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.

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