Mt. Hope Plays in Medeiros Memorial Hockey Tonight

The 10th annual John Paul Medeiros Jr. Memorial Cup Hockey night at Portsmouth Abbey School -- known as "Thanksgiving on Ice" -- takes place tonight, Jan. 11, to raise funds for Barrington and Mt. Hope athletes.

The event is the primary fundraiser for the J. P. Medeiros Memorial Scholarship Fund, which supports scholarships for student-athletes to continue their educations after high school. Funds usually are sufficient to give out four scholarships each year.

The boys' game always matches teams from Barrington and Mt. Hope high schools. They square off again at 8 pm the Hunt Family Hockey Arena.

The night opens at 6:30 pm with a girls' game between the Barrington/Mt. Hope/Portsmouth Co-op team and the Toll Gate/Pilgrim/Vets Co-op team.

Approximately 33 Medeiros scholarships have been awarded since the hockey night began in 2003. All money donated at the two-game event will go entirely to the fund.

J.P. Medeiros was a junior at Quinnipiac University in April, 2002, when he was killed in a car crash. He was a captain of the Mt. Hope hockey team when he was in high school. He always wanted to play Barrington, said his father, John Medeiros Sr., a longtime Barrington coach who set up the fund with his wife after their son's death. See the video from last year's games.

Barrington's boys hold a 5-4 edge in the series. Mt. Hope won the game last year, 8-4.

The Eagles take a 3-4-1 record into the Memorial Cup game playing in Division I. The Huskies hold a 7-4 record playing in Division III.

The Barrington-Mt. Hope/Portsmouth Co-op team is 6-2 on the season in Division I. Toll Gate/Pilgrim/Vets is 6-3 in Division I.

Are you going to the game? Are you bringing a camera? Send us your photos by emailing Sara.Bagwell@patch.com!