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Pirates Upward Climb Reaches Another Rung

November 3, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates earned two wins in three games last week to move farther up the Atlantic Division standings in the American Hockey League. After dropping a road contest to Worcester on Wednesday, the Pirates rebounded for back-to-back home wins over Norfolk on Thursday and Saturday. The Pirates face their second three-in-three weekend of the season beginning Friday when they host the Hartford Wolf Pack. They'll visit the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday night before returning to the Cumberland County Civic Center to play the Springfield Falcons for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon. The Pirates begin the week tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with Providence with a record of 5-6-0-0.

LAST WEEK:

Wednesday, October 29: Worcester 6, Pirates 3

The Worcester IceCats rode a five-goal second period to a 6-3 win over the Pirates. Both teams played a tight defensive game in the first period. The Pirates best chance in the period came when Owen Fussey was denied by goalie Curtis Sanford on a shot from the slot. At the other end, Maxime Ouellet stopped Steve Martins' shorthanded bid off a turnover. The game unraveled for the Pirates in the second period. Marc Brown scored off a wrist shot just 1:26 into the period with the two teams skating four-on-four. Sergei Varlamov and Ernie Hartlieb then scored 1:26 apart to put the IceCats up 3-0. The Pirates got one goal back when Colin Forbes scored on a powerplay from Josef Boumedienne, just returned from Washington, and Chris Hajt. The IceCats came roaring back with goals by Jeff Panzer on the powerplay and Steve McLaren. Brown increased the IceCats lead to 6-1 when he scored off a turnover at 7:17 of the third period. The Pirates answered back with goals by Dwayne Zinger and Trent Whitfield in the final minutes.

Thursday, October 30: Pirates 2, Norfolk 1

The Pirates ended two winless streaks by beating the Norfolk Admirals 2-1 at home the next night. The Pirates had lost their last two games and had gone winless in their last seven against the Admirals head-to-head. The Pirates struck first just 1:24 into the game. Francois Methot poked the puck to Owen Fussey who threw a blind pass across the slot that Jason Ulmer tapped past goalie Craig Anderson for a 1-0 lead. That advantage held up until late in the second period when Matt Keith tipped home a shot by Carsen Germyn on a powerplay to knot the game at one. The Pirates forged ahead again early in the third. Ulmer sent the puck down the right wing boards. Methot arrived first and tipped the puck along to Fussey who curled the net and beat Anderson with a backhand shot for his second goal of the season. Rastislav Stana cemented the win with 28 saves as the Pirates limited the Admirals to just five shots in the final period after being outshot in each of the first two periods.

Saturday, November 1: Pirates 3, Norfolk 0

The Pirates finished off a two-game sweep of the Admirals, winning 3-0 on Saturday night. After a scoreless first period, the Pirates finally tallied early in the second period on a powerplay. Ivan Ciernik carried the puck down the right wing and fed it to the slot where Brad Parsons beat goalie Craig Anderson with a wrist shot for his third goal of the year. It was one of few missteps by Anderson who made several dazzling saves to keep the Pirates at bay. The Pirates finally created a cushion in the third when they worked the puck along the end wall in the Norfolk zone. Francois Methot found Roman Tvrdon in front with a bullet pass that he rammed home for his first goal of the season. Darcy Verot added the final tally, picking up a clearing pass at center ice and racing down the left wing before slipping the puck around a diving Anderson who had tried to poke-check the puck away. It was Verot's second goal of the season. Rastislav Stana made it all stand up with steady play in the Pirates' crease, making 22 saves for his first shutout of the season. He has now won his last three starts.

SHER-WOOD/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATION

The Pirates nominated goaltender Rastislav Stana as the Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 2, 2003. In three games last week, Stana posted a record of 2-0-0 with one "no decision". He stopped 63 of 65 shots in that time, allowing just two goals. On Wednesday, he clocked 28:53 of relief work, making 13 saves and allowing one goal in a 6-3 loss to Worcester. On Thursday, he was back in as a starter and made 28 saves in a 2-1 win over Norfolk. He finished the week with a 22-save gem in a 3-0 shutout of Norfolk. For the week, Stana posted a goals-against average of 0.60 and a save percentage of 0.969. Those numbers helped him move to eleventh in goals-against average in the AHL.

PIRATES PLAY THREE-IN-THREE AGAINST DIVISION FOES

* Friday, November 7 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack, 7:05 PM

The Pirates and the Wolf Pack will play for the third time this season on Friday night. They will meet eight times total this year. So far, the Pack has owned the season series, winning 3-1 at Hartford on October 11th and 4-1 in Portland on October 17th. Hartford begins the week as the only team in the AHL without a regulation loss, posting a record of 6-0-3-1 in their first ten games to lead the Atlantic Division with 16 points. The Wolf Pack boasts the AHL's best defense, allowing a paltry 1.6 goals per game. Chad Wiseman leads the Pack in scoring with four goals and nine points. Rookie defenseman Fedor Tjutin is right behind with eight points. The Pirates are 7-16-5 all-time against the Pack, including a record of 3-8-3 at home. Hartford does not play before facing the Pirates on Friday.

* Saturday, November 8 at Manchester Monarchs, 7:35 PM

The Pirates make their second trip to Manchester in the middle game of the three-in-three. The Pirates lost 3-1 in their first visit to Verizon Wireless Arena on October 15th. The Pirates earned their first win of the season at the Monarchs' expense, a 2-1 overtime triumph on October 18th at home. All-time, the Pirates are 7-10-4 against the Los Angeles Kings' top prospects, including a mark of 3-5-3 in Manchester. The Monarchs have won three straight games and are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Springfield Falcons with a record of 5-5-0-1, good for eleven points. They lead the AHL in offense with 33 goals, 57 assists and 90 points. Defenseman Bryan Muir and right wing Pavel Rosa are tied for the team lead in scoring with 12 points in eleven games played. Muir is tied with Scott Barney for the team lead in goals with five while Rosa leads the team with nine assists. Manchester visits Worcester on Friday night before hosting the Pirates.

* Sunday, November 9 vs. Springfield Falcons, 4:05 PM

The Pirates and Falcons renew acquaintances for the first time this season. The game is the first of ten meetings between the division rivals. Last year, the two teams split four games with each team posting a record of 1-1-0-0 at home. The Pirates trail the season series with the Falcons 26-40-6 but have a winning record against the birds at home-17-16-3. The Falcons begin the week with a record of 5-3-1-0, tying them with Manchester for second in the division.

Springfield is unbeaten in its last four games (3-0-1-0). The Falcons are led in scoring by second year man Jeff Taffe who has seven goals and 13 points. Three of his goals are game-winners. He is tied with former Pirate Peter Ferraro for the team lead in goals. Ferraro is second in points with 12, six points more than the next player. The Falcons host Norfolk on Friday and visit Hartford on Saturday before touching down in Portland.

SHIP'S LOG:

* Wing Owen Fussey had the Pirates' game-winning goal against Norfolk on October 30th. Center Brad Parsons had the game-winner on November 1st against the Admirals. Between the two players, they have four of the Pirates' five game-winning goals.

* Prior to their 2-1 win over Norfolk on October 30th, the Pirates had not beaten the Admirals in more than three years. Their last win against the Chicago Blackhawks' top developmental team was in the first ever meeting on October 27, 2000. The win helped the Pirates snap a seven-game winless streak against Norfolk (0-4-3).

* Forward Francois Methot earned his first points as a Pirate last weekend, assisting on three goals in two wins over Norfolk.

* The Pirates had their string of consecutive penalty kills snapped at 26 by Worcester on October 29th. For the week, the Pirates killed eleven of thirteen opponent powerplays.

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