Wednesday, February 14, 2007
COMING UP
TODAY: Pirates at Norfolk, 7:15 p.m
FRIDAY: Pirates at Philadelphia, 7:05 p.m.
SUNDAY: Worcester at Pirates, 4:05 p.m.
The Portland Pirates got a big monkey off their backs last weekend and hope to keep it off.
The monkey climbed on in late November after the Pirates squeaked out a 2-1 victory at Lowell.
It stayed there exactly 11 weeks. Over that span Portland lost a franchise-record 11 consecutive road games, dropping from first to sixth place in the Atlantic Division.
Last Friday night, the Pirates eked out a 2-1 victory at Wilkes-Barre.
They followed it Saturday night by rallying to a 4-2 road victory against the Norfolk Admirals, the top team in the AHL.
"Obviously we were due to snap out of it at some point," Portland center Geoff Peters said.
"It was nice to do it against two good teams who play well at home. It gives us a big boost."
Portland goalies Sebastien Caron and Mike Wall turned in outstanding performances during the victories.
Against the Penguins, Caron, who made 21 saves, came within two seconds of posting his first shutout of the season. The next night, Wall made 29 saves at Norfolk.
"We're finally getting some great goaltending," Peters said. "But the most important thing is we're playing well defensively. We're not giving up too much."
The Pirates aren't out of the woods yet.
In the midst of an 11-day, five-game odyssey, Portland will play at Norfolk tonight and in Philadelphia on Friday night.
The team will return to the Cumberland County Civic Center for a game against Worcester next Sunday before heading out to play at Providence, Worcester and Albany next week.
During their recent travails on the road, the Pirates have learned a lot.
"We've sort of come together and are learning what it takes to win at this level at this time of year," said defenseman Kent Huskins, who was named the team captain just before the club started on its current trip.
"Every game is kind of crucial to where we want to go. We've got that playoff frame of mind right now."
Now that they have developed some momentum while playing on the road, the Pirates want to maintain it.
"We've got to continue to do the things that got us to the way we're playing now," Peters said. "We're starting to realize that when you buy into a system, it works."
"Our hard work did pay off," Huskins said.
"It's tough when you're working hard and it's not happening. It's difficult to keep pushing yourself and pushing each other.
"You can get down but we stuck with it."
MARK HARTIGAN, a center and one of the newest Pirates, is looking forward to getting his first look at the Civic Center.
"I'm playing with these guys on the road and I've never even seen the home rink," said Hartigan, who spent his first two weeks in the NHL with Anaheim after coming over from the Columbus organization Jan. 26 as part of a four-player trade.
"But I'm getting to know the guys, hang out with them."
Hartigan, who had a team-high 19 goals for the Syracuse Crunch before the trade, joined the Pirates in time to play against Norfolk last Saturday night.
On Monday, Hartigan, 29, practiced with the team for the first time.
"Playing on the road is not a bad way to start," he said. "(But) it's tough for my wife. She had to stay in Syracuse by herself. She'll meet us in Portland."
ANDREI KOSTITSYN, a Hamilton right wing, was named AHL player of the week after recording five goals and three assists to help the Bulldogs win 3 of 4 games.
Portland right wing Joe Motzko, who had three goals and an assist to help the Pirates win two of their three road games, also was nominated.
PIRATES FANS are encouraged to wear red to support the American Heart Association's fight against heart disease to Sunday's game against the Worcester Sharks. The first 1,500 fans will receive a Go Red T-Shirt.
AN EVENING with the Pirates will be held from 6 to 10 p.m., March 13, at the Holiday Inn By The Bay to benefit the Portland Pirates Foundation and Maine Children's Cancer Program.
For more information, call 828-4665.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
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