Old rivalries are no match for necessity. High school hockey players from South Portland and Portland know that firsthand.

This winter, the Casco Bay Bridge doesn’t divide the hockey programs at South Portland, Portland and Deering high schools. It unites them as the Portland/South Portland Beacons, the latest in the trend of co-op high school hockey teams in the state.

Just 15 of the 31 high school boys’ hockey teams in Maine this season represent one school. In Class A, where the Beacons play, five of the 12 teams this season are co-ops.

“Growing up, I played with a bunch of (these players),” said Connor Green, a senior forward who attends Deering. “I think we’re a really strong team. We get together well in the locker room. It’s just a blast to be with them on the varsity level.”

Waynflete, a private school in Portland’s West End, is also part of the new co-op, though it doesn’t have any players on the team this winter. Joe Robinson, one of the Beacons’ co-head coaches, said three Waynflete players are expected next season.

Rather than cram the names of four schools into the team name, they choose Portland/South Portland, representing the two cities. The Beacons’ colors – navy, scarlet and white – were approved by all four schools.

“It’s just too hard to have four team patches and colors. We were like, let’s just go by the cities,” Robinson said.

The Beacons opened the season 1-1. Following a 4-2 loss to St. Dominic last Thursday, Portland/South Portland earned a 6-3 win over Scarborough on Saturday. The Beacons host Falmouth at Troubh Arena at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Last season, the Portland/Deering co-op team was unable to play a varsity schedule because it didn’t have a goalie. The South Portland co-op team last season included players from Waynflete and Freeport, and reached the Class A state championship game. But Freeport opted to have its half-dozen players form a co-op this season with Brunswick, leaving South Portland short of players after graduation losses.

“We knew Freeport was going to leave after the season ended last year. It makes sense that they went with Brunswick, because they’re so close,” said Robinson, who coached the South Portland co-op team last season and shares coaching duties of the Beacons with Jeff Beaney, who previously coached Portland/Deering. “We graduated 14, so we knew something was going to happen. We realized Portland would be a good fit, because they didn’t have a varsity schedule last year.”

South Portland, Portland and Deering are bitter rivals in other sports. Portland and South Portland play their annual Battle of the Bridge football game to close the regular season, and the Portland and South Portland boys’ basketball teams have met in the Class AA state championship game three times since 2016, including last season’s win by South Portland. Players from rivals Portland and Deering have been a co-op hockey program already, so it wasn’t a big adjustment bringing South Portland into the fold.

“We knew we needed another team to make us a varsity program. It’s something we saw coming, and it’s awesome for all of us,” Green said.

The schools began planning for this season as the Beacons in early summer, and the players began skating together. Many had already played together coming up through youth hockey, so it was a smooth transition.

“We saw that we might combine with Portland, so us and their boys started practicing nice and early in the summer,” said Hewitt Sykes, a senior defenseman from South Portland. “We were all pumped. We all knew we’d be better off together, and here we are.”

The Beacons have 22 players on the roster, 13 from South Portland, four from Deering and five from Portland. With the small sample size of two regular-season games, the offense has been balanced, with seven players scoring a goal and 10 with at least one point. A weakness is depth in net. South Portland junior Michael Zaccaria is the team’s lone goalie.

For the South Portland players who made it to the championship game last season, trying to make another deep playoff run with new teammates is a welcome challenge.

“It would be nice to come back as the (Red) Riots again and try to win it all, but honestly, I’m happy to be with these guys. I think we have a better chance with Portland as the Beacons than we did as the Riots,” Sykes said. “It’s like a dream team. We’ve all been skating since we were 6 or 7 together. It’s awesome to finally be here doing it on a high school team.”

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