Bears Come From Behind, Beat Pirates 5-4

Published on March 21, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, Maine - The Hershey Bears came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Pirates 5-4 as Alexandre Giroux scored two goals and an assist.

Hershey jumped out early as Oskar Osala beat Jhonas Enroth on a wraparound for his 22nd goal of the season just 2:15 into the game. Mathieu Perreault and Francois Bouchard picked up the assists. The Pirates tied things up a little over five minutes later when Mark Mancari tried a pass through the slot off a rush and saw it deflect of the skate of a Bear and into the net. Mancari's 27th goal of the season was assisted by Mike Kostka and Marek Zagrapan at 7:21 of the first. Portland took the lead a few moments later when Zagrapan took a nice feed from Mancari, deked Bears goaltender Daren Machesney and slid it past him for his 17th goal of the year. Zagrapan's goal was assisted by Mancari and Colin Murphy at 13:34 of the first. Portland extended its lead to 3-1 just under two minutes later with a 5-on-3 power play. Marc-Andre Gragnani took a one timer from the right side and blasted it home. Gragnani's 7th goal of the season was assisted by Mathieu Darche and Tim Kennedy at 15:31 of the first. The Pirates took their 3-1 lead into the second period.

In the second period, Felix Schutz turned a shot on net from the left wing and it deflected twice to beat Machesney. Enroth's 13th goal of the season was assisted by Mike Kostka and Colton Fretter at 3:42 of the second and put Portland on top 4-1. The Bears continued fighting though, as Kyle Wilson picked up his 25th goal of the year from Sami Lepisto to cut it to a 4-2 game heading into the third period.

The Bears opened the third on a power play and cashed in as Alexandre Giroux sent a drive from the right wing past Enroth. Giroux's league leading 48th goal of the season was assisted by Staffan Kronwall and Lepisto and cut the game to 4-3 at :36 of the third. Late in the third, Alexandre Giroux stickhandled to the slot and put a backhander under the crossbar to beat Enroth for his 49th goal of the season, tying the game with 1:27 remaining. Mathieu Perreault and Karl Alzner picked up assists. With under a minute left, Hershey took the lead when Giroux floated a puck towards the net and it was deflected home by Staffan Kronwall for his 8th goal of the season. Giroux and Mink picked up the assists and the Bears took the 5-4 win. Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 36 saves on 41 shots and took the loss. Daren Machesney stopped 21 of 25 shots to pick up the win.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Alexandre Giroux (HER) 2. Marek Zagrapan (POR) 3. Staffan Kronwall (HER)

Notes: Felix Schutz scored a goal and has a five game point scoring streak...Attendance: 6,605.

The Pirates next game is tomorrow at 4:00 in Bridgeport, CT. The Pirates will take on the Sound Tigers, who lead the East Division. Fans can follow the Pirates on U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network or watch the game LIVE on the internet courtesy of AHL Live by clicking the icon on the left side of the home page. The U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network includes the Pirates flagship station, the Bay 1400AM and 1490AM (Portland) and affiliates WEZR 1240 AM (Lewiston-Auburn), WTME 780AM (Rumford) and WKTQ 1450AM (South Paris).

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American Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2009


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