Saturday, March 24, 2007
TODAY'S GAME
WHO: Portland Pirates vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Conn.
Keeping their flagging playoff hopes alive, the Portland Pirates pulled out a 3-2 win against Lowell in a shootout played before a crowd of 6,328 at the Cumberland County Civic Center Friday night.
Joe Motzko settled the issue by scoring his second goal during the shootout when the score remained tied as three shooters from each team scored after the first five shots.
The Pirates, who snapped a three-game losing streak, rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie the score during regulation.
"We're in a situation where our backs are against the wall," Motzko said. "It was a good character come back tonight."
With 12 games left (eight away), Portland trails both Lowell and Worcester by seven points in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth in the AHL's Atlantic Division.
The Pirates, who have three games left against Lowell, hold a game in hand against the Devils and two games in hand against Worcester.
The Pirates played without No. 1 goalie Sebastien Caron, who was called up by Anaheim Friday to serve as a backup to Ilya Bryzgalov after J.S. Giguere went on paternity leave.
Portland also played without its two tough guys, Mike Hoffman and Trevor Gillies.
"Both of them have played really good hockey for us lately, and they're hurting," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said.
Gerald Coleman made his fourth start in goal since joining the Pirates three weeks ago. He stopped 16 of 18 shots before the game went into the shootout. His biggest save came when he stopped Mike Pandolfo before Motzko's shootout winner.
Former UMaine goalie Frank Doyle stopped 27 of 29 shots for Lowell.
The Devils held a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
At 6:47, Petr Vrana put in a shot from near the right hash mark for his 12th goal of the season during the lone power play of the period.
At 11:43, Chris Minard wheeled and fired in a shot from above the right hash mark for his team-high 27th goal.
With less than six minutes left in the second period, Simon Ferguson made it 2-1 by finishing off a rush down the right side with a hard shot from the top of the circle for his sixth goal.
With less than four minutes left in the third period, defenseman Aaron Rome tied the score when his blast from the right point deflected in off a defender for his seventh goal.
During the shootout, Ryan Murphy, Vrana and Pandolfo scored for the Devils.
Scoring for the Pirates were Motzko, Mark Hartigan and Geoff Peters.
NOTES: The Pirates signed Tim Heneroty to a professional tryout contract so he could serve as Gerald Coleman's backup. Heneroty last played in goal for Northeastern three years ago. David McKee, who has spent most of the season with the ECHL Augusta Lynx, is expected to join the team today for its two-game series in Bridgeport Right wing Shane Hynes, who has spent all this season in the ECHL with the Lynx, played his first game for the Pirates since suffering a season-ending knee injury in November 2005.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
Shoot-Out Goal by MotzkoSee other game videos
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Reader comments
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But...
While a win is a win, we needed the regulation win. At this point in the season we needed to gain ground as fast as we could. Getting 1 point was good, but 2 points would have been better. Especially since Worcester won last night, we are now chasing them and Lowell while sitting 3 and a half games back. Both teams play tonight, but will be idle on Sunday while the Pirates play their second straight at the Arena at Harbor Yard. And game we need to win if we ever want to make ground quickly in the Atlantic Division.
But I also think that had the Devils had Parise in net we would have lost, both in regulation and if it went to the shootout... Two of the four shootout goals scored on Doyle should not have happened. One of them was Doyle practically tossing the puck into the net, and the other was a rebound that trickled in. I noticed that was a theme, Doyle not being able to hold onto shots, especially ones that went into the trapper. He mishandled quite a few shots, not something you'd expect from a goaltender who ranks 9th in the AHL in goals against average...
I will hope for a good series this weekend, but last night's game didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence. It was a luck win, and hopefully last nights luck carries over and we can get some much needed standings points against the Sound Tigers...
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