Duffy released from tryout, Pirates sign two more

The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today that they have signed forwards Joe Whitney and Shawn Szydlowski to amateur tryouts.

Whitney joins the Pirates after a four-year career, highlighted by two National Titles (2008 and 2010), at Boston College. In 161 games the 23 year-old Reading, MA native recorded 40 goals and 102 assists for 142 points, tied for 29th on the school’s career points list and he is one of only 15 players in Boston College history to record 100 or more career assists. The 5-foot-6, 172-pound forward scored five goals and 26 assists for 31 points in 39 games in 2010-11 to finish his collegiate career.

Szydlowski comes to the Pirates after four years with the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League. The 20 year-old St. Clair Shores, MI native capped off his junior career with a career season in 2010-11, registering 41 goals and 37 assists for 78 points in 61 games. In 258 games with the Otters the 6-foot, 208-pound forward scored 94 goals and 103 assists for 197 points.

In another roster move, the Pirates released Matt Duffy from his tryout agreement. The Windham, ME native played two games for the Pirates without registering a point.

--PIRATES--

Gustav Nyquist Named Second Team All-American

Former University of Maine men's ice hockey junior forward Gustav Nyquist (Malmo, Sweden) was named to the AHCA Men's Division I All-America Second Team on Friday, April 8. It was just one of many honors that the standout has received during his career. The All-American teams were announced Friday night at the Frozen Four.

It is the 39th time in Maine history that a player has been named an All-American. Nyquist was named a First Team All-American in 2010. He becomes the eighth player in Maine history to be named a two-time All-American. Jean Yves Roy was a three-time All-American, while David Capuano, Keith Carney, Chris Imes, Michel Léveillé, Jim Montgomery and Jeff Tory join Nyquist as two-time All-Americans.

Nyquist was named to the 2011 Hockey East First Team and was named one of the 10 finalists for the 2011 Hobey Baker Award, which was presented on Friday night to Miami's Andy Miele. He also earned a spot on the 2010–2011 New England Men's Division I All-Star Team.

Nyquist led Maine in scoring for the third straight season with 18 goals and 33 assists for 51 points. He had six power play goals, two short-handed tallies and a pair of game-winners. Nyquist saw action in 113 career games for the Black Bears. He scored 50 goals and added 94 assists for 144 points. He finishes tied for 17th on Maine's all-time scoring list.

Among his career highlights are: 2010 Hobey Baker Hat Trick, 2010 First Team RBK Hockey / AHCA Men's Division I All-American, 2010 All-College Hockey News First Team, 2010 CollegeHockey247.com All-American, 2010 Inside College Hockey All-America First Team, Runner-Up for 2010 Hockey East Player of the Year, 2010 Hockey East All-Tournament Team, ESPN The Magazine / COSIDA District I Academic All-District Second Team.

Nyquist also excels in the classroom. An economics major, he has been named a Maine Scholar-Athlete Award winner twice in his career. He was a finalist for the 2011 M Club Dean Smith Award, presented annually to the top male and female student-athletes at Maine. He has also been named to the Hockey East Academic Honor Roll.

-U-M-

Adam named AHL Outstanding Rookie

The American Hockey League announced today that forward Luke Adam of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.

Adam, a second-round draft choice by the Buffalo Sabres in 2008, ranks among the AHL’s rookie leaders with 28 goals (1st), 32 assists (tied for 3rd), 60 points (2nd) and a plus-22 rating (2nd) in 54 games for Portland this season. The 20-year-old native of St. John’s, N.L., began the season with two goals and two assists in an opening-night win over Manchester on Oct. 9, the first of his 16 multiple-point efforts on the year, and his 11-game scoring streak from Feb. 26 to Mar. 22 was the longest by an AHL rookie forward since 2005. Adam made his National Hockey League debut with Buffalo on Oct. 26 and has totaled three goals and one assist in 19 NHL games with the Sabres.

This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1947, honors the late Dudley (Red) Garrett, a promising young player who lost his life during World War II while serving in the Royal Canadian Navy. Garrett split his only pro season, 1942-43, between the AHL’s Providence Reds and the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Adam becomes the third consecutive Portland skater to win the Garrett Award, following Nathan Gerbe in 2008-09 and Tyler Ennis in 2009-10. Other previous winners of the Garrett Award include Terry Sawchuk (1949), Wally Hergesheimer (1951), Jimmy Anderson (1955), Bill Sweeney (1958), Roger Crozier (1964), Gerry Desjardins (1968), Rick Middleton (1974), Darryl Sutter (1980), Pelle Lindbergh (1981), Steve Thomas (1985), Ron Hextall (1986), Brett Hull (1987), Felix Potvin (1992), Darcy Tucker (1996), Daniel Briere (1998), Darren Haydar (2003), Rene Bourque (2005), Patrick O'Sullivan (2006), Brett Sterling (2007) and Teddy Purcell (2008).

--AHL--

Pirates overthrow Monarchs

Luke Adam scored the game-winning-goal with 31 seconds remaining in the extra overtime period to lead the Portland Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the Manchester Monarchs in an American Hockey League game played tonight in front of 3,565 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Adam and Paul Byron each totaled two goals for the night, and Colin Stuart and Derek Whitmore added a single tally of their own as the Pirates won their second straight and improved their record to 46-23-6-2 overall. With the overtime victory, Portland is one point away from clinching their first division title since 2007-08.

Viatcheslav Voynov, John Zeiler, David Kolomatis, Patrick Mullen and Bud Holloway each scored for Manchester as they dropped to 43-25-4-6 on the season.

The two teams traded goals in the first period, with Byron netting a power-play goal at 8:42 to give the hosts a lead that was cancelled out by a Voynov shot from the point with just under three minutes remaining. Manchester got off to a hot start in the second period, as Zeiler tallied his eighth of the season only 58 seconds into the period and Kolomatis boosted the lead to two with his eighth of the year at 4:09. Three minutes after Kolomatis’ goal, Byron scored his second power-play goal of the game to cut the lead to one. Manchester and Portland would continue to alternate goals as Mullen found the back of the net at the 11:46 mark and Stuart netting another Pirates power-play goal nearly two minutes later. The Pirates continued their surge with an explosive sequence seven minutes into the third period as Adam registered Portland’s fourth power-play goal of the game followed by a Whitmore strike only 12 seconds later to give the hosts their first lead since the first period. Holloway ended the streak with a power-play goal of his own at the 14:58 mark to send the game to overtime, where Adam ended up sealing the game for Portland.

The Pirates outshot the Monarchs 35-32, and Jeff Jakaitis earned the victory for Portland, raising his record to 5-3-0. Jeff Zatkoff received the loss in net for Manchester as his overall record dropped to 20-16-5.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the game were all from Portland: 1. Adam, 2. Byron and 3. Dennis Persson (three assists).

--PIRATES--

Pirates sign Baier, Muse to tryout contracts

The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today that they have signed defenseman Eric Baier and goaltender John Museto to amateur tryout.

The 23 year-old from North Kingston, RI comes to Pirates after completing a four-year career at Providence College where he registered a career high five goals and seven assists for 12 points in 34 games in 2010-11. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound defender played 127 games during his collegiate career collecting nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points.

Baier, the younger brother of former Pirates defenseman Paul Baier, played six games with Reading of the ECHL prior to signing with the Pirates.

Muse, who practiced with the Pirates this morning, recently completed a four-year career at Boston College where he helped lead the Eagles to two National Championships (2008 and 2010). During the 2010-11 season the 22 year-old East Falmouth, MA native posted 27 wins, four shutouts and a 2.30 goals against average in 34 games.

In his career the 5-foot-11 backstop collected 89 wins in 144 career appearances.

--PORTLAND PIRATES--

Pirates take a bite out of the Sharks in 2 -1 Shootout Win

Mark Parrish scored the lone shootout goal and Jeff Jakaitis was a perfect five-for-five in leading the Portland Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the Worcester Sharks in an American Hockey League game played tonight at the DCU Center.
          
Paul Byron netted Portland’s only regulation goal as the Pirates ended a three-game losing streak. Portland improved to 45-23-6-2 on the season and three points up on Manchester for first in the Atlantic Division.
T.J. Trevelyan scored for the Sharks, who dropped to 36-29-4-8 on the season.

The Pirates jumped out to a quick start as Byron scored just 57 seconds into the game to give Portland a 1-0 lead after one. The two teams were scoreless through the second sending the game into the third with the Pirates leading 1-0. Trevelyan tied it eight minutes into the third to set the stage for a scoreless overtime and the shootout to decide the game.
The Sharks out shot the Pirates 37-31 in the game as Jakaitis posted the victory.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were 1. Jakaitis; 2. Parrish and 3. Sharks goalie Harri Sateri.
            
The Pirates return to the Civic Center tomorrow (Wednesday) when the Manchester Monarchs come to town for a 6:30 p.m. game at the Civic Center. It’s Autism Awareness Night presented by the Portland Press Herald and the Pirates will be wearing commemorative jerseys accented with bright puzzle pieces, the international symbol of autism. Funds will be raised for the Autism Society of Maine through advance ticket sales and corporate sponsorships. For tickets or sponsorship opportunities, contact Ben Nickerson at 207-828-4665 x 317 or bnickerson@portlandpirates.com.
            
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-

Gragnani gets some hardware

The American Hockey League announced today that Marc-Andre Gragnani of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman for the 2010-11 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.

Gragnani leads all AHL defensemen in assists (48) and points (60) and ranks fourth among blueliners with a plus-22 rating – all career highs – in 63 games for Portland this season. On the Pirates’ roster, Gragnani is tops in assists and plus/minus and second in points to help lead his team’s bid for an Atlantic Division title. The 24-year-old native of Montreal has set Pirates franchise records for assists and points in a season by a defenseman, and he tied the club’s single-game mark with five assists vs. Worcester on Jan. 15. He also had a string of six consecutive multiple-point games from Mar. 1-12, part of a seven-game scoring streak overall, and ranked second in the entire AHL during March with 20 points (3-17-20) in 13 contests.

Gragnani, a third-round draft pick by Buffalo in 2005, has also appeared in six games with the Sabres this season. His first career NHL point was the assist on the game-winning goal vs. the New York Rangers on Mar. 30, and his first NHL goal was the overtime winner at Carolina on Apr. 3.

A fourth-year pro, Gragnani has totaled 47 goals and 159 assists for 206 points in 283 career AHL games.

This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1959, honors the late Eddie Shore, a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the American Hockey League Hall of Fame who is widely regarded as one of hockey’s greatest defensemen. Shore won a total of five Calder Cups in his career, including two as the general manager of the Buffalo Bisons and three as the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians. Previous winners of the Eddie Shore Award include Steve Kraftcheck (1959), Al Arbour (1965), Noel Price (1970, ’72, ’76), Brian Engblom (1977), Terry Murray (1978, ’79), Brad Shaw (1987), Dave Fenyves (1988, ’89), Eric Weinrich (1990), Darren Rumble (1997), John Slaney (2001, ’02), Curtis Murphy (2003, ’04), Niklas Kronwall (2005), Sheldon Brookbank (2007), Andrew Hutchinson (2008) and Johnny Boychuk (2009).

-AHL COMMUNICATIONS-