Pirates Acquire Sterling from Peoria

Published on March 3, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, Maine - Portland Pirates General Brad Treliving announced today that the team has acquired forward Brett Sterling via loan from the Peoria Rivermen. In exchange, the Pirates will loan forward Patrick O'Sullivan to Peoria.

Sterling, a 27 year-old from Los Angeles, California, is currently 16th in scoring in the AHL this season. He has scored 22 goals to go along 26 assists for 48 points in 54 games played in 2011-12. He also has a plus-seven rating for the season to go along with 74 penalty minutes.

Sterling was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2007 AHL All-Star Classic. He received the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's top rookie the same year. Sterling also won the Willie Marshall Award in 2007 as the AHL's leading scorer, putting up 55 goals and 42 assists for a 97 point rookie campaign for the Chicago Wolves.

Sterling played four seasons at Colorado College and is one of only five players in school history to achieve more than 100 goals in his college career. He was named a First Team All-American in both 2005 and 2006 and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as men's college hockey's top player.

In his sixth professional season, Sterling has played in 26 NHL games, totaling five goals and four assists for nine points between the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the St. Louis Blues this past summer. He was drafted by the Atlanta in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

O'Sullivan, a 27 year-old winger born in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, played in 26 games this season for the Pirates, scoring ten times and adding 20 assists for 30 points. He also has 16 penalty minutes and a minus-six rating in his seventh professional season.

Earlier this season, O'Sullivan has played 23 games for the Phoenix Coyotes, scoring twice to go along with two assists for four points. He has played a total of 334 NHL games over his career. He has scored 58 goals and 103 assists for 161 points, splitting time between the Coyotes, the Los Angeles Kings, the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Minnesota Wild. He was drafted by the Wild in second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

As a condition of the deal, Phoenix will retain the NHL recall rights to O'Sullivan and St. Louis will retain the NHL recall rights to Sterling.

The Portland Pirates will return to the Cumberland County Civic Center to face off against the Worcester Sharks tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The first 2,500 fans in the Civic Center will receive a special edition Portland Pirates t-shirt, courtesy of Five County Credit Union. All fans will receive two free tickets to a future Pirates game with a donation to Goodwill.

Portland Pirates 20th Anniversary Season Tickets are now on sale! You can secure your seats for as low as $50! Season tickets include plenty of great perks! To find out more, call the Pirates Tickets Office at 828-4665, EXT 350 today!

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American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2012


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