Pirates Open Series against IceCaps

March 22, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, ME - The Portland Pirates will look to get back on track at home as they face off against the St. John's IceCaps for the first game of a two game series. Puck drop is set for 7 PM. The Pirates currently sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with 73 points, while the IceCaps sit in 14th place with 55 points. Check out the AHL Playoff Primer here .

Portland last played on Saturday night, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Pirates scored the first two goals of the game, courtesy of Andy Miele and Boris Valabik, but were unable to hold the lead. Chad Johnson stopped 24 of 27 shots in his third straight start. The Pirates currently sit just 2 points ahead of the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings, with the Pirates holding 2 games in hand on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The IceCaps are coming off a 2 game home sweep of the Hamilton Bulldogs last weekend, winning Friday's game by a 5-0 margin and picking up a 4-3 decision on Saturday night. Mark Dekanich picked up both victories, including the 23 save shutout on Friday night. Eric O'Dell picked up 3 goals and 2 assists on the weekend, en route to winning the CCM/AHL Player of the Week award.

This will be the 5th matchup between the IceCaps as the Pirates, with their last meeting coming at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, a 6-1 Portland victory. Mike Lee lost a shutout with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, but Chris Brown scored twice and Michael Stone added 3 assists in the victory. The Pirates hold a 3-1 record in the season series, with both of Chad Johnson's shutouts this season coming against St. John's.

Tonight's game can be heard on 95.5 and 95.9 WPEI in the Portland area, 92.7FM and 100.7 FM WOXO FM in the Lewiston/Auburn area, and online on www.portlandpiratesradio.com and AHL Live. The pregame show starts at 6:40 with Jeff Mannix.

Tickets are still available by calling (207) 828-4665 ext. 350 or online at ticketmaster.com.



American Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2013


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