Sports stats

Pirates Hit the Road

February 10, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates played more than their share of home games in the month of January. This month, the Pirates' schedule is a mirror image with a preponderance of games on the road. The Pirates begin a franchise record eight-game road trip on Wednesday at Manchester. They are coming off a tie with Hartford and a win over Binghamton at home last weekend. The Pirates begin the week in third place in the North Division with a record of 25-18-5-5. They are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind Bridgeport.

LAST WEEK:

Saturday, February 8: Pirates 2, Hartford 2 OT

The Pirates came from behind in the waning seconds of the third period to tie the visiting Hartford Wolf Pack, 2-2. Portland got on the board first with Josef Boumedienne's tally at the midpoint of the first period. Hartford erased the lead with a shorthanded goal from Nils Ekman. It was the first shorthanded marker surrendered by the Pirates since October. The Wolf Pack took the lead early in the second period on Garth Murray's goal and held onto the slim margin through a majority of the game thanks to solid netminding from Jason LaBarbera. Late in the third period with Hartford's Bryce Lampman whistled for a holding minor, head coach Tim Army pulled Maxime Ouellet for the 6-on-4 advantage. LaBarbera was unable to withstand the Pirates' barrage as Colin Forbes finally snuck one by him to knot the score at 2-2 with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock. Despite a flurry of activity on both sides, LaBarbera and Ouellet preserved the draw in overtime.

Sunday, February 9: Pirates 3 , Binghamton 2

After dropping the first meeting with the Senators back in December, the Pirates had this one last chance to even the season series. They made the most of it. Trent Whitfield opened the scoring for the Pirates, converting the rebound of Peter Ferraro's shot for a shorthanded goal early in the first. The Senators tied the game on a powerplay tally by Alexandre Giroux later in the stanza. The Pirates seized the lead back during a 20 second stretch midway through the second period. First, Andreas Salomonsson fed Graham Mink for his team-leading 19th goal of the year. While that goal was still being announced in-arena, Salomonsson handed off to Whitfield for a one-timer that tied him with Mink for the team lead in goals. The Senators got a powerplay goal with just eleven seconds remaining in regulation but Maxime Ouellet would not be beaten again as he earned his 18th win of the year.

THE ROAD IS THEIR MIDDLE NAME: PIRATES AWAY FOR EIGHT STRAIGHT

Wednesday, February 12 at Manchester, 7:05 pm

The Pirates will look to gain some ground on the second-place Monarchs as the two teams square off with a midweek match-up at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Portland has played well against their rivals this season with a record of 2-1-1-2 but have managed just one point in two games at Manchester in that stretch. The Pirates will be looking to avenge a 5-2 loss in their last meeting on February 1. Manchester begins the week in second place in the North Division with a record of 28-12-6-3 and 65 points. The Monarchs holds the slim margin in the all-time series at 7-6-3. The two teams will meet a total of ten times this season.

Friday, February 14 at Norfolk, 7:30 PM

The Pirates will meet the Norfolk Admirals for the second time this season after dropping a 4-2 decision in the season -opener on October 11. Norfolk sits atop the South Division with a record of 29-15-6-3, good for 67 points. The Admirals will first face San Antonio on February 12 before hosting the Pirates in the first of two back-to-back games. The Pirates are 1-3-1 all-time against the Admirals. After winning the first-ever meeting, the Pirates are winless in four-straight against the Chicago Blackhawks' top prospects.

Saturday, February 15 at Norfolk, 7:30 PM

The Pirates and Admirals square off for the second game in as many nights. The game will mark the third this season between the inter-conference opponents. The season series will conclude in Portland on March 20. The Pirates are 1-1-0-0 all-time in Norfolk.

Sunday, February 16 at Hershey, 6:00 PM

The Pirates finish the string of four games in five nights with the venerable Hershey Bears. The AHL's oldest team is playing its first year in the AHL's newest building, the 10,000+ seat Giant Center. The Bears will be seeking retribution for a 4-0 blanking at the hands of the Pirates in their only other meeting of the season on January 4. Maxime Ouellet, who leads the AHL in shutouts with 7, picked up the win with a 38-save effort. The Pirates lead the all-time series at 16-9-0. They are 7-5-0 all-time in Hershey. The Bears begin the week in second place in the South Division with a record of 24-17-11-1, good for 60 points. Hershey will be playing the third game of a three-in-three weekend on Sunday. The Bears travel to Albany on February 14 and host Rochester on February 15 before taking on the Pirates.

SHIP'S LOG:

· The Pirates welcomed their 2,000,000th fan on Sunday, February 9th. Dan Loiselle of Scarborough, Maine earned that honor as he attended the game with his son Connor. The Pirates welcomed the 1,000,000th fan during the 1997-98 season, their fifth anniversary season.

· The Pirates have not lost more than two straight games this season. They avoided a third straight loss when Colin Forbes scored with 15 seconds remaining on Saturday, February 8th, a 2-2 tie with Hartford.

· Two Pirates returned to action last weekend after lengthy stays on the injured list. Left wing Mark Murphy had missed the last 19 games and defenseman Nolan Yonkman missed the last 26 games.

· The Pirates will play their next eight games on the road. It's the longest road swing in team history. The Pirates will not return to the ice of the Cumberland County Civic Center until Thursday, February 27th.

TRANSACTIONS:

2/4/03 ADD Andreas Salomonsson (LW), returned on loan from Washington (NHL)

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.



American Hockey League Stories from February 10, 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.

Other Recent Portland Pirates Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central