Pirates Face Monarchs in VIP Cup Battle on Boxing Day

Published on December 26, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Manchester, NH - The Pirates return from the holiday break on Thursday and get right to action, starting a two game road trip with a trip to Manchester to face the Monarchs. Puck drop is 7 PM for the 5th game on the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service. Manchester has a 3-1 series lead so far, with tonight's game the second game at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Pirates last faced the Providence Bruins, defeating them 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston. James Melindy scored his first professional goal and Andy Miele added his team leading 11th goal of the season. Mark Visentin tied his season high in saves with 45 as Daine Todd, Brandon McMillan and Brandon Yip would tally goals in the shootout to give the Pirates their 3rd win over Providence this December.

Manchester is coming off a 2-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the road Saturday. Brandon Kozun and Jordan Weal scored for the Monarchs while JF Berube started his 17th consecutive game, stopping 30 of 31 shots for the win. Manchester only committed 6 penalties in the contest, but went 0 for 10 on the man advantage.

The last VIP Cup game was on Friday, December 20th, a 6-2 win by the Monarchs over the Pirates at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Keven Veilleux and Jordan Martinook had the Pirates goals while the Monarchs got goals from Tanner Pearson, Andy Andreoff, Nick Shore, Jordan Weal and two from Brain O'Neill. Both Mark Visentin and Louis Domingue saw action in the game for the Pirates. Manchester has a 3-1 lead in the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service, and have the only regulation win for either team, which came on Friday. For more about the VIP Cup Series, visit vip-cup.com.

KeyBank Key to the Game

No Holi-daze: The Pirates nor the Monarchs have played since Saturday, as both teams have been on their holiday break. A fast start for either team will determine who has the advantage in the game tonight, and the Pirates will need a full 60 minute effort to defeat the Eastern Conference's leading team.

Tonight's game can be heard on the Pirates flagship stations WPEI 95.5/95.9 FM as well as WEZR AM 1240 in the Lewiston/Auburn area and WTME AM 780/1450 in Oxford County. The game can also be heard online at portlandpirates.com by clicking "Listen Live" and can be seen live on AHL Live at ahllive.com. The pregame show starts at 6:45 with Jeff Mannix. Tickets are available by calling (207) 783-2009 or online at thecolisee.com. Follow all the action on the Pirates official Facebook page and Twitter account (@PortlandPirates) with the hashtag #PiratesAway.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 26, 2013


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