Thursday, January 18, 2007
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Bjorn Melin
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WHO: Portland Pirates vs. Hartford Wolf Pack
WHEN: 7:05 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Cumberland County Civic Center
For the fans attending the Portland Pirates' game Wednesday night against the Manchester Monarchs, the high point probably came during the second intermission.
That's when Alex Caisse of Freeport won the $1,000 jackpot in the Chuck-A-Puck contest.
The Pirates themselves certainly didn't give the 4,608 fans at the game much to cheer about.
The Atlantic Division-leading Monarchs made it look easy while skating to a 6-0 victory, the most lopsided loss of the season for Portland.
It was a clunker of a game for the Pirates.
"I thought we had a decent game. We outshot them but you could just see we've been building up for this for a while," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said.
"I like to say we got it out of our system. But that comes into play Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday and if (the players) find a way to come together and become a team."
Portland held a 32-17 edge in shots, but Manchester goalie Jason LaBarbera posted his fifth shutout of the season to make it a frustrating night for the Pirates.
"We wouldn't be where we're at without him," Manchester Coach Mark Morris said. "He's having a stellar year and he makes the game look pretty darn easy."
LaBarbera has 26 career shutouts, tops among current AHL goaltenders.
Despite the loss, the Pirates hold a 4-3-1 lead in the season series between the teams.
"They're a great team and we were really lucky things went our way tonight," Morris said. "We know the type of competitors they are, and they've been our toughest competitors this year."
But the Pirates are going through a bad spell.
"In the last couple of games we've played good in spurts," Dineen said. "We've had a problem with consistency now, and it really stuck out tonight."
The Monarchs, limited to four shots in the first period, opened the scoring after 14:31 when Matt Ryan's blast from the left point went inside the near post.
Manchester took a 2-0 lead at 3:08 of the second when Matt Moulson lifted the rebound of his shot under the crossbar on a power play.
More than 10 minutes went by before the Monarchs were credited with another shot on goal.
At 13:28, eight seconds into another power play, Moulson scored again. In a virtual replay of his first goal, he lifted the puck over Portland goalie Dov Grumet-Morris' glove.
Less than two minutes into the third period, Patrick O'Sullivan took the puck from Ryan Shannon in the neutral zone and beat Grumet-Morris with a backhander to his glove side on a breakaway.
Tim Jackman then scored two power-play goals a little more than two minutes apart in the final eight minutes.
NOTES: Right wing Bjorn Melin, reassigned by Anaheim after playing his first three games in the NHL, arrived in time to suit up for the Pirates. ... Manchester right wing Lauri Tukonen didn't return after receiving a hard check from Portland defenseman Greg Amadio in the first period.
PROVIDENCE 3, HARTFORD 2: David Krejci scored on two of Providence's first four shots at Hartford, Conn.
Jordan Sigalet made 28 saves for the Bruins (21-18-1-2), who won their fifth straight after losing 10 of 12. Krejci scored off a Brandon Dubinsky turnover 8:40 into the game, then got the winner short-handed at 11:19 after Kris Versteeg stole the puck.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
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Reader comments
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This summed at a moment in the second period where we were outshooting Manchester 27-9 yet the scoreboard also read "PORTLAND 0 - MANCHESTER 3"
We certainly are capable of outshooting our opposition, but the pucks just aren't crossing the plane. And again, as has been the case during this slump, we couldn't capitalize on the chances that were in front of us. And Manchester took full advantage of every shot to go after Dov with the majority of shots aimed at the top shelf.
But we really need to do something about this slump, because we are quickly losing our footing in the Atlantic Division. I know that we are at the halfway point of the AHL season, but in a tight race with every team in the division doing well we really can't afford to play catch-up as the playoffs near.
GO PIRATES!report abuse
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