Pirates Lose Third Straight

Published on December 4, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Springfield, Massachusetts- Alexandre Giroux's goal with just 14 seconds left in the second period lifted the Springfield Falcons to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Pirates Sunday afternoon in front of 2,132 fans at the MassMutual Center.

Martin St. Pierre found Giroux in front for the one-timer to beat Curtis McElhinney to snatch momentum. Brett Lebda also assisted on the play.

Springfield jumped on the board first with a shorthanded goal from captain Dane Byers. His seventh of the season was assisted by Andrew Joudrey at 13:25 of the second period. It was Springfield's second shorthanded goal in as many games against the Pirates this season.

The Pirates tied the score at 3:25 of the second period on Brett MacLean's fourth goal of the season, following up the rebound of a Marc-Antoine Pouliot shot. Dean Arsene also picked up a helper.

The loss was Portland's third in a row, and the Pirates drop to 10-10-1-1. Springfield snapped a five-game losing streak with the loss and improve to 11-11-1-0.

Manny Legace picked up the win in net, despite not being able to finish the game due to injury. He stopped 17 shots in two periods of action, while Allen York stopped all 10 he faced in the third. Curtis McElhinney stopped 30 shots in the loss. He drops to 6-9-0 for the season.

Prior to the game, the Pirates NHL parent club, the Phoenix Coyotes announced the recall of Chris Summers. Summers, a 6'2", 209 pound defenseman from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has played in 14 games so far this season for Portland, tallying one assist. This will be the 23 year-old's second stint this season with Phoenix.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were all from Springfield: 1. Byers; 2. Giroux; 3. Matt Calvert

The Pirates will start another three game in three day trip next Friday when they travel to Glens Falls, New York to take on the Adirondack Phantoms at 7 p.m. Fans can catch all of the action with broadcaster Jeff Mannix on the Portland Pirates Radio Network WPEI 95.9 and 95.5 FM.

Pirates hockey will return to the Cumberland County Civic Center on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 p.m., when the Manchester Monarchs come to town for the sixth of 12 meetings this season. The Portland Pirates Holiday Toy Drive will continue and all toy donations to Toys for Tots and cash donations to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund will be rewarded with a pair of tickets to a future Pirates game. The Bruce Roberts Toy Fund assists children from birth through age 18 in Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York Counties during the holiday season. Parents and Legal guardians of children 18 and under can apply at The Welcome Center, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, and through local service organizations, or call (207-791-6672) to have an application sent by mail.

Now is the time to cash in on great savings by purchasing discounted ticket plans and advanced tickets for the Pirates 2011-12 season. Ticket packages are available to meet all budgets and schedules. Call a Pirates ticket representative today at 207-828-4665 x350 to reserve your sets for any combination of games that Pirates hockey, "Coyotes Style" has to offer. Individual tickets for each of the remaining 28 home games of the Pirates 2011-12 regular season schedule are on sale and fans can purchase their tickets by visiting the Pirates ticket office, the Cumberland County Civic Center box office (open Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m., trough 4:00 p.m.), or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 4, 2011


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