Pirates Wrap Tenth Anniversary Season

Published on April 14, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - As parties go, this one ended way too early. The Portland Pirates Tenth Anniversary season ended on Sunday, April 13 with a 6-3 loss to the Manitoba Moose. The Moose won the best-of-three qualifying series two games to one. Still, there was much to celebrate in this tenth season of Pirates' hockey in Portland. The Pirates returned to the Calder Cup Playoffs after a one-year hiatus under the direction of new head coach Tim Army. They celebrated Portland's long American Hockey League legacy with numerous events and promotions to celebrate the great Pirates' and Maine Mariners players of the past.

For the first time in the history of AHL hockey in Portland, the Pirates and the city also hosted the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, the league's annual showcase of the top 50 players in the AHL. The Pirates finished with a record of 32-28-13-6, good for 85 points, a six-point improvement over the previous season.

THROUGH THE YEARS:

The Pirates reached the 30-win plateau for the ninth time in their history. Their record placed them fourth in the North Division and eighth in the Eastern Conference. The Pirates lost to the Manitoba Moose 2-1 in a best-of-three qualifying series in the Calder Cup Playoffs. After spotting the Moose a 1-0 series lead, the Pirates won their one game of the series 4-2 on Friday, April 11. The Moose prevailed in the deciding game on Sunday, April 13.

^Prior to 2001-02 season, the Calder Cup Playoffs were changed to a conference format, eliminating divisional series. Teams are seeded 1-14 in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

AT THE BOX OFFICE:

During the last ten seasons, 2,048,377 fans have attended Portland Pirates' hockey games at the Cumberland County Civic Center (Capacity: 6,733). An additional 174,005 have attended playoff games. The Pirates finished the 2002-03 season with an average attendance of 4,423, which ranked them 22nd in the American Hockey League. The Pirates had five standing room only crowds, their largest total since the 1996-97 season.

LEADING THE WAY:

Peter Ferraro led the Pirates in scoring for the second consecutive year. He had 22 goals and 41 assists for 63 points in 59 games. His assist total also led the team. Peter Ferraro led the team with five game-winning goals. He also had a team-best plus/minus mark of +22. Trent Whitfield finished second in scoring with a team-leading 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points in 64 games. The goal and point totals were career highs. He also set a new franchise record with five shorthanded goals this season. Graham Mink was the Pirates' leading powerplay goal-scorer with eight. He and defenseman Chris Hajt led the team with 71 games played each. Mink did not miss a single game due to injury. Mel Angelstad and Josef Boumedienne tied for the team lead in penalty minutes with 139 each. It's the lowest total to lead the Pirates' in that category in the Pirates' ten-year history. Boumedienne earned 77 PIM with the Pirates. The other 62 came during the 26 games he played with the Binghamton Senators before he joined the Pirates in trade for Dean Melanson. Maxime Ouellet led all Pirates' goalies with 48 games played, 22 wins and 2773 minutes played. He tied with Binghamton's Ray Emery for the AHL lead with seven shutouts. That total is a new franchise record. Rastislav Stana finished with a team-best goals against average of 2.17 and a save percentage of .933. The save percentage was second-best in the AHL. Ouellet's save percentage (.929) ranked him third while his goals-against average of 2.40 ranked seventh in the AHL.

THE BLUELINERS:

Portland defensemen scored 31 goals during the 2002-2003 season, the second-lowest total in franchise history. Pirates' defensemen combined for 29 goals during the 1998-99 season. The franchise record was set in the Pirates' inaugural season of 1993-94 when they had 63. Chris Hajt led all Pirates' defensemen with eleven goals. He earned career highs in goals, assists, points and games played. He also led all Pirates' defensemen with seven powerplay goals and three game-winners. Josef Boumedienne had ten goals, eight as a member of the Pirates. He led all Pirates' blueliners with 47 points, ranking him fifth in team scoring.

2002-2003 TRANSACTIONS AND PLAYER MOVEMENT:

The Pirates used 41 players during the course of the 2002-2003 season, far fewer than the team record of 63 set during the 1998-99 season. In fact, it ties the third lowest number of players used by the Pirates in the team's ten-year history. The Pirates used 41 players last season as well. In 1999-2000, the Pirates used just 36 players while they used 40 during their inaugural campaign of 1993-94. There were 78 transactions between the start of the season on October 11, 2002 and the end on April 6, 2003. February featured the lightest month for transactions when only four moves were made. December was the busiest month with 22 transactions.

2003 DODGE AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC AT PORTLAND, MAINE:

Four players represented the Pirates in the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic held at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland on February 2 & 3, 2003. Peter and Chris Ferraro served as co-captains of the PlanetUSA team while Maxime Ouellet and Trent Whitfield played for the Canadian AHL All-Stars. Ouellet was the starting goalie for the Canadians. He made 19 saves and allowed three goals in one period of work. Peter had a goal and an assist and Chris added two assists for PlanetUSA. Whitfield had four shots and was +2 to help the Canadians sweep the weekend with a 10-7 win. Canada also won the Pepsi All-Star Skills competition the previous night, 15-13. Both events played to sold out crowds and more than 25 million viewers on television in both the United States and Canada.

THE RECORD BOOK:

The Pirates wrote several new chapters in the record book during the 2002-2003 season. This year's team will go down as the stingiest in Pirates' history. The Pirates allowed 195 goals against this season, besting the previous franchise record of 202 set in 1999-2000. The Pirates averaged 2.44 goals against per game, ranking them fourth best in the AHL. Not coincidentally, the Pirates posted a franchise record eleven shutouts this season. That ranked them second in the AHL behind the Kilpatrick Trophy-winning Hamilton Bulldogs who had 12. The Pirates had nine shutouts at home, setting a new AHL record in that category.

Maxime Ouellet had seven shutouts this season, breaking the previous franchise record set by Jim Carey during the 1994-95 season. Carey had six. Ouellet had three shutouts in three consecutive starts and posted a shutout streak of 193:42, another new franchise record, breaking the old mark set by Carey at 170:11. Ouellet also set a franchise record with 29 saves in one period against the Manchester Monarchs.

Remarkably, he did not allow a goal in that period. He broke the previous team high of 27 saves set by Sebastien Charpentier last season. The 29 shots allowed in one period were also a franchise record. The Pirates set a team mark for penalty minutes in a period when they received 96 in the third period of their game with the Providence Bruins on March 8, 2003.

In addition to the records broken, the Pirates tied six more franchise records. Andreas Salomonsson had five assists against the St. John's Maple Leafs in a 7-3 win on December 7, 2002. That tied a record set first by Keith Jones in 1994 and equaled by Andrew Brunette two years later. Four different players had three assists in a period, tying another record. Salomonsson, Chris Ferraro, Glen Metropolit and Josef Boumedienne all turned the trick. Both Trent Whitfield and Peter Ferraro tied an eight-year old record for points in a game when each recorded 2-4-6 totals against St. John's and Providence respectively.

In that same game, Peter Ferraro tied the record for points in a period with four. The Pirates also got two powerplay goals in a period from both Graham Mink and Chris Hajt in St. John's, tying yet another record.

2002-2003 LEAGUE AND TEAM AWARDS:

Mel Angelstad Players' Player*

Chris Ferraro PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Co-captain
Co-Winner, Fred T. Hunt Award (AHL)
Co-Winner, Most Popular Player*

Peter Ferraro PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team Co-captain
Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for January 26
Co-Winner, Most Popular Player*

Graham Mink Unsung Hero*

Maxime Ouellet Jack Button Award-Top Prospect*
AHL Second Team All-Star
Canadian AHL All-Star
Most Valuable Player*
Sher-Wood/AHL Player of the Week for January 5
American Specialty/HG Insurances/AHL Man of the Year Award
Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars Award

Trent Whitfield Tom Ebright Award*
Sher-Wood /AHL Player of the Week for December 8
Canadian AHL All-Star
*Pirates' Team and Fan Award

PIRATES REACH SEVERAL TEAM MILESTONES:

Few people were there to see it, but the Portland Pirates earned another milestone on February 16, 2003. With a blizzard hammering Pennsylvania, the Pirates beat the Hershey Bears 8-4 at the Giant Center in Hershey to earn their 350th franchise win. Only 1,038 of the 7,032 who had purchased tickets braved the storm to see the Pirates erase a 4-1 first period deficit with a five-goal second period. It was the Pirates' first visit to the Bears' new arena. The Pirates earned their 200th home win in franchise history with a 4-1 win over the Springfield Falcons on March 2, 2003. Chris Ferraro had two goals to pace the Pirates' attack. On January 4, 2003, Chris set up his brother Peter for the Pirates' 2,500th goal in franchise history. It was the first goal of a 4-0 shutout of the Hershey Bears at the Civic Center. Finally, the Pirates welcomed their 2,000,000th fan on February 9th, Dan Loiselle of Scarborough. He saw the Pirates beat the Binghamton Senators, 3-2.

IN THE COMMUNITY:

The Pirates continued their active role in southern Maine through their core community partnerships. The Pirates visited schools from Saco to Lewiston as part of their "Goals for Success" program. Players encouraged children to set goals, concentrate on schoolwork and make healthy lifestyle choices. The Pirates put considerable muscle behind their "Face-off for a Better Community", a program designed to assist the United Way of Greater Portland in its outreach efforts. The Pirates also helped the United Way and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Maine with the Pirates' annual wives' club event, "An Evening with the Pirates."

The dinner and auction raised more than $20,000. In addition, the Pirates raised money with the "Goals for Gary's House" campaign. Gary's House, a home that offers housing to out of town people with loved ones in one of the area hospitals, received more than $6,200 this season based upon pledges made against Pirates' scoring totals this season.

The Pirates also loaned players' time to the Bruce Roberts Toy Fund, the Children's Museum of Maine and the Portland Partnership. Puck Pals was a ticket-based initiative that raised additional money for United Way agencies. The Pirates also sponsored a game-night promotion on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine.

PORTLANDPIRATES.COM

The Pirates' official web site, portlandpirates.com, will be a comprehensive source for all information about the Pirates during the off-season, including the schedule for the 2003-2004 season. Fans can visit the ticket section for an updated list of full and partial-season ticket packages to suit all budget and commitment levels. In addition, fans will be able to read up on 2003 NHL Entry Draft news and player transactions as the Pirates and the Capitals build their teams for the 2003-2004 season.

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