Rollercoaster Ride Continues

Published on November 25, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates earned their league-leading fourth shutout of the season last weekend but it was sandwiched between two losses to a North Division foe, leaving the Pirates firmly entrenched in fourth place. The Pirates lost to Worcester on Friday and Sunday but won the middle game with a whitewash of Lowell. The Pirates are in fourth place in the American Hockey League's North Division with a record of 7-7-2-3. They will visit Providence on Wednesday before returning home to host Hamilton and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

LAST WEEK:

Friday, November 22, 2002: Worcester 3, Pirates 1

Despite dominating the better part of the game, the Pirates were done in by a 23-second span of the second period. Veteran Mel Angelstad got the visiting Pirates on the board first with an even-strength tally at the 16:20 mark of the first period. A brief lapse in the second gave the IceCats the edge as the Pirates found themselves killing off a brief 5-on-3. Nine seconds in, Worcester's Jame Pollock found the net. Then, Marc Brown added the go-ahead goal 23 seconds later. The IceCats cemented the deal with an empty-netter for the 3-1 win despite a solid effort all-around by the Pirates.

Saturday, November 23, 2002: Pirates 3, Lowell 0

Rastislav Stana made the most of a rare start, blanking the visiting Lock Monsters 3-0. Stana's 21-save effort was Portland's third shutout of the season versus Lowell. The Pirates came out firing early and often, peppering goaltender Randy Petruk with 15 shots in the first period, most from pointblank range. Despite Petruk's strong effort, defenseman Chris Hajt scored his second of the year with a powerplay blast at 4:48. Dean Melanson added the insurance goal with a slick stickhandling play at 17:59 of the second, and Mark Murphy scored into an empty net in the waning moments to give the Pirates two points. Stana and the Pirates withstood several Lowell powerplays in the third period. The win was Stana's his first career AHL shutout.

Sunday, November 24, 2002: Worcester 4, Pirates 1

In the rematch of Friday's game, the Pirates and IceCats played a tight-fisted game. Christian Backman broke the deadlock midway through the second period. The IceCats scored twice more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Mark Murphy ruined Sanford's shutout bid with a tally at 16:13 but Worcester would add one more into an empty net for the final score. Worcester has now won all three meetings.

ROAD TRIP, TURKEY, RACE CARS AND PENGUINS ON THE AGENDA IN THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, November 27 at Providence, 7:05 pm

The Pirates face Providence for the third time this season. The Bruins earned a 6-5 overtime win on November 15th in the last meeting. Graham Mink, Mark Murphy, Jason Doig, Ivan Ciernik, and Colin Forbes scored for Portland in that contest. The Pirates beat the visiting Bruins 5-2 in their first meeting on November 9th as Mike Farrell (2g-1a), Chris Hajt, Krys Barch (GWG), and Trent Whitfield all scored. The Pirates are 43-39-12 all-time against the Bruins, including 1-0-0-1 this season. The Bruins begin the week in first place in the North Division with a record of 11-5-4-1. The Baby B's are unbeaten in six (4-0-2-0).

Saturday, November 30 vs. Hamilton, 7:05 pm

The Pirates and Bulldogs renew their rivalry with two games this season. Saturday's game is also the 2002 VIP Discount Auto Center's Salute to Motorsports with NASCAR Winston Cup driver Ricky Craven presented by Wright Express. The two teams last met during the 2000-2001 season. The Bulldogs won both games that year and hold the slight edge in the all-time series, 2-1-1-0. The Pirates return the favor with a visit to Hamilton on December 20th. Hamilton begins the week in first place in the Canadian Division with a mark of 12-6-1-1. They have lost two straight. The Bulldogs will visit Lowell on Wednesday and Albany on Friday before stopping in Portland.

Sunday, December 1 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 4:05 pm

The Pirates and Penguins meet for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, the first for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL. The Pirates won both games that year, each by one goal. Portland will travel to Wilkes-Barre on December 22nd to close out the season series. The Penguins begin the week in fourth place in the AHL's South Division with a record of 7-10-1-1. They have won their last two games. The Pens will host Norfolk on Wednesday and visit Saint John for a pair on Friday and Saturday before meeting the Pirates.

SHIP'S LOG:

· The Pirates shutout the Lowell Lock Monsters for the third consecutive game on Saturday, November 23rd, running their shutout string against them to 181:36.

· Goaltender Rastislav Stana earned his first shutout of the season and first career AHL shutout with 21 saves in a 3-0 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters on Saturday, November 23rd.

· Defensemen Chris Hajt and Dean Melanson scored two of the Pirates' three goals in Saturday's win over Lowell. For Hajt, it was his second goal of the season, matching his career high set in 39 games last year with Hamilton. For Melanson, it was his first goal of the year.

· Mark Murphy scored for the Pirates on Sunday against Worcester, breaking Curtis Sanford's shutout bid. The Pirates have not been shutout this season but have four shutouts to their credit, tying them with Syracuse for the league lead.

TRANSACTIONS:

11/24/02 ADD Brian Sutherby (C), received on loan from Washington Capitals (NHL)

11/24/02 ADD Alex Henry (D), received on conditioning loan from Washington Capitals (NHL)

11/25/02 DELETE Brian Sutherby (C), recalled from loan by Washington Capitals (NHL)

11/25/02 DELETE Alex Henry (D), recalled from conditioning loan by Washington Capitals (NHL)

ON THE AIR:

All Pirates' games can be heard live on the Pirates Radio Network. Sports Radio, WJAB, am-1440 and fm-95.5 serve as the flagship stations. Games may also be heard on WKTQ am-1450, South Paris; WTME am-790 Rumford and 1220 AM, ESPN Radio in Sanford.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 25, 2002


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