Pirates Upend Bears
March 8, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release
Portland, ME â€" Corey Tropp scored a goal and netted his fourth shootout game-winner of the season and David Leggio continued his solid play in net with 30 saves as the Portland Pirates defeated the Hershey Bears 3-2 in an American Hockey League game played today in front of 4,403 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
Mark Voakes scored the other Pirates goal and Marc-Andre Gragnani recorded an assist in his fourth straight game as Portland improved their record to 38-17-5-2 with their fourth straight win. With the victory, the Pirates improved their American Hockey League best home record to 22-4-4-1 and moved into a tie with the Manchester Monarchs for the Atlantic Division lead.
Mathieu Perreault and Patrick McNeill each registered goals for Hershey as their record fell to 39-21-1-4 on the season.
Perreault got the visitors on the board early in the first period at the 5:06 mark with impressive stick handling to skate behind the Portland defense and beat Leggio. The two teams played to a stalemate for the remaining of the first and second periods, entering the final frame with Hershey up 1-0 in a goaltending duel. At 2:58 of the third period, Voakes scored his second goal in as many games to tie the game at one, and Tropp gave the hosts a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 15:15. McNeill added a power-play goal of his own with a minute and a half remaining to send the game into extra time. After a scoreless overtime, both Tropp and Colin Stuart beat Hershey goaltender Nolan Schaefer and Leggio stopped all four Hershey shooters to send the Pirates to victory.
The Bears out-shot the Pirates 32-30 as David Leggio won his ninth straight decision, improving his record to 18-4-0. Schaefer took the loss for Hershey as his record dropped to 10-17-2.
The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were: 1. Tropp, 2. Leggio and 3. Schaefer.
Portland will be back in action on Friday, March 11th when they travel to Springfield for 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.
The Pirates will return to the Civic Center for two divisional games this weekend, beginning on Saturday, March 12th at 7 p.m. when the Providence Bruins come to town. The first 5,000 fans into the game will receive a Pirates poster courtesy of the Portland Press Herald. First-place in the Atlantic Division may be on the line Sunday when the Manchester Monarchs visit for a 4 p.m. showdown. The first 4,000 fans into the game will receive a free Pirates hat courtesy of Time Warner Cable. Bring your skates and stick around after the game to skate with your favorite members of the Pirates presented by Mercy Hospital and Steele Hill Resorts. Fans can purchase five Main Deck Tickets, five Daily Scrolls, and five free Chuck-a-Pies for only $60 (valued at $100 if purchased individually. See the Pirates website to download an order form. All NextGen Pirates Kid's Club Members receive free tickets to the game, and special activities for NextGen Pirates Kid's Club Members only. For more information or to register your child as a NextGen Pirates Kid's Club Member for only $29, visit the Pirates website.
Tickets for this weekend's games, 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 8, 2011
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