is going to be a force. When Jonah (Callandret) stays discipline he is going to really draw the respect from the other team.”

The Patriots face a unique situation in having two junior goalies showing consistency.

Good problem to have

“We have the tandem in goal with Nordhill and Aguiar who are both juniors,” Mr. Monahan said. “They are both experienced and we are going to go far if they continue to play well and push each other. Typically, one might emerge and you have to go with who is hot. It is a good problem to have.”

After falling just shy of a championship last year, some expected Portsmouth to take a step back, but that isn’t necessarily going to be the case.

“We have some experience from last year,” Mr. Monahan said. “I can’t expect that we are going to make it back there, but I think we are well-equipped to make the playoffs again if we can continue to improve.”

Portsmouth High School, PHS hockey

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