Pirates Clawed by Bears

Published on December 3, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Hershey, Pennsylvania - Former Pirate Graham Mink and 2011 Calder Cup champion Ryan Potulny each tabbed a pair of goals and an assist and Matthew Ford recorded a goal and two assists as the Hershey Bears defeated the Portland Pirates by a count of 7-1 this evening in front of 10,238 at the GIANT Center.

Matt Pope and Julien Brouillette also found the back of the net for Hershey, Chris Bourque tallied a pair of assists to up his point streak to 10 games and assist streak to eight, and Jacob Micflikier notched three assists as the Bears improved to 11-6-3-2 overall and 5-3-2-1 at home.

Ryan Duncan tallied the lone goal for Portland as the Pirates dropped to 10-9-1-1 on the season.

Duncan got the visitors on the board first, breaking a 10-game goal drought, with a wrist shot from the left circle beating Dany Sabourin to his high glove side exactly two minutes into the game. Hershey would even up the score, with under four minutes remaining in the period, on a power-play tally by Mink who went top-shelf on Justin Pogge five seconds after the Pirates killed off the first half of a five-on-three advantage for the Bears. The hosts fired on all cylinders in the second frame, with Potulny notching his first of the night at the 6:28 mark and Pope tallying his second of the year on a two-on-one opportunity six minutes later to give the Bears a two-goal advantage. Brouillette continued the offensive onslaught with a power-play blast from the right circle with exactly five minutes remaining in the period, and Mink capped a four-goal period for Hershey with his second power-play goal of the night on a one-timer from Chris Bourque with just over one minute remaining in the middle stanza. Hershey continued their blitz early in the third period when Ford snapped a wrist shot past Pogge to the top left corner at the 1:05 mark and Potulny broke through the Portland defense to squeeze in an attempt for his second of the night and fourth of the season two minutes later to set the final margin.

The Bears out-shot the Pirates 41-21 as Sabourin improved to 5-4-1 on the season. Justin Pogge stopped 34 shots while dropping to 3-2-1 in his first action since November 12 against the Providence Bruins.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were all from Hershey: 1. Potulny; 2. Mink; 3. Ford.

The Pirates will wrap up the three-game weekend set at the Mass Mutual Center against the Springfield Falcons tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, at 3 p.m. and will continue their seven-game road trip on Friday when they travel over to Glens Falls, New York to take on the Adirondack Phantoms in a 7 p.m. faceoff. Fans can catch all of the action with broadcaster Jeff Mannix on the Portland Pirates Radio Network 95.9 WPEI and 95.5 WPPI.

Pirates hockey will return to the Civic Center on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 p.m. when the Manchester Monarchs come to town for the sixth of 12 meetings this season. The Portland Pirates Holiday Toy Drive will continue and all toy donations to Toys for Tots and cash donations to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund will be rewarded with a pair of tickets to a future Pirates game. The Bruce Roberts Toy Fund assists children from birth through age 18 in Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York counties during the holiday season. Parents and legal guardians of children 18 and under can apply at The Welcome Center, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and through local service organizations or call (207-791-6672) to have an application sent by mail.

Now is the time to cash in on great savings by purchasing discounted ticket plans and advance tickets for the Pirates 2011-12 season. Ticket packages are available to meet all budgets and schedules. Call a Pirates ticket representative today at 207-828-4665 x350 to reserve your seats for any combination of games that Pirates hockey, "Coyotes Style", has to offer. Individual tickets for the each of the remaining 28 home games of the Pirates 2011-12 regular season schedule are on sale and fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Pirates ticket office, Cumberland County Civic Center box office (open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.) or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2011


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