Pirates Face Busy Week

January 12, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME – After two straight weeks with a leisurely schedule, the Portland Pirates dive into the thick of the action in the Atlantic Division with four games against division foes. The Pirates saw their nine-game unbeaten streak come to an end last week with an overtime loss to the Manchester Monarchs on Friday. That loss came two days after the Pirates had extended the streak to nine with a win in Lowell. The string of nine games without a loss was the second longest in the American Hockey League this season and tied for the third longest in franchise history. The Pirates finished the weekend with a regulation loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at home on Saturday. This week, the Pirates begin a stretch of eight straight games against Atlantic Division teams when they visit Hartford on Wednesday, host Manchester on Friday, visit the Monarchs on Saturday and host the Providence Bruins on Sunday. The Pirates are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 15-15-4-4, good for 38 points. They trail the fourth-place Worcester IceCats by just three points and third-place Providence by five points.

LAST WEEK:

Wednesday, January 7, 2004: Pirates 3, Lowell 2 OT

The Pirates extended their unbeaten streak the hard way, beating the Lowell Lock Monsters 3-2 in overtime at Tsongas Arena. After a scoreless first period, the Pirates finally broke through early in the second period. Mike Pudlick's shot from the right point clanked off the post and settled in behind Krahn. Jason Ulmer reached behind him to poke the puck home for his fourth goal of the year. Later, the Pirates used the powerplay to stretch their lead. Josef Boumedienne dangled around a sliding Lowell defender and beat Krahn with a wrist shot for his first goal of the season. Ulmer earned one assist and Francois Methot picked up his second assist of the night. The Pirates led 2-0 after two. The Lock Monsters quickly tied the game in the third. First, Pavel Brendl scored a powerplay goal at 3:52 to trim the Pirates' lead to 2-1. Then, Allan Rourke finished off an odd man rush just 2:20 later to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Owen Fussey and Andrej Podkonicky combined to work the puck out of the left wing corner to Boumedienne who pivoted and threw the puck toward the goal. Podkonicky was able to redirect the puck past Krahn for his second overtime game winner. The 3-2 win is the Pirates' second win in three games against Lowell this year.

Friday, January 9, 2004: Manchester 2, Pirates 1 OT

The Pirates saw their nine-game unbeaten streak come to an end, losing 2-1 in overtime to the Manchester Monarchs at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Pirates opened the scoring midway through the first period. Graham Mink held off a Monarchs' defender and fed Jason Ulmer who walked down the slot and beat goalie Adam Hauser with a one-timer for his fifth of the season. After a scoreless second period, the Monarchs stepped up the pressure in the third. They finally cashed in with Hauser pulled for an extra attacker. Pavel Rosa, the leading scorer in the AHL, kept the puck in at the blueline and fed Steve Kelly who set up Esa Pirnes, just re-assigned from the Los Angeles Kings, for the goal with 1:16 remaining in regulation time. In overtime, Pirnes was once again the hero, knocking a rebound past Maxime Ouellet for his second goal of the night.

Saturday, January 10, 2004: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2, Pirates 1

For the first time in nearly a month, the Portland Pirates played a game without earning a point. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins scored two unanswered goals to beat the Pirates 2-1 at the Civic Center. The regulation loss ended a streak of eleven straight games in which the Pirates had earned at least a point. The game started well for the Pirates. Mike Souza redirected a pass from Josef Boumedienne during the Pirates' first powerplay of the game to make it 1-0. The Penguins responded later in the period when they forced a turnover in the Pirates' zone, and Toby Petersen beat Maxime Ouellet with a wrist shot to make it 1-1. In the second, the Penguins got the game-winner when Kris Beech knocked over Ouellet, and their leading goal scorer, Michel Ouellet, tossed his 19th of the season into the vacated net. The Pirates couldn't get anything going in the third period in part because of three penalty kills that left them with no time on the clock at game's end.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

DAY DATE EVENT TIME BROADCAST

Monday Jan. 12 Practice at CCCC 10:00 AM – 1:00 AM

Tuesday Jan. 13 Practice at CCCC 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Wednesday Jan. 14 Morning Skate at Hartford CC 11:15 – 12:15 PM

Game at Hartford 7:05 PM PRN

Thursday Jan. 15 Practice at CCCC 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Friday Jan. 16 Morning Skate at CCCC 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Game vs. Manchester 7:05 PM PRN

Saturday Jan. 17 Morning Skate at CCCC 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Game at Manchester 7:35 PM PRN

Sunday Jan. 18 Game vs. Providence 4:05 PM PRN

PRN: Pirates Radio Network

PIRATES LOOK TO MOVE UP WITH GAMES AGAINST DIVISION'S TOP THREE TEAMS

- Wednesday, January 14, 2004 at Hartford, 7:05 PM

The Pirates visit the Hartford Wolf Pack for the third time this season. It is the sixth of eight meetings between the two division rivals, and the Pirates are still looking for their first win against the Pack. The Pirates are 0-4-0-1 against the New York Rangers' top development team so far this year. The Pirates earned their first point in head-to-head play in the last meeting, a 3-2 overtime loss in Hartford on December 14th. It was the start of the Pirates' recently-ended eleven-game point streak. All time, the Pack has a commanding lead in the series with the Pirates, 19-7-5. The Pirates are 4-9-2 all-time in Hartford. The Wolf Pack begins the week in first place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 22-12-5-1. After shaking off a five-game losing streak, the Pack is now 4-0-1-0 in its last five games. Hartford is 11-5-4-0 at home this season. Chad Wiseman leads the Pack in scoring with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. Corey Larose is second in team scoring with 23 points and leads the team with 17 assists. Layne Ulmer is tied with Wiseman for first in goals with 13 and is third in scoring with 20 points. The Wolf Pack is the second stingiest team in the AHL, allowing 1.93 goals per game. Jason LaBarbera is a big reason why. He is 15-5-4 in 29 games this year and has a goals-against average of 1.61, ranking him third in the AHL. He also has six shutouts, a league best.

- Fri., January 16, 2004 vs. Manchester, 7:05 PM; Sat., January 17, 2004 at Manchester, 7:35 PM

The Pirates and the Manchester Monarchs finish off a string of three games head-to-head in eight days with a home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday. The Monarchs snapped the Pirates nine-game unbeaten streak last Friday with a 2-1 overtime win in Portland. So far, the Monarchs have the edge in the ten-game season series at 3-0-0-1. Conversely, the Pirates are 1-2-0-1 against the Monarchs. All time, the Pirates trail the Monarchs 8-12-4. They are 5-6-1 against their Granite State neighbors at home and 3-6-3 all time at Verizon Wireless Arena. With several players recently assigned from their NHL affiliate, the Los Angeles Kings, he Monarchs have surged into second place in the Atlantic with a record of 20-16-2-3, good for 45 points. They're five behind Hartford. The Monarchs have won the lion's share of their games at home where they are 15-6-1-2. Manchester features the AHL's top scorer in Pavel Rosa who has 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points. He is tied with teammate Steve Kelly for first in AHL assists with 29. Kelly is second in team scoring with 40 points. Scott Barney is in third with 31 points and leads the team with 19 goals. Defenseman Bryan Muir leads all AHL blueliners with 26 points in 35 games. Adam Hauser has appeared in 20 games for the Monarchs in goal, posting a record of 9-8-2 and a 2.05 goals-against average. Manchester does not play until hosting the Pirates.

- Sunday, January 18, 2004 vs. Providence, 4:05 PM

The Pirates finish the weekend against their oldest rival, the Providence Bruins. So far this year, the Bruins have a 2-1-1-0 edge in the ten-game season series. The Pirates won the last meeting 2-0 on December 27th in Portland. All time, the Pirates are 49-44-13 against the Baby Bs including a record of 29-17-7 at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Providence, like Hartford and Manchester, is currently ahead of the Pirates in the Atlantic Division standings. The Bruins hold down third place with a record of 17-12-9-0, good for 43 points--five more than the Pirates. The Bruins are 7-7-5-0 in 19 road games so far this season. Former Pirate Matt Herr leads the Bruins in scoring with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points. His assist total is a team best. Andre Savage is second in scoring with 21 points. Carl Corazzini is tied for third in scoring with 18 points and has a team-leading 12 goals. The Bruins host Bridgeport on Friday before visiting Portland on Sunday.

SHIP'S LOG:

· The Pirates went nine straight games without allowing a goal in the first period. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins ended that streak on January 10, 2004.

· The Pirates have allowed just six powerplay goals at home in 65 shorthanded chances, a success rate of 90.8%.

· The Pirates have scored first in 12 of their last 14 games. In one game, neither team scored first, a 0-0 tie against Hershey on January 3, 2004.

· Center Jason Ulmer had goals in back-to-back games on January 7 at Lowell and January 9 versus Manchester.

TRANSACTIONS:

1/6/04 DELETE Rastislav Stana (G), recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)

1/6/04 ADD Maxime Ouellet (G), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

1/9/04 ADD Brian Sutherby (C), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

1/10/04 ADD Boyd Gordon (RW), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:

Head coach Tim Army will appear on WJAB's "Morning JAB" program at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Broadcaster Dave Ahlers will appear on the "Morning JAB" on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. On Thursday, the Pirates will be sending a player to read to children at the Fleet Story Hour at Dyer Library in Saco at 2:00 p.m. For a complete list of upcoming community appearances, check out the "In The Community" section of the Pirates' web site, portlandpirates.com.

ON THE AIR:

Once again this season, all the action of the Portland Pirates' hockey may be heard on Flagship Station WJAB, AM-1440 and FM-95.5 in Portland and on network affiliates WKTQ AM-1450, South Paris; WTME AM-790 Rumford and 1220 AM, ESPN Radio in Sanford. All games may also be heard on the Pirates' web site, www.portlandpirates.com.

GAME HOTLINE:

Members of the media and fans can receive a recap of each Pirates' game, home or away, by calling the Pirates' office at (207) 828-4665 and dialing 3-2-2 when the automated attendant picks up. Recaps will include scoring, goaltenders, shots, powerplays, attendance and any records or notables. Game recaps and other Pirates' news is also available at www.portlandpirates.com. Official AHL box scores are available at the AHL's official web site, www.theahl.com.



American Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2004


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