Pirates Earn Five of Six Points over Last Week

Published on January 13, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates earned points in all three games last week to move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Pirates lost in overtime in Saint John to begin the three-in-three weekend but returned home with wins over the North Division-leading Providence Bruins and Saint John. The Pirates begin the week in third place in the North Division with a record of 20-13-4-5. The Pirates are 8-1-1-1 since December 26th. The Pirates will play three games in four days this week when they host Bridgeport, St. John's and Lowell.

LAST WEEK:

Friday, January 10: Saint John 3, Pirates 2 (OT)

The Flames picked up their first win of the season over the Pirates despite a come-from-behind effort that saw Portland overcome a two-goal deficit. Saint John took the early lead as tough guy Jason Payne popped home his own rebound at 8:30, the only goal Saint John scored in the first period despite an 18-6 edge in shots. Matt Lombardi gave the Flames the 2-0 lead 2:35 into the second with a wrister past Rastislav Stana. Peter Ferraro pulled the Pirates to within one with a shorthanded tally at 7:17, and Graham Mink knotted the score with his tally at 10:43. Stana held the Flames at bay until the end of the third period as Saint John out shot the Pirates 41-20 in regulation. Micki DuPont ended Portland's comeback bid, netting the game-winner just 1:25 into the extra stanza.

Saturday, January 11: Pirates 5, Providence 3

The Pirates began an eight-game home stand with a 5-3 win, snapping the division-leading Bruins 12-game unbeaten streak. The Pirates jumped into the lead on Graham Mink's team-leading 17th goal of the season only to the see the Bruins answer back with a pair of quick goals from Keith Aucoin. The Pirates replied with a slap shot from Matt Pettinger to even the score at 2-2 after one. Portland re-took the lead in the second period as Chris Hajt's one-timer on the powerplay beat Bruins netminder Andrew Raycroft. Providence battled back with a powerplay goal of its own as Aucoin completed the hat trick and knotted the score at 3-3. Peter Ferraro's goal at 16:48 of the third period gave the Pirates the lead once again, and an empty-netter from Chris Ferraro sealed the. The win evened the season series at 3-2-0-1.

Sunday, January 12, 2003: Pirates 3, Saint John 0

The Pirates completed their tenth three-in-three weekend of the season with their eighth shutout of the year, a new team record. Mel Angelstad got the only goal the Pirates would need when he notched his fourth of the year midway through the first period. The Pirates broke open a tight game in the third with a powerplay goal from Josef Boumedienne and an even-strength marker from Peter Ferraro. Maxime Ouellet earned his fifth shutout with 49 saves. The Pirates are now 4-0-0-1 against the Flames this season.

PIRATES ENJOY HOME COOKIN' WITH THREE GAMES AT THE CIVIC CENTER

Thursday, January 16 vs. Bridgeport, 7:05 pm

The Pirates will look to avenge a 4-2 loss to the Sound Tigers in their last meeting on November 8th as the two team's close-out the two-game season series. Portland is 2-3-0 all-time against the Tigers, having lost the last three games. Bridgeport enters the week atop the East Division with a 19-14-8-1 record. The Pirates lead the South Tigers by two points in the conference standings. Bridgeport's last action prior to their meeting in Portland was a 3-2 loss to the Hershey Bears on January 11.

Saturday, January 18 vs. St. John's, 7:05 pm

The Pirates and Maple Leafs will face off during CMP/Make-A-Wish Night in the final game of four meetings this season.

Portland holds the edge in the season series at 2-0-0-1 as well as the all-time series at 34-16-7. The Pirates fell to St. John's 4-3 in overtime on December 6th at Mile One Stadium before rebounding the following night with a resounding 7-3 win. Portland skated away with a 3-2 win in their last meeting on December 14th. Maxime Ouellet has both wins this season for the Pirates while Rastislav Stana took the loss in overtime despite 44 saves. The Leafs host Saint John in a pair of games on Tuesday and Wednesday and then visit Providence before coming to Portland.

Sunday, January 19 vs. Lowell, 4:05 pm

The Pirates will finish the weekend when they face the Lock Monsters in the seventh of ten meetings this season. Portland is 5-1-0-0 vs. Lowell this year, including four shutouts. Portland has outscored the Monsters 21-7 in the six games, with their only loss coming in their first meeting on October 25 at Tsongas Arena. Portland's success this season has evened the all-time series at 21-21-6. Lowell will enter the game on the heels of a difficult stretch that will see them play four road games in five nights. They take on league-leading Hamilton on Wednesday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Worcester on Saturday prior to Sunday's contest.

PIRATES NOMINATE PETER FERRARO AS SHER-WOOD/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

The Portland Pirates nominated right wing Peter Ferraro as the Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending January 12, 2003. In three games last week, Ferraro had three goals and two assists for five points. He began with a shorthanded tally in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Saint John Flames on January 10th. The next night, he had the game-winning goal and an assist in a 5-3 win over the Providence Bruins.

He finished the weekend with another goal and an assist in the Pirates' 3-0 win over Saint John on January 12th. With points in all three games last week, Peter Ferraro now has points in six straight games. He has goals in three straight, one fewer than the team season-high.

SHIP'S LOG:

· Maxime Ouellet earned his league-leading fifth shutout of the season with 49 saves against Saint John on January 12, 2003.

· The Pirates' 3-0 shutout of Saint John on January 12th was their eighth of the season, setting a new franchise record for shutouts in a season. The original mark was set during the 1994-95 season. The Pirates lead the AHL in shutouts.

· The Pirates are now unbeaten in their last five at the Cumberland County Civic Center (4-0-1-0). They are 8-1-1-0 in their last ten on home ice.

· Trent Whitfield stretched his personal scoring streak to ten games with assists in all three Pirates' games last week. He has five goals and ten assists during the streak. The franchise record for a point-scoring streak is 16 games set by Jeff Nelson during the 1993-94 season.

TRANSACTIONS:

1/13/03 DELETE Jeff Williams (C), reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Quad City (UHL)

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.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central