Tonight's Game Featured as Key Matchup on AHL Live

March 28, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


Tonight is Labatt Blue Light Hockey Night in Portland as the Portland Pirates host the Manchester Monarchs in a battle for third place in the Atlantic Division. Portland is currently in a fourth-place tie with Worcester and one point behind Manchester for third. The Pirates have a game in hand over both teams.

THE MATCHUP...

The Pirates picked up a key win last night, grabbing victory number 190 for head coach Kevin Dineen. The fourth year head coach now tops the charts for wins by a Pirates' head coach, having moved past Barry Trotz. Dineen's Pirates team got a great performance in goal from Jhonas Enroth, who stopped 39 of 41 shots. Manchester can't be happy to see Enroth coming off a big game, as the rookie has been stellar in goal against the Monarchs this year. Enroth has a 2.32 goals against average and a .926 save percentage against the division rival. Manchester has also been a favorite foe for Mark Mancari. The Portland forward has five goals and four assists in six games against the Monarchs this year.

Manchester travels to Portland in the midst of a shaky stretch. The Monarchs have just one win in their last seven games after a 12-2-0-1 tear from mid-February to mid-March. Former Lewiston MAINEiac Jonathan Bernier has been in goal for 12 of the last 13 games and has heated up. Bernier is 1-1-0-1 with a .953 save percentage in his last three starts, having given up just four goals. His only win in that stretch was a 3-0 shutout of Lowell. The Monarchs are currently without the services of two of their best forwards. Both Teddy Purcell and Brian Boyle are on recall to Los Angeles. Purcell was averaging a point a game with 16 goals and 22 assists in 38 contests, while Boyle brought a great deal of size to the lineup standing 6'7" tall and weighing in at nearly 250 pounds. Marty Murray is one of the keys to picking up that scoring slack. The Monarchs captain has 14 goals and 35 assists in 68 games this season.

PIRATES TURN BACK THE CLOCK...

Tonight the Pirates will wear special Maine Mariners jerseys, similar to those worn during the Mariners' affiliation with the Boston Bruins from 1987 to 1992. After tonight's game, select game-worn jerseys will be available for bidding online at www.portlandpiratesstore.com. The auction begins Monday, March 30th and ends on Sunday, April 5th at 11:59 p.m.



American Hockey League Stories from March 28, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central