Pirates Sky Over Falcons

Published on March 6, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Portland, ME ‚¬" Mark Parrish recorded his second straight four-point game with a pair of goals and assists and Mark Voakes scored a goal and an assist in his American Hockey League debut to lead the Portland Pirates to a 6-1 victory over the Springfield Falcons in an American Hockey League game played today in front of 4,034 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Maxime Legault, Jacob Lagace, and Igor Gongalsky also notched goals for the Pirates and Luke Adam and Marc-Andre Gragnani each recorded a pair of assists as Portland improved their record to 37-17-5-2 with their third straight win. With the victory, the Pirates improved their American Hockey League best home record to 21-4-4-1 and moved within two points of the division leading Manchester Monarchs, who lost earlier in the day to the Charlotte Checkers by a 3-2 margin.

Ben Guite scored the lone Springfield goal as the Falcons lost their fourth straight and fell to 30-29-2-3 on the season.

The Pirates offense picked up where it left off on Saturday night, establishing a three-goal lead in the first period. Voakes got Portland on the board first with his first career AHL goal at 6:11, and Legault notched his 12th tally of the season with just under six minutes remaining for a quick 2-0 advantage. Lagace scored at 18:45, capitalizing on a feed from Voakes and Dennis McCauley, to close out the first period scoring. Springfield goaltender Gustaf Wesslau settled down and held the Pirates at bay for most of the second period, until Parrish sent home his 10th goal of the season on the game ‚¬â„¢s first power play at 18:49. Parrish scored his second of the night only 1:04 into the final period, and Guite would follow three minutes later with the only Falcons goal of the night. In the final minute with 18 seconds left, Gongalsky broke his 17-game goal drought with his fourth of the season to set the final margin.

The Falcons out-shot the Pirates 36-21 as David Leggio won his eighth straight decision, improving his record to 17-4-0 with 35 saves. Wesslau took the loss for Springfield as his record dropped to 12-14-1.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were all from the Pirates: 1. Parrish, 2. Adam and 3. Leggio.

The Pirates will be back in action on Tuesday, March 8th at 6:30 p.m. when the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears visit the Civic Center. Fans can complete their collection with the third of three limited edition collectible Pirates bobbleheads. The first 2,000 into the game receive a Nathan Gerbe bobblehead, presented by WJBQ. It is also Pirates Date Night presented by WJBQ, WCYY, and WBLM. Visit RiRa Irish Pub or G&R DiMillo ‚¬â„¢s for dinner for two and two tickets to the game for only $19.99. Fans can also take advantage of great food and beverage specials in the Civic Center ‚¬â„¢s Penalty Box Grill, which will open at 4:30 p.m., as well as the following Pirates partners: Portland Pie Company, Rivalries, Gritty ‚¬â„¢s, Nosh Kitchen Bar, Binga ‚¬â„¢s Stadium, Dogfish Café, Walters, and Yosaku.

On Friday, March 11th the Pirates will be traveling to Springfield for another showdown with the Falcons in a 7:30 p.m. start. The game can be heard live on 95.5 News Talk WLOB or on-line at www.portlandpirates.com beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. live from the MassMutual Center.

Tickets for Tuesday ‚¬â„¢s game, as well as each of the remaining Pirates home games, are on sale now by calling 207-775-3458, visiting the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or on-line at ticketmaster.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2011


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