Patience, Persistence Pay off for Pirates

Published on December 2, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates strung together three solid performances this week against some formidable foes, sandwiching a pair of come-from-behind overtime wins around their first shutout loss of the season. The Pirates earned four valuable points in the Eastern Conference standings. Portland beat the Providence Bruins 4-3 in overtime, then fell to the visiting Hamilton Bulldogs 2-0 before finishing the week with a hard-fought come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pirates begin the week in fourth place in the North Division with a record of 9-8-2-3 and now look ahead to three straight games on the road.

LAST WEEK:

Wednesday, November 27, 2002: Pirates 4, Providence 3 (OT)

The Pirates earned their first overtime win of the season, erasing three one-goal deficits and getting a goal from Mark Murphy less than a minute into the extra session. The Bruins took the lead in the first period only to see Mel Angelstad tie it up at 1-1 early in the second period. Chris Hajt answered a goal by the Bruins' Pat Leahy to knot the score at 2-2 at the end of two and Trent Whitfield scored on a shorthanded breakaway to send the game to the extra stanza. Murphy played the hero and extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with the goal. The Bruins had won the last meeting on November 15th, also in overtime.

Saturday, November 30, 2002: Hamilton 2, Pirates 0

The Hamilton Bulldogs proved why they are the top team in the Eastern Conference by handing the Pirates their first shutout of the season. Despite a 5-on-3 powerplay opportunity within the first 39 seconds of the game, Portland was unable to beat Bulldogs' netminder Mathieu Garon. Hamilton took control in the second period and took the lead when former Pirate Benoit Gratton netted the eventual game-winner with his eleventh of the season. The Bulldogs extended the lead as Francois Beauchemin trickled one past a screened Sebastien Charpentier later in the period. The Pirates had a late powerplay in the third period and pulled Charpentier for the extra attacker but could not spoil Garon's shutout bid.

Sunday, December 1, 2002: Pirates 3, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 (OT)

The Pirates faced a road-weary but spirited Wilkes-Barre/Scranton club on Sunday. The Pens were playing their third game in three days. Portland got on the board first with a tally by Brad Parsons early in the first. The Penguins would notch the next two, taking a 2-1 lead in the third period on a goal by Rob Scuderi. Mike Farrell knotted the score at 2-2 just 1:42 later to send the game to overtime. Defenseman Chris Hajt got the game-winner :38 into the overtime session with a deflected shot that snuck past Wilkes-Barre goalie Rob Tallas.

PIRATES HIT THE HIGHWAY IN THE START OF A TRAVEL-FILLED MONTH

Wednesday, December 4 at Albany, 7:00 pm

The Pirates start off a three-game road trip with a visit to the Albany River Rats on Wednesday, December 4th. The contest will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Rats are in the midst of an eleven-game winless skid (0-8-1-2). The teams split last year's four-game season series with the home team winning each game. Both Pirates' victories came in overtime. The River Rats begin the week with a record of 6-12-4-2. They will travel to Maine to close out the season series on March 22. Portland holds the slight edge in the all-time series between the two clubs, 15-14-3.

Saturday & Sunday, December 6 and 7 at St. John's, 6:05 pm

The Pirates will travel north to Newfoundland to face the St. John's Maple Leafs in back-to-back games at Mile One Stadium. The Pirates lead the all-time series vs. the Maple Leafs 32-15-7 entering 2002-03. St. John's has lost its last three games and is 2-7-1-0 in its last ten. The Leafs sit in fourth place in the Canadian Division with a record of 7-14-2-0. St. John's will visit the Pirates on December 14th and January 18th. The Pirates were 2-1-1-0 in four games against the Leafs in 2001-2002.

SHIP'S LOG:

· The Pirates earned their first overtime win of the season on November 27th, a 4-3 triumph in Providence. Two games later, they turned the trick again, beating Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3-2 on December 1st. The win against Providence was also the first one-goal game won by the Pirates this season.

· Defenseman Chris Hajt set a new career-high for goals in a season when he scored in the Pirates 4-3 OT win in Providence. The goal was his third of the season. He further raised his career-best total with his fourth goal of the year in the 3-2 OT win against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Two of his goals this season are game-winners.

· Center Brian Sutherby, who has played five games with the Pirates this season, scored his first National Hockey League goal in the Washington Capitals' 6-2 loss to Ottawa on Friday, November 29th.

· Sebastien Charpentier snapped a personal five-game winless streak with 30 saves in the Pirates' 3-2 overtime win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

TRANSACTIONS:

11/29/02 ADD Nick Lent (RW), signed to a PTO from Richmond Renegades (ECHL)
11/29/02 ADD Matt Reid (F), signed to a PTO from Pee Dee Pride (ECHL)
12/2/02 DELETE Matt Reid (F), released from PTO

ON THE AIR:

All Pirates' games can be heard live on the Pirates Radio Network. Sports Radio, WJAB, am-1440 and fm-95.5 serve as the flagship stations. Games may also be heard on WKTQ am-1450, South Paris; WTME am-790 Rumford and 1220 AM, ESPN Radio in Sanford.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2002


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