Monday, January 1, 2007
Staff photo by Derek Davis
Al Montoya, who made 24 saves for Hartford in a 2-0 victory, guards the net Sunday against Colby Genoway, left, and Matt Keith of the Pirates.
Staff photo by Derek Davis
Petteri Wirtanen, right, of the Portland Pirates and Craig Weller of the Hartford Wolf Pack clash during the third period. Hartford scored twice in the second to win it.
Staff photo by Derek Davis
Hartford goalie Al Montoya is on the spot Sunday to stop Matt Keith of the Portland Pirates as Daniel Girardi of Hartford lends a stick. The Pirates finished a lost weekend by falling 2-0 to the Wolf Pack at a sold-out Civic Center.
COMING UP
FRIDAY: Pirates at Springfield Falcons, 7:35 p.m.
SATURDAY: Worcester Sharks at Pirates, 7:05 p.m.
SUNDAY: Manchester Monarchs at Pirates, 4:05 p.m.
The Portland Pirates ended 2006 with a weekend full of disappointment.
The Hartford Wolf Pack, turning two Portland mistakes into second-period goals, skated to a 2-0 victory before a New Year's Eve sellout crowd of more than 7,000 fans Sunday at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
It was the third consecutive defeat for the Pirates.
"The effort was there," Portland center Zenon Konopka said. "It's just we're going through a tough time right now. Pucks aren't going in and it's very frustrating,"
Al Montoya made 24 saves as Hartford shut out the Pirates for the second time in a little more than two weeks.
"It was a great effort by our guys," Hartford assistant coach Ken Gernander said. "Given it was five games in six nights (for us), they really stuck to the game plan."
Basically, the Wolf Pack, still mired in the Atlantic Division's cellar, clogged up the neutral zone, limiting the Pirates' chances and making it difficult for them to advance the puck.
"If they're going to come, they're going to have to play the full 200 feet and play through all five guys," Gernander said.
The Pirates got a strong performance from rookie goalie Dov Grumet-Morris, who made 36 saves in his fifth start to keep his goals-against average to less than two per game.
"Every game he's played he's played unbelievable," Konopka said. "Dov's given us a chance to win every game and we haven't taken advantage of it,"
During the second period, the Wolf Pack turned turnovers into the game's only goals.
Hartford made it 1-0 at 7:24 when Brad Isbister tucked a backhander inside the left post for his fifth goal of the season after Nigel Dawes took the puck from Clay Wilson in the left corner and fed it out front. The goal came while the teams were skating four-on-four.
At 12:57, Ryan Callahan scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway. After taking the puck from Brett Skinner just outside his own blue line, Callahan skated in and put in a backhander on Grumet-Morris' stick side for his team-high 21st goal.
The highlight of the scoreless first period came after less than seven minutes when Grumet-Morris skated the length of the ice, shedding his goalie equipment as he went, to join a melee. He pinned Montoya to the ice to the left of the Hartford goal.
"As frustrating as this weekend has been, I think we've grown together as a team," Konopka said. "We've played hard for each other."
While outshooting the three opponents 119-92 over the weekend, the Pirates managed just three goals. They earned a point in the standings in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss at Worcester.
"There was a lot of solid work ethic," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said. "Unfortunately it doesn't always turn into points."
NOTES: HC Davos (Switzerland), the host team, edged Team Canada 3-2 to claim its 14th Spengler Cup. Portland center Tim Brent scored in the Canadians' 5-2 victory Saturday against Berlin in the semifinals. For the second consecutive game, Maxime Ouellet, who spent three seasons with the Pirates when the team was affiliated with the Washington Capitals, dressed as the backup to Grumet-Morris.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
Questions/Comments
Reader comments
There are not yet any comments. Post your comment and it will appear here.
You must be a registered user of MaineToday.com to post a comment. Register or log in.