Marsters shifts momentum, just not quite enough

By KEVIN THOMAS, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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The Portland Pirates needed to change a lot of things Thursday night after Wednesday's shutout loss to the Hershey Bears. They even gave their backup goalie a try.

It almost worked.

Nathan Marsters, 26, making only his second start in these American Hockey League playoffs, stopped 27 shots. But he lost his shutout 10 minutes, 30 seconds into the third period, and then lost the game 1:52 into overtime on a bang-bang play and score by Graham Mink, as the Bears won 2-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.

"I thought I got a piece of it," Marsters said. "It's a save you got to make in overtime."

After No. 1 goalie Jani Hurme started Wednesday's game, a 5-0 loss, Pirates Coach Kevin Dineen called on Marsters.

"I felt we needed a little bit of a chemistry change," Dineen said. "Nathan has played so well for us for so long. That's a hard thing to do, not to play for a couple of weeks and to come out and play as well as he did."

Marsters, who began the season alternating with other goalies, eventually took the back seat to Hurme, who was acquired March 2 from the Thrashers.

When Hurme arrived, Marsters started only five more games for the rest of the regular season.

In his one playoff start on April 28 - after Hurme played five games in eight days - Marsters made 20 saves to beat Providence 5-2 to knock the Bruins out in the first round.

That is one thing about Marsters - he usually wins. Entering Thursday's game, he had won his last nine games.

"He gave us a real shot in the arm," forward Geoff Peters said. "We kind of built something off him."

Marsters, from Burlington, Ontario, played as the top goalie for four years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., from 2000-04. He is RPI's career leader in goals-against average (2.55).

Last year, he played for the Louisiana IceGators of the ECHL.

After five years of being the No. 1 goalie, Marsters came to Portland and had to share time, and eventually take a seat. Marsters said he can feel rusty at the start of a game.

"Once you're on the ice, it usually takes about five minutes and then you're back to normal," he said.

Marsters looked sharp Thursday, keeping his position and occasionally making a dazzling save, like a nifty pad stop in the third period on Brooks Laich.

But Dave Steckel came around a screen and fired past Marsters' blocker to tie the game, 1-1.

"I didn't really see it," Marsters said.

In overtime, Mink stuffed a pass that Marsters had no chance on. Marsters skated off the ice, banging the exit sign with his stick.

He was voted the game's No. 3 star but did not come out on the ice.

"You're frustrated. Losing in overtime is the worst thing in the world," Marsters said, as he held a pillow, preparing for the bus ride to Hershey, Pa. "It's over now. We got two games there to get back in the series."

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:

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