Pirates drop one at home to Falcons 4 - 2

Jill Crochere (right) and Sarah Mckay (left) from Chelsea, ME make a donation Friday night
during the Portland Pirates first official night of the Holiday Toy and Donation Drive 

Michael Blunden scored a power-play goal that turned out to be the game winner midway through the third period to lift the Springfield Falcons to a 4-2 victory over the Portland Pirates in an American Hockey League game played tonight in front of 4,881 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Maksim Mayorov, Brent Regner and Matt Calvert netted the other goals for the Falcons, who ended a two-game losing streak to improve to 11-9-0-1 on the season.

Paul Byron and Mark Mancari scored for the Pirates, who saw their 10-game home points streak (9-0-1-0) come to an end. Portland is now 13-5-1-0 on the season.

Mayorov got the Falcons rolling early in this one as he connected 2:13 into the game for the only goal of the opening 20 minutes. Byron answered the Springfield goal with the only goal in the second period as the two teams headed to the third tied at one. The two teams combined for four goals in the final period. Regner began the uprising less than five minutes into the period to give the Falcons a 2-1 advantage. Mancari connected for his first power-play goal of the season five minutes later to even things up at two before Blunden matched the man advantage goal just 1:06 later to deliver what turned out to be the game winner. Calvert hit the empty net in the final minute to complete the scoring.

The Pirates out shot the Falcons 30-23 in the game as Jhonas Enroth took the loss.
The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were 1. Mayorov, 2. Byron and 3. Regner.

The Pirates continue weekend action with road contests Saturday in Manchester at 7 p.m. and Sunday in Providence at 4:05 p.m. Both games can be heard live on News Talk 95.5 WLOB and on line at portlandpirates.com beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes prior to the opening face-off.

The next Pirates home game takes place Saturday, December 4th when the Norfolk Admirals visit the Civic Center for a Bud Light Hockey Night in Portland in a 7 p.m. start. State Farm presents the Teddy Bear Toss. Bring a teddy bear to toss on the ice when the Pirates score their first goal. All bears will be donated to local charities in advance of the holiday season. Plus, donate to Operation Tribute and receive two free tickets to a future Pirates game. Tickets for the game, 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.

- PORTLAND PIRATES -

Portland Pirates beat Bridgeport 3 - 1

Luke Adam catches air in the 2nd

Eric Weinrich

Matt Ellis

Tim Conboy

Brian Petrovek

Play by Play Voice Mark Jeanneret


POST GAME AUDIO AND PHOTOS BELOW

GAME STORY
Dennis McCauley expected a battle from the start, Bridgeport did not disappoint in the Pirates 3 -1 win in front of 3,003 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

It was evident from the drop of the puck, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers would throw the body around, not totally unexpected. McCauley said "They are notorious for that...a tough team to play against. They didn't waste much time as the Pirates Tim Conboy and the Sound Tigers Michael Haley went toe to toe in a big scrap just 29 seconds in. Both got 5 minutes for fighting.

Bridgeport's intensity paid dividends on the scoreboard as they tallied the 1st goal a power play, at the 2:38 mark of the 1st. The Pirates were down a man as Corey Tropp was off for interference.

Portland matched Bridgeport's intensity hit for hit. The Pirates Marc Mancari said "We have a little bit of everything, look at Paul Byron, Byron is probably one of the smallest guys on the team, he can hit and take a hit. Everyone here is capable of taking a hit
or giving a hit..and sticking up for themselves."

Portland broke into the scoring column at the 8:35 mark of the 1st. Derek Whitmore gathered the puck at the blue line, streaked to the bottom of the right circle and somehow beat Sound Tigers' goalie Kevin Poulin through the 3 hole. The goal was Whitmores 3rd of the season. Game was tied at 1.

The score stayed at one apiece deep into the 2nd Period,  when Mark Mancari  unleashed a blast inside the blue line for a 2-1 lead with 16 seconds left in the 2nd. The Civic Center crowd hadn't settled down yet when Dennis McCauley tallied one some 13 seconds later for a Pirate 3-1 lead.

Coach Kevin Dineen was very happy with his teams play in the 3rd. 'I liked our game in the 2rd" said Coach Dineen, "i thought we were responsible, and did a lot of good things."

There was no scoring the rest of the way as the Portland Pirates took care of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3 - 1

- JEFF SCHOOLS -

POST GAME AUDIO
Kevin Dineen

Mark Mancari

Dennis McCauley



PHOTO GALLERY

King 'Em, Pirates jump all over Checkers 5 - 1

MARK PARRISH SCORED A GOAL AND ADDED 2 ASSISTS IN THE PIRATES 5 - 1 WIN

The Portland Pirates did not need a game board to figure out the Charlotte Checkers today in a 5 - 1 win. On a rare matinee week game,  the Pirates controlled the scoreboard, even though the Checkers controlled the shots on goal.

The main reason the Pirates were able to stay in the game, Jhonas Enroth and his 42 saves.

The Pirates got things going quickly, when Mark Parrish took a nifty pass from TJ Brennen, got behind the Checkers D, and put it past Charlotte goaltender Justin Pogge for the 1 - 0 lead.

Charlotte played tough transition defense, not allowing the Pirates clean entry into their offensive zone. The Checkers defense turned into many chances, getting 14 SOG in the 1st, but nothing to show for it as the score ended at 1-0 Pirates.

The Pirates got going again at 4:56 of the 2nd, as Parrish lead defenseman Nick Crawford, who wristed it past Pogge for a 2 - 0 lead for the Pirates. The goal was Crawfords pro goal.

The Pirates scored 8 minutes later on a shorthanded opportunity. With Tim Conboy off for a questionable roughing penalty, Paul Byron knocked a deflected puck out of mid air, and put it over Pogges right shoulder for a Pirates 3 -0 lead.

The scored stayed that way until just 43 seconds into the 3rd. Mark Mancari was off at 18:33 of the 2nd for another questionable interference call leading to a 27 second power play for Charlotte to start the 3rd. Charlotte could not capitalize, but the Pirates did as Colin Stuart send Mancari, just out of the penalty box, in on a breakaway. Mancari beat Pogge glove side for a Pirates 4 - 0 lead.

Maxime Legault finished off the scoring for the Pirates at the 5:43 mark of the third as Parrish and Brian Roloff assisted.

Enroth lost his shutout bid as Jerome Samson, who had 12 SOG for the Checkers, scored with 10.1 seconds left.

- JEFF SCHOOLS -

GAME NOTES - The Pirates were again dismal on the Power Play going 0 - 3 and not looking good in the process, mustering only 1 quality scoring chance. Shorthanded is a totally different story, as the Pirates scored their second SH goal in as many games. The Pirates return home Friday Night to face the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

POST GAME AUDIO
Coach Dineen

Jhonas Enroth

Mark Parrish


PHOTO GALLERY

Luke Adam Named AHL Player of the Week #portlandpirates #theahl

Luke discusses being named AHL Player of the Week


The American Hockey League announced today that Portland Pirates center Luke Adam has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 10, 2010.

Adam, making his regular-season professional debut, notched four points to pace Portland to a 6-5 win over Manchester on Saturday night. He assisted on two first-period goals to help stake the Pirates to 1-0 and 2-1

#PortlandPirates Get Enroth, Parrish, Ellis #sabres

Two press releases, one from the Pirates, one from the Sabres. Hit it!

Sabres:
Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today that goaltender Jhonas Enroth and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani have been assigned to Portland of the American Hockey League. This leaves the Sabres with 23 players on the roster: 13 forwards, 8 defensemen and two goaltenders.

The Sabres have also signed forward Mark Parrish, and loaned him to Portland. The 33-year-old Parrish has 387 points (216+171) in 720 career NHL games with Florida, NY Islanders, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Dallas and Tampa Bay.

Pirates
Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff reported today that goaltender Jhonas Enroth and forward Matt Ellis are on their way to join the Portland Pirates.

Enroth was reassigned to the Pirates while Ellis cleared waivers allowing him to join the team.
Enroth, selected 46th overall by the Sabres in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, returns for his third season in Portland. The 22 year-old Stockholm, Sweden native has appeared in 108 games between the pipes for the Pirates over the past two seasons. Last season he went 28-18-1 with five shutouts and 2.37 goals against average before ending the season on the injury list.

Ellis returns for his second stint with the Pirates after having played 12 games during the 2008-09 season. The 29 year-old Welland, Ontario native is a veteran of 187 NHL games with Buffalo, Detroit and Los Angeles. Last season with the Sabres the 6-foot-1 forward has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 72 games with the Sabres.

In other Pirates roster news, Rob Ricci was released from his training camp tryout.

--PIRATES AND SABRES COMMUNICATIONS--

Portland Pirates 2010-2011 schedule released

The American Hockey League released the 2010 - 2011 schedule. Download Portland Pirates schedule HERE.

The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today their schedule of games for the 2010-11 Regular Season.

The Pirates will open their 18th season of competition, the 34th season of AHL action at the Cumberland County Civic Center, on Saturday, October 9th when the Manchester Monarchs visit in a 7 p.m. start. The Pirates will celebrate the AHL’s 75th anniversary season by playing all 40 of their home games at the Civic Center for the first time since 2007-08. The home schedule features 26 weekend games. Saturday Night is Hockey Night in Portland will take place 15 times during the course of the season while the Pirates will also play eight Friday games and three Sunday games.

“Our schedule provides our fan base a great opportunity to enjoy the talents of the world class athletes and Buffalo Sabres prospects which make up our team while also delivering an exciting atmosphere and promotional pop,” said Pirates Managing Owner/CEO Brian Petrovek. “We are looking forward to an entertaining campaign in our pursuit of a Calder Cup Championship.”

Rivalries
Arch rivals Manchester, Providence and Worcester will battle the Pirates a total of 12 times each (six at home and six on the road) during the regular season. In addition, the Pirates will face Springfield and Bridgeport 10 times each.

#PortlandPirates Derek Whitmore joined Weekend Warm Up Saturday #sabres #theahl #nhl

Derek Whitmore on Weekend Warm Up presented by Mr Sparky America's On Time Electrician

Mark Mancari signed to a 1 year deal by Sabres #sabres #portlandpirates

MARK MANCARI AT PIRATES OUTDOOR SKATE LAST YEAR

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have re-signed restricted free agent forward Mark Mancari to a one-year contract.

Mancari (7/11/1985, 6’4”, 225 lbs.) has led Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in scoring for each of the past three seasons, including 74 points (28+46) in 74 games for the Portland Pirates in 2009-10. He finished eighth in league scoring, and topped the Pirates in goals, assists and points. Mancari also led the Pirates with 14 power goals, and was second with a plus-16 rating. The 25-year-old Mancari had two points (1+1) in six games during four separate recalls to Buffalo last season, giving him five points (2+3) in 16 career NHL games.

Mancari was drafted by Buffalo in the seventh round (207th overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft.

Bill Schurman joins The Weekend Warm Up presented by Mr Sparky #maineiacshockey #qmjhl #sblog #hockey

BILL SCHURMAN MAINEIACS MANAGING CONSULTANT AND GOVERNOR

Bill Schurman joined us for the better part of an hour today on 96.3 The Big Jab. Here is the entire interview.

BUFFALO #SABRES ANNOUNCE SIGNING OF DEREK WHITMORE #portlandpirates

Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with restricted free agent winger Derek Whitmore.

Whitmore (12/17/1984, 5’11”, 185 lbs.) collected 34 points (18+16) in 78 games last season for the Portland Pirates (AHL). In 163 career AHL games with Portland and Rochester, Whitmore has amassed 57 points on 30 goals and 27 assists.

The Rochester, NY native played four seasons at Bowling Green University where he picked up 102 points (70+32). His 70 career goals ranked him in the top 20 in BGSU all-time goal scoring list. Whitmore scored his first professional goal against the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) on April 4, 2008 as a member of the Rochester Americans.

SABRES OPEN DEVELOPMENT CAMP, PIRATES PLAYERS INTERVIEWED #portlandpirates #ahl #sabres

TYLER ENNIS


JHONAS ENROTH

GERMAN SOURCES - WANVIG SIGNS GERMAN LEAGUE CONTRACT #portlandpirates #theahl

According to several German websites, Kyle Wanvig, Portland Pirates Right Winger, has signed a contract with the Augsburg Panthers of the German Ice Hockey League.

The 29 year old Wanvig signed on with the Pirates midway through the season and finished with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points.