Pirates finish home stand with two wins

Published on February 9, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME – After spending a majority of the last month and a half at home, the Portland Pirates embark on a three-game road trip this week. It's the start of a busy month of travel for the Pirates who will play eight of the remaining eleven games in February away from the Cumberland County Civic Center. This week, the Pirates visit Albany on Wednesday, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Hershey on Saturday. They will try to build on two wins last weekend over division rivals Worcester and Providence. The four points earned put them in a tie for fifth place in the Atlantic Division with the Lowell Lock Monsters. The Pirates have 51 points thanks to a record of 19-17-7-6. They are 4-2-2-2 in their last ten games.

LAST WEEK:

Friday, February 6, 2004: Pirates 2, Worcester 1

The Pirates scored two early goals and then held on for a 2-1 win over the Worcester IceCats at the Civic Center. The win, coupled with a tie by the Lowell Lock Monsters in Bridgeport, put Portland and Lowell in a fifth-place tie in the Atlantic Division. It was a night of first for the Pirates. Mike Vigilante started the scoring with his first goal as a Pirate. He batted a feed from Francois Methot past Brent Johnson to give the Pirates the lead at 6:53. Less than four minutes later, the Pirates stretched their lead when Methot forced a turnover and fed Boyd Gordon who beat Johnson through a screen for his first goal of the year. The 2-0 lead held up into the third period in large part because of the goaltending of Rastislav Stana who was supremely tested over the final two periods as the Pirates were outshot 25-6, including 16-2 in the third period. The only goal to beat him came off the stick of Peter Sejna at 6:49 of the third.

Saturday, February 7, 2004: Pirates 3, Providence 1

The Pirates moved two games above the .500 mark for the first time this season, beating the Providence Bruins 3-1 at the Civic Center. The Pirates broke open a scoreless game early in the second period. Ivan Ciernik slipped the puck out of the right wing corner to Mike Vigilante who tapped home the pass for his second goal of the year. Vigilante wasn't done there. A little more than three minutes later, Colin Forbes brought the puck up the right wing and led Vigilante who blasted a shot from the blueline past the glove hand of Hannu Toivonen. The Bruins got one goal back on the powerplay. Kris Vernarsky tossed the puck in the slot to Matt Herr who got several whacks at it before beating Rastislav Stana just under the crossbar. The Pirates played stiff defense in the third period, allowing the Bruins few good scoring chances. They finally got an insurance goal with less than two minutes remaining. Forbes flipped the puck ahead to Graham Mink who carried it down the right wing, held off a defenseman and slid the puck under Toivonen for his team-leading 14th goal of the year. The win helped the Pirates even the season series with Providence at 2-2-2-0.

Pirates Nominate Mike Vigilante as Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week

The Portland Pirates nominated left wing Mike Vigilante as the Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending February 8, 2004. In two games last week, Vigilante scored three goals, 60% of the Pirates' total goals scored, in a pair of wins over Atlantic Division rivals. On Friday, February 6th, he had the game's first goal in a 2-1 win over the Worcester IceCats. On Saturday, February 7th, he had the first two goals of the game, including the game-winner, in a 3-1 win over the Providence Bruins. The native of Dearborn, Michigan became the first Pirate to score multiple goals in a period this season. He now has points in three straight games.

PIRATES HIT THE ROAD FOR THREE STRAIGHT

- Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at Albany, 7:00 PM

The Pirates and the Albany River Rats wrap up their brief two-game season series on Wednesday. The Pirates earned a 3-2 overtime win over the Rats in the first meeting back on December 28th in Portland. Andrej Podkonicky had the game-winner. The Pirates are 16-15-4 all-time against the New Jersey Devils' top development team. They are 6-8-3 all-time at Pepsi Arena in Albany. Since a 6-2 win over the River Rats on October 2, 1999, the Pirates have gone winless in their last three visits to Albany. Four of the last five meetings have been decided by one goal with the other ending in a tie. The River Rats begin the week in seventh place in the East Division with a record of 13-22-7-6, good for 39 points. They are winless in their last seven games (0-4-2-1). Craig Darby leads the River Rats in scoring with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points. His goal and assist totals are also team bests. Joe Hulbig is second in scoring with 28 points. Ari Ahonen has played 25 games in goal this season and has a team-best eight wins and a 2.80 goals-against average.

- Friday, February 13, 2004 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 PM

The Pirates conclude their four-game season series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the middle game of the week. So far, the Pens have posted a record of 2-1-0-0 against the Pirates. They earned their first win over the Pirates in Portland in the last meeting, a 2-1 win on January 10th. The Pirates are 4-3-0-0 against the Penguins all-time including a record of 1-2-0 in Wilkes-Barre. The Pirates lost 2-1 there on November 26th. Six of the seven all-time meetings have been decided by just one goal. The Penguins begin the week in sixth place in the East Division with a record of 19-20-5-4, good for 47 points. Twelve of their 19 wins have come at home. The Penguins are winless in their last five games (0-4-1-0). Kris Beech leads the Pens in scoring with 15 goals and 18 assists for 33 points. Michel Ouellet is second in scoring with a team-leading 19 goals and 30 points. Matt Murley leads the team with 19 assists and is third in scoring with 26 points. Rookie Andy Chiodo has played a majority of the time in the Penguins goal, posting a record of 11-11-1 and a 2.42 goals-against average. Pirates Hall of Fame member Martin Brochu is 2-0-0 in two games against his former team this season, allowing one goal in each contest. He is 3-8-1 overall. The Penguins host the Toronto Roadrunners on Wednesday.

- Saturday, February 14, 2004 at Hershey, 7:00 PM

The Pirates finish their tour of the East Division against the AHL's oldest team, the Hershey Bears. The Pirates and Bears played to a 0-0 tie in the first meeting of the season on January 3rd in Portland. It was the second scoreless tie in Pirates' history and the first time the two teams have tied in head-to-head play. All time, the Pirates have the better of the play against the Bears, posting a record of 17-9-1. They are 8-5-0 all-time in Hershey. The Bears are in third place in the division with a mark of 25-20-8-3. They have lost their last two games and are 4-6-0-0 in their last ten. Eric Perrin leads the Bears in scoring with 18 goals and 36 assists for 54 points. The assist total is a team best and ranks him first overall in AHL assists. Perrin is tied for second in AHL scoring. Steve Brule is second in team scoring with 38 points. He and Shane Willis each have 19 goals to lead the team. Willis ranks third in team scoring with 31 points. Defenseman Pascal Trepanier is tied for second in AHL defenseman scoring with 29 points. Peter Budaj leads all Bears' goalies with 15 wins in 36 games. Rookie Tom Lawson has a team-best 2.18 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. Hershey is at Albany on Friday before hosting the Pirates.

SHIP'S LOG:

· In between a recall to the Washington Capitals, goaltender Rastislav Stana has forged a ten-game unbeaten streak (7-0-3). He has allowed more than one goal just once in his last eight starts.

· Center Boyd Gordon scored his first AHL goal on February 6, 2004 against Worcester. It was the game-winner.

· In Saturday's 3-1 win over the Providence Bruins, the Pirates scored more than two goals in a game for the first time in 13 games.

· Center Francois Methot has figured into the scoring of five of the last six Pirates' goals. He had two assists in each of the Pirates' games last weekend.

TRANSACTIONS:

2/2/04 DELETE Maxime Ouellet (G), recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)

2/2/04 ADD Rastislav Stana (G), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

2/3/04 DELETE Graham Mink (RW), recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)

2/5/04 ADD Graham Mink (RW), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

2/5/04 ADD Josef Boumedienne (D), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

2/5/04 ADD Maxime Ouellet (G), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

2/5/04 ADD Steve Eminger (D), reassigned on loan from Washington (NHL)

IN THE COMMUNITY:

On Tuesday, head coach Tim Army will appear on WJAB's "Morning JAB" program at 8:00 a.m. On Thursday, Pirates' broadcaster Dave Ahlers is a guest of WJAB's "Morning JAB" program at 8:00 a.m. For a complete list of past and 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 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.

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



American Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2004


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