Shaken, not stirred

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By PAUL BETIT, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Staff photo by John Patriquin

Martins Karsums of the Bruins, left, and Kent Huskins of the Pirates fight for the puck in front of Portland goalie Mike Wall on Friday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Bruins handed the Pirates their fifth straight loss.

Staff photo by John Patriquin

Eric Weinrich, an 18-year NHL veteran who until this week stood behind the Pirates bench as an assistant coach, returned to the ice as a player Friday night against the Bruins.

TODAY'S GAME

WHO: Pirates at Lowell Devils

WHEN: 7:05 p.m.

The Providence Bruins spoiled Eric Weinrich's return to the ice as a hockey player Friday night for the Portland Pirates.

Petr Kalus and Ben Walter each scored two goals to lead the Bruins to a 6-2 win before 6,306 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

"It was my first game, but if we have a chance to win every guy here has to do his job, and we didn't do a good enough job tonight," said Weinrich, a defenseman who signed a professional tryout contract Thursday with the Anaheim Ducks.

Weinrich grew up in Gardiner and played hockey for North Yarmouth Academy and the University of Maine.

Last August, after playing 18 NHL seasons, he retired to become an assistant coach with the Pirates.

"It was an exciting for Eric to come back," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said. "I thought he looked fine.

"He probably was a nervous guy, but he went out there and tried to play a real solid game."

It was the fifth consecutive loss for Portland, and it came on the heels of trades which cost the Pirates center Zenon Konopka, left wing Curtis Glencross and right wing Chris Durno.

"Obviously, when you come into the rink, and you're missing three jerseys from the locker room, it's a shock, but it's also a wake-up call," said Portland forward Geoff Peters.

"We haven't been winning, and we've got to make some changes. Everybody is affected by it, whether it was a close friend or a linemate, but we have to leave it behind us and focus on the next (36) games."

The goals by Kalus staked the Bruins to a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Five minutes in, he put in one timer from the right side of the slot off Walter's feed from the rear boards.

With 3:57 left, he lifted a rebound into the right side of the goal for his sixth goal of the season following a blast from the right point by defenseman Dwayne Zinger.

Zinger spent three seasons with the Pirates when the team was affiliated with the Washington Capitals.

Providence led 3-1 at the end of the second period.

At 12:56, Pascal Pelletier made it 3-0 when he finished off a two-on-one break with T.J. Trevelyan by tucking the puck behind goalie Mike Wall for his 15th goal of the season.

With 3:51 left, Peters, sidelined the first three months of the season because of a sports hernia, swept the puck in from the right hashmark for his first goal of the season.

During a power play at less than seven minutes into the third period, Providence took a 4-1 lead when defenseman Mark Stuart sent a shot from above the left hashmark inside the far post for his fourth goal.

With 10:05 left, Matt Keith, who has two goals and four assists in his last four games, finished off a breakaway by sticking a backhander inside the left post.

Walter put in his two goals off rushes less than a minute apart to complete the scoring with 4:37 left.

"When you lose 6-2, and you lose three of your teammates, there's not a lot of positives that come out of it," Dineen said. "Things have got to change around here quickly.

"We've got one game before the All-Star break, and we've got to take that game as a big stepping stone to regain our consistency."

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com

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