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Monday, February 20, 2006
Backup steps up, Pirates stymied
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The Portland Pirates ran into one of the hottest goaltenders in the American Hockey League Sunday afternoon. Robert Gherson, filling in for injured starter Al Montoya, stopped 36 of 39 shots to lead streaking Hartford to a 4-3 win against Portland before a sellout crowd of 6,774 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center. "He was a little on and off in the backup role," said Ulf Samuelsson, Hartford's assistant coach. "But now that (Montoya) went down, he has really stepped up his game." Gherson has allowed a total of four goals in his three starts since Montoya, who made 34 saves in a 6-0 blanking of the Pirates two weeks ago, went down with a strained groin during a 4-3 win against Houston Feb. 11. Defenseman Thomas Pock had a goal and two assists, all on the power play, as the Wolf Pack pulled within six points of Portland, the Atlantic Division leader. "On the power play, (Pock's) the master," Samuelsson said. "He's our quarterback, and he lights it up with confidence. He makes good plays and, when the opportunity is there, he's got a great shot." The loss snapped Portland's five-game win streak. It was the Pirates' fourth game in five days. "Coming off a lot of hockey, we made a (great) effort," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said. "We carried the play a lot of the time, and (Hartford) is a very worthy opponent." It's the first time this season Hartford, winners of seven of its last eight games, has won four consecutive games. "Sometimes, you can work so hard and not get a point out of it, but things are going our way right now," Samuelsson said. "We had a few games we put 50 shots up, and we didn't get one point." The Wolf Pack took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 2:06 left in the first period. Five seconds after Portland's Derek Edwardson went off for tripping, Hartford defenseman Daniel Girardi rang a shot from the middle of the left circle in off the left post for his third goal of season. Portland held a 14-8 edge in shots in the first period. When the teams were at even strength during the second period, Portland continued to hold an edge in play. However, Hartford scored two more power-play goals and held a 4-2 lead at the end of the period. At 7:29, Craig Weller chopped in a rebound during a scrum in front of the Portland net for his ninth goal to make it 2-0. At 8:57, with the Wolf Pack on the power play, Pock scored from the right point for his 12th goal of the season. At 12:33, Edwardson flipped a rebound past Gherson for his third goal in 12 games with the Pirates. The goal halted Gherson's scoreless streak at 109 minutes, 24 seconds, the equivalent of nearly 5 1/2 periods. Saturday night, Gherson made 18 saves during a 4-0 win over Providence. With 2:16 left, Hartford clicked again on the power-play as Colby Genoway took Pock's pass from the right point and blasted one from the middle of the left circle past goalie Dieter Kochan for his 18th goal. With five seconds left in the second period, the Pirates scored a power-play goal. Aaron Gavey collected Ryan Shannon's centering pass from the right side and lifted a shot from the slot past Gherson. It was Gavey's 10th goal of the season Portland scored with 26 seconds left in the third period, after Kochan was pulled for an extra skater during a Portland power play. Shannon lifted a pass from Dustin Penner inside the left post. NOTES: Aaron Slattengren made his professional debut after signing an amateur tryout contract with the Pirates. Slattengren scored 10 goals and added eight assists in 26 games with Colorado College this season. A 6-foot-1, 198-pound native of Proctor, Minn., Slattengren played two seasons of junior hockey with the Omaha Lancers before joining the Tigers. Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
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