Pirates Look to Tie VIP Cup Series against Monarchs

Published on November 15, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Lewiston, ME - The Portland Pirates will look to tie up the VIP Cup Series against the Manchester Monarchs on Friday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Puck drop is set for a special 7:30 start time for game 2 of the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Services. Manchester has a 1-0 series win by virtue of their opening night shootout victory on October 9th at the Colisee.

The Pirates were last in action on Sunday, defeating the Worcester Sharks by a 4-3 score. Chris Brown and Tobias Rieder each scored twice for the Pirates as they earned their second victory over Worcester on the weekend. Mark Visentin made 30 saves for the Pirates to pick up his 4th victory of the season and cap off a weekend that saw him make 75 saves on 79 shots. The win gave the Pirates a 3 game winning streak on the road and a 2 game win streak overall.

Manchester played Wednesday morning during their 4th annual Education Day in Manchester, defeating the Norfolk Admirals 3-1. The victory gave Monarchs head coach Mark Morris 300 wins in his AHL Career, the 17th coach to do so. Manchester's offense was powered by Brian O'Neill, who scored twice, and Andy Andreoff, while Jean-Francois Berube registered his first win of the season, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

The Pirates last faced the Monarchs on opening night in Lewiston on October 9th, dropping a 3-2 decision in a shootout. Tobias Rieder scored twice for the Pirate in his first professional game, while Mark Visentin made 37 saves. However, Derek Forbort and Linden Vey scored for the Monarchs and Tylor Toffoli and Brandon Kozun scored in the shootout to give the Monarchs the victory.

Key Bank Key to the Game

The Best Defense Is a Good Offense: No Pirates defenseman has scored a goal yet this season, but they have 17 assists on the year. If the Pirates defensemen can start scoring goals, the Pirates offense will take a major step forward, especially against a high-octane Manchester team.

This is Game 2 of the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service, an annual series between the Monarchs and the Pirates. Manchester has a 1-0 lead in the VIP Cup after their 3-2 shootout victory over the Pirates on October 9th. The Pirates won the inaugural VIP Cup last season. More information about the series can be found at ww.vip-cup.com.

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 7:10 with Jeff Mannix. Tickets are available for tonight's game by calling the Colisee Box Office at 783-2009 ext. 525 or online at the colisee.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2013


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