Pirates Blank Whale

January 14, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, ME - David Leggio made 21 saves en route to his first career AHL shutout, and first for a Portland goaltender this season, as he led the Portland Pirates to a 3-0 victory over the Connecticut Whale in an American Hockey League game played this evening in front of 3,448 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The Pirates improved to 22-12-4-1 on the season, and gained sole possession of second-place in the Atlantic Division, as Derek Whitmore and Matt Ellis provided the scoring for Portland.

Connecticut could not find the same magic that helped them in the first two meetings against Portland in which they came out victorious via overtime game-winning-goals. After the loss, the Whale dropped to 20-15-2-5 for the season and currently reside two points behind the Pirates.

After 19 minutes of tightly contested hockey, Ellis got the home team on the board with only 27 seconds remaining in the first period to give Portland a 1-0 lead. The Pirates would extend their lead to two in the second period when Whitmore beat Connecticut goaltender Cameron Talbot on a wrist shot from inside the faceoff circle at the 4:25 mark. With solid defense and great goaltending, Portland would ward off every Connecticut chance in preserving the two-goal lead until Whitmore struck for his second goal of the night to give the hosts a three-goal cushion with 1:27 left in the game to set the final margin. Maxime Legault and Mark Mancari each extended their current point streaks to five games each with assists.

The Pirates out-shot the Whale 29-21 as Leggio improved his record on the year to 10-4-0 and Talbot dropped to 7-3-2.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were all from Portland: 1. Leggio, 2. Whitmore and 3. Ellis.

The Pirates are back in action at the Civic Center tomorrow night (Saturday), January 15th at 7:00 p.m. when the Worcester Sharks come to Portland for game five of the fifth annual UNUM Challenge. Worcester currently holds the season edge, owning a 3-1 record against Portland. Fans are encouraged to visit the Portland Pirates website and enter for a chance to be chosen as the UNUM Challenge Fan of the Game. Also featured in tomorrow's game will be a free seat cushion giveaway to the first 500 fans through the gate courtesy of the Portland Press Herald. Tickets for the game, as well as each of the remaining Pirates home games, are on sale now by calling 207-775-3458, visiting the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or on-line at ticketmaster.com.



American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2011


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