EVENT OF THE DAY: Champs Return To Ice

's first hockey championship banner since 1999 — and the first for North Providence since 1996 — is set to be unfurled tonight at Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink before the start of the season's first league contest for the Cougars, a squad made up of players from the two towns.

Last season, the co-op squad compiled a 14-1-1 record, good for first place, and defeated Mt. Hope — the reason for that one loss — in the Division III championship on March 19.

This year marks the third season for the co-op agreement between the once-rival schools; on July 12, the Johnston School Commitee voted to extend the co-op contract for another two years.