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Pirates lay foundation for the future

May 3, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME – The second decade of Portland Pirates Hockey began with a youth movement that should continue to pay dividends well into the future. With a roster that featured eleven first or second year players at season's end, the Pirates are a team that will be carried by young, up-and-coming players in the next few years. The Pirates finished the season with a record of 32-27-13-8 for 85 points and qualified for the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Pirates beat the Providence Bruins two games to none in the best of three Atlantic Division Qualifying Series—the franchise's first playoff series win in six years—before losing to the Hartford Wolf Pack four games to one in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. The Pirates were eliminated last Wednesday night.

"We have a lot to be proud of and encouraged by based upon what took place both on and off the ice, particularly over the past two months," said Brian Petrovek, Pirates' Managing Owner/CEO. "We look ahead to next season with renewed optimism and excitement about our on-ice product, the commitment of our team to the community, our new ticket pricing plan and the marketing and promotion of our brand and our game experience.

"We're looking forward to the return of a strong group of young, talented hockey players next season, making Pirates Hockey the most exciting sport in Portland."

The Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League affiliate of the Pirates, have built a solid group of young players during the past seven months. Through the draft and trades, the Capitals acquired and then assigned to Portland six first round draft picks and three second round picks. Those players under contract who could return to Portland next year include goaltender Maxime Ouellet, defensemen Jakub Cutta, Nolan Yonkman, Steve Eminger and Shaone Morrisonn and forwards Jared Aulin, Alexander Semin, Owen Fussey, Boyd Gordon, Garret Stroshein, Brian Sutherby and Brooks Laich. Nine of those players are either first or second round picks. In addition, the Capitals will consider re-signing veterans such as Jason Ulmer, Dwayne Zinger, Rastislav Stana and Graham Mink to return next season.

"During the stretch run of the regular season and into the playoff series against both Providence and Hartford, we had a strong core of young players who were leading our team," said Shawn Simpson, the Pirates' General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the Capitals. "These players are the building blocks for both the Pirates and the Capitals, providing us with a strong nucleus for both teams. Should there be a work stoppage in the National Hockey League next season, keeping these players together gives us an opportunity to create a real positive out of a negative."

The Capitals are well positioned to add to their already considerable pool of young players. The Caps have three first round draft picks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft this summer including the first overall pick. They will also have two second round picks. In addition to those draft choices and the contracted players, the Capitals also acquired two first round draft picks in trade this past winter. Center Jakub Klepis (KLEH-pihsh) is a first round pick, 16th overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft who was acquired from Buffalo for forward Mike Grier; right wing Jonas Johansson was selected in the first round, 28th overall, by Colorado in 2002 and was acquired in trade for forward Steve Konowalchuk and left wing Tomas Fleischmann was a second round pick in 2002 who was acquired from Detroit for forward Robert Lang.

THROUGH THE YEARS:

The Pirates reached the 30-win plateau for the tenth time in their history and recorded their fewest regulation losses since the 1999-2000 team that won 46 games and lost just 23 times. Their record placed them fifth in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. The Pirates lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-1 in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. After winning the first game of the series, the Pirates lost four straight games, two by one goal, one in a double overtime tilt that proved to be the second-longest game in Pirates' history (88:28).

Year-by-year comparison of the Pirates' eleven AHL seasons:

Season GP W L OTL* T GF GA PTS Finish Playoff Result

1993-94 80 43 27 10 328 269 96 2-N Won Calder Cup (12-5)

1994-95 80 46 22 12 323 233 104 2-N Lost Div. Semi-Final (3-4)

1995-96 80 32 38 4 10 282 283 78 3-N Lost Cup Final (14-10)

1996-97 80 37 26 7 10 279 264 91 3-NE Lost Div. Semi-Final (2-3)

1997-98 80 33 33 2 12 241 247 80 3-A Lost Div. Final (5-5)

1998-99 80 23 50 2 7 214 273 55 5-A Did Not Qualify

*A new rule instituted prior to the 1995-96 season awards one point to the team that loses in overtime. Prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Overtime Loss designation was changed to Regulation Tie.

Season GP W L T RT GF GA PTS Finish Playoff Result

1999-00 80 46 23 10 1 256 202 103 2-NE Lost Div. Semi-final (1-3)

2000-01 80 34 40 4 2 250 280 74 5-NE Lost Div. Semi-final (0-3)

2001-02 80 30 31 15 4 220 225 79 11-E^ Did Not Qualify

2002-03 80 33 28 13 6 221 195 85 8-E Lost qualifying Ser. (1-2)

2003-04 80 32 27 13 8 156 160 85 5-A# Lost Div. Semi-final (1-4)

^Prior to 2001-02 season, the Calder Cup Playoffs were changed to a conference format, eliminating divisional series. Teams were seeded 1-14 in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

#Format reverted to division standings to determine playoff positions for the 2003-04 season.

AT THE BOX OFFICE:

During the last eleven seasons, 2,211,258 fans have attended Portland Pirates' games at the Cumberland County Civic Center (Capacity: 6,733). An additional 179,899 have attended playoff games. The Pirates finished the 2003-04 season with an average attendance of 4,072, which ranked them 24th in the American Hockey League. The Pirates had three standing room only crowds and hosted their largest crowd of the season on April 3, 2004 when 6,929 saw the Pirates beat the Providence Bruins 3-0.

In 2004-2005, the Pirates will be going into their first full season with the new ticket prices which were instituted in March of 2004. Changes include reintroduction of the Crow's Nest section with a price of just $6 for all 2,439 seats in that section, reclassification of Youth tickets to include anyone 16 and under and a reduction of those prices by $3 in the Main and Quarter Decks to just $6, reduction of Adult and Senior tickets by $1 in the Main ($15 and $8) and Quarter Decks ($10 and $8) and new group pricing in both the Main and Quarter Decks offering a savings of up to $5 per ticket.

Year-by-year attendance breakdown:

YEAR ATTEND. AVG. SO PLAYOFFS GMS ATTEND. AVG. SO

1993-94 234,906 5,872 16 1993-94 8 46,740 5,842 3

1994-95 259,011 6,475 23 1994-95 4 23,205 5,801 0

1995-96 228,651 5,716 7 1995-96 11 60,696 5,517 1

1996-97 228,597 5,714 7 1996-97 2 10,938 5,469 0

1997-98 198,830 4,970 2 1997-98 5 16,584 3,316 0

1998-99 171,414 4,285 2 1998-99

1999-00 189,636 4,740 2 1999-00 2 7,193 3,596 0

2000-01 184,404 4,610 4 2000-01 1 1,975 1,975 0

2001-02 176,000 4,400 3 2001-02

2002-03 176,928 4,423 5 2002-03 3 6,674 2,224 0

2003-04 162,881 4,072 3 2003-04 2 5,894 2,947 0

TOTAL 2,211,258 5,025 74 TOTAL 38 179,899 4,734 4

LEADING THE WAY:

Colin Forbes led the Pirates in points during the 2003-2004 season. In 69 games, he had 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points. It's the lowest point total for the Pirates' leading scorer in their eleven-year history. Forbes' 32 assists were also a team high. Captain Graham Mink led the Pirates with 18 goals. Rookie center Brooks Laich led the Pirates with seven powerplay goals but all came prior to his trade from the Binghamton Senators. Among players who had been in Portland all season, Forbes and defenseman Mike Pudlick tied with five powerplay goals. Rookie wing Owen Fussey led the team in game-winning goals. Five of his six total goals were game-winners. Pudlick led the Pirates in plus/minus with a +13. Center Jason Ulmer was the only Pirate to play in all 80 regular season games. He also played in all seven playoff games. Ulmer is the first Pirate to play all 80 games since Jeff Nelson in 2000-2001. In fact, Ulmer is just the fifth player to do so in team history. Both Nelson and his brother Todd and left wing Randy Pearce did so during the Pirates' inaugural campaign in 1993-1994. Wing Barrie Moore played in all 80 games during the 1999-2000 season. Left wing Mel Angelstad led or tied for the team lead in penalty minutes for the third consecutive season with 118. It's the second consecutive year in which the Pirates have reset the low for most penalty minutes by one player in a season. Goaltender Maxime Ouellet led the Pirates with 52 games played, 15 wins and 3050 minutes played. He set new franchise records by posting ten shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.99 and a save percentage of .930. Ouellet finished second in the AHL in shutouts. Goaltending partner Rastislav Stana finished the season with a career-high 14 wins and .941 save percentage and a career-low 1.68 save percentage. He also posted a personal best five shutouts. Because injury limited his games played to just 24, Stana's goals-against average and save percentage to do not count as team records.

THE BLUELINERS:

Portland defensemen scored 25 goals during the 2003-2004 season, the lowest total in franchise history. The previous mark had been 29 goals during the 1998-99 season. The franchise record was set in the Pirates' inaugural season of 1993-94 when they had 63. Mike Pudlick led all Pirates' blueliners with nine goals, tying his career high. He was also the Pirates' defenseman leader in points with 24 and finished eighth in team scoring. Dwayne Zinger tied a career high with six goals this season and was the Pirates' second-leading defenseman scorer with 16 points.

2003-2004 TRANSACTIONS AND PLAYER MOVEMENT:

The Pirates used 42 players during the 2003-2004 season, establishing a pattern during the last few years. The Pirates used 41 players in each of the two previous seasons. The low water mark for players used in a season came in 1999-2000 when just 36 players suited up. The franchise record for most players used in a season was 63 during the 1998-1999 campaign. There were 99 transactions between the start of the season on October 10, 2003 and the end on April 11, 2004. March was the busiest month for the Portland-to-Washington shuttle with 19 transactions that month. November was the lightest month for transactions when only eleven moves were made. The Pirates had 17 players who spent at least one game with the Washington Capitals this season.

For a list of all transactions this season, click here.

2004 PEPSI AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC AT GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN:

Goaltender Rastislav Stana was the Pirates' sole representative to the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 8 & 9, 2004. Stana participated in the Skills Competition on February 8th but was injured and did not play in the All-Star Game the next night. Stana became the 24th Pirate to be selected to play in the AHL's midseason classic since it was reintroduced in 1995.

THE RECORD BOOK:

One year after rewriting the franchise record book for defensive play, the Pirates made even more revisions. In 2003-2004, the Pirates allowed 160 goals, an average of two per game. That total shattered the old mark that wasn't all that old. In 2002-2003, the Pirates allowed 195 goals. The Pirates also broke the old American Hockey League record of 176 set by Rochester during the 1998-1999 season. The Pirates would eventually finish third in the league in goals against per game. The Pirates earned 17 shutouts this season, tying them with the Hartford Wolf Pack for the most in AHL history. Two of the Pirates' shutouts came in scoreless ties. Prior to this season, the Pirates had played in just one 0-0 game. The Pirates also broke their own year-old AHL standard for home shutouts when they recorded eleven this season. On the flip side, the Pirates set a new AHL record for fewest goals in a season by tallying 156, an average of 1.95. The old record was set by Albany during the 2001-2002 season (172). The Pirates were also shutout ten times, twice the old franchise record established in three different seasons.

The special teams reflected that same dichotomy. The Pirates set a new franchise record for penalty killing for the second straight season. The Pirates killed off 89.5% of their opponents' powerplays, breaking last year's mark of 86.6% and bettering the AHL record of 87.47%. The Pirates finished second in the league in penalty killing behind Bridgeport. They had the AHL's best home penalty kill, allowing just 12 powerplay goals for a success rate of 91.3%. The Pirates also set a franchise record for most consecutive penalty kills: 34 from February 7th to February 25th. The old record was 33 established in two different seasons. The Pirates' powerplay, however, finished last in the AHL in productivity, scoring just 10.7% of the time. That is a franchise low. The previous mark was 16% during the 2001-2002 season.

The Pirates tied another AHL record during the 2003-2004 season, playing in 26 overtime games and posting a record of 5-8-13 in those contests. Albany and Rochester set the league record during the 2001-2002 season. The eight overtime losses are also a franchise record. The Pirates also established a new standard for gentlemanly play. The Pirates were the least penalized team in the AHL, recording just 1141 penalty minutes—an average of 14.3 per game. That number was well below the franchise record for fewest penalty minutes in one season—1368 during the 1999-2000 season.

2003-2004 LEAGUE AND TEAM AWARDS:

Mel Angelstad Most Popular Player*

Colin Forbes Players' Player*

Graham Mink Most Valuable Player*

Maxime Ouellet Tom Ebright Award*

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars Award

Andrej Podkonicky Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for April 11, 2004

Rastislav Stana Jack Button Award—Top Prospect*

Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for December 28, 2003

PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Selection

Jason Ulmer Unsung Hero Award*

Dwayne Zinger American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year Award

*Pirates' Team and Fan Award

IN THE COMMUNITY:

Through the creation and launch of the Portland Pirates Foundation during the past season, the Pirates further strengthened their strong commitment to charitable causes throughout Maine. The Pirates Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) Maine Public Charity that serves as the philanthropic arm of Portland Pirates, LLC. The Pirates' in-school aspirations program "Goals for Success" reached more Maine school children than ever before, visiting eight schools throughout the state. The highlight came in January when defenseman Nolan Yonkman and broadcaster Dave Ahlers visited school children in Machias and Calais, a 520-mile trip that reached 600 kids. In all, nearly 2,000 students took part in "Goals For Success". The Pirates raised $16,000 during their Seventh Annual "Evening with the Pirates" for the Foundation, Fleet's "Alive at Five" Outdoor Concert Series and STRIVE. The event has now raised more than $166,000 in its history. In addition, the Pirates raised money with the "Goals for Gary's House" campaign. Gary's House, a home that offers housing to out of town people with loved ones in one of the area hospitals, received donations for the fourth straight year based upon pledges made against Pirates' scoring totals this season. Throughout the season, the Pirates made several visits to patients at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. The Pirates also loaned players' time to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund and the Portland Partnership. The Pirates' Puck Pals program, a ticket-based initiative, drew the support of 15 sponsors who purchased more than 5,000 tickets that were then distributed to United Way of Greater Portland partner agencies. The Pirates also sponsored a game-night promotion on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine. The Pirates maintained their strong commitment to local youth hockey organizations by providing players for practices and clinics during the season. They also provided the "Shirts Off Their Backs" for the fourth consecutive year. The money raised through bids on game-worn jerseys benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Maine.

In addition, Pirates' Managing Owner/CEO Brian Petrovek serves as the Chair of the United Way of Greater Portland's 2004 Annual Campaign and on the board of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce and Portland's Downtown District. In addition, he serves as President of New Year's Portland, Inc. and as President of 211 Maine, Inc. He is also on the Campaign Steering Committee for the American Lighthouse Foundation's Campaign to Save Nine Maine Towers. He also serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Portland Pirates Foundation.

Pirates President/COO Brian Williams serves as the Treasurer of the Portland Pirates' Foundation and is on the Board of Directors for the Portland Junior Pirates. He also serves on the board of the Portland Partnership. Ahlers serves on the development board for Gary's House.

For a complete list community appearances during the 2003-2004 season, check out the "In The Community" section of the Pirates' web site, portlandpirates.com.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER REGULAR SEASON MILESTONES:

Mel Angelstad 700th professional game played March 13, 2004 at Springfield

150th AHL game played February 14, 2004 at Hershey

1st NHL game played April 3, 2004 vs. New York Rangers

Jared Aulin 50th AHL game played April 2, 2004 vs. Worcester

Tim Branham 50th AHL game played February 28, 2004 at St. John's

Ivan Ciernik 200th AHL game played April 7, 2004 at Providence

Jakub Cutta 150th AHL game played December 19, 2003 vs. Springfield

Steve Eminger 1st AHL game played January 14, 2004 at Hartford

Colin Forbes 150th AHL point December 14, 2003 at Hartford

Owen Fussey 1st Pro/AHL game played October 10, 2003 at Lowell

1st Pro/AHL goal October 25, 2003 at Worcester

50th AHL game played February 21, 2004 vs. Manchester

1st NHL game played March 10, 2004 vs. Buffalo

Boyd Gordon 1st AHL game played January 10, 2004 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

1st AHL goal February 6, 2004 vs. Worcester

1st NHL game played October 10, 2003 vs. New York Islanders

1st NHL goal October 11, 2003 vs. Atlanta

Chris Hajt 350th AHL game played February 28, 2004 at St. John's

Brooks Laich 50th AHL game played April 2, 2004 vs. Worcester

1st NHL game played February 2, 2004 (w/Ottawa) vs. New Jersey

Francois Methot 350 AHL game played December 13, 2003 at Springfield

200th AHL point February 6, 2004 vs. Worcester

Graham Mink 100th AHL point March 6, 2004 vs. Manchester

1st NHL game played February 3, 2004 vs. Tampa Bay

Maxime Ouellet 50th AHL win January 16, 2004 vs. Manchester

11th shutout of season—franchise record April 3, 2004 vs. Providence

1st NHL win/shutout December 16, 2003 at Atlanta

Brad Parsons 100th AHL game played December 12, 2003 at Lowell

Andrej Podkonicky 250th AHL game played April 10, 2004 at Lowell

Mike Pudlick 250th AHL game played March 21, 2004 at Providence

Louis Robitaille 1st AHL game played October 30, 2003 vs. Norfolk

1st Pro/AHL goal March 5, 2004 at Springfield

Trevor Segstro 1st AHL game played March 26, 2004 at Springfield

Alexander Semin 1st AHL game played April 7, 2004 at Providence

1st AHL goal April 10, 2004 at Lowell

Rastislav Stana 50th AHL game played March 26, 2004 at Springfield

1st NHL win November 24, 2004 at Detroit

Garret Stroshein 1st AHL goal December 14, 2003 at Hartford

1st NHL game played April 1, 2004 at Boston

Roman Tvrdon 100th AHL game played November 22, 2003 at Norfolk

1st NHL game played March 18, 2004 vs. New York Rangers

Jason Ulmer 150th AHL game played March 20, 2004 at Hartford

Darcy Verot 250th AHL game played October 18, 2003 vs. Manchester

1st NHL game played January 1, 2004 vs. New Jersey

Mike Vigilante 50th AHL game played March 14, 2004 vs. Philadelphia

Trent Whitfield 200th AHL point November 29, 2004 vs. Worcester

Matt Yeats 1st AHL shutout March 13, 2004 at Springfield

Dwayne Zinger 250th AHL game played January 30, 2004 vs. Lowell

50th AHL point November 14, 2004 at Providence

PORTLANDPIRATES.COM

The Pirates' official web site, portlandpirates.com, will be a comprehensive source for all information about the Pirates during the off-season, including the schedule for the 2004-2005 season. Fans can visit the ticket section for an updated list of full and partial-season ticket packages to suit all budget and commitment levels. In addition, fans will be able to read up on 2004 NHL Entry Draft news and player transactions as the Pirates and the Capitals build their teams for the 2004-2005 season.

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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.

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