@PortlandPirates sign 2nd Maine Black Bear in week, Matt Duffy

The Maine Sports Network has learned that the Portland Pirates have signed former Maine Black Bear defenseman, Windham Maine native Matt Duffy.

Update: Here's the Official release:
The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today that they have signed defensemen Matt Duffy to a professional tryout.

The 25 year-old Windham, Maine native arrives in Portland after splitting the 2010-11 season between Kalamazoo and Gwinnett of the ECHL where he registered four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 56 games. The 6-foot-2, 201-pound blue liner has 20 games of AHL experience, suiting up with the Rochester Americans for a total of 20 games, collecting three goals and eight assists for 11 points, in parts of two seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10).

Prior to turning pro Duffy enjoyed a four-year career at the University of Maine. In 135 games he scored 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points.

In other roster moves earlier this week, the Pirates released forwards Mark Voakes and John Scrymgeour and defenseman Nick Tuzzolino from their tryout agreements.

Casco Bay Hockey Brings Home National Championship

The Casco Bay Mariners took on the best that the nation had to offer and defeated all challengers, winning the U-14 Tier 2 National Youth Hockey Championship. The team, comprised of players from Cumberland, North Yarmouth, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Portland, and Cape Elizabeth, defeated the Nashville Junior Predators 5-0 in the final to bring home the organization's first championship. In six tournament games held in Williamsville, NY the Mariners outscored their opponents 45-1, including an 8-0 thrashing of the Atlanta Fire in the semifinals.

The team was given a hero's welcome upon their return to the Family Ice Arena in Falmouth. Coach John Hart could not have been more proud of his players or their parents for their support. I had a chance to catch up with Coach Hart and assistant coach Dave Weatherbie and get their thoughts on the team and the tournament.
-Wil Kramlich-


Coaches Interviews

Whale swallow up Pirates

Dale Weise scored a pair of goals to lead the Connecticut Whale to a 4-2 win over the Portland Pirates in an American Hockey League game played this afternoon in front of 4,321 at the XL Center.

Jeremy Williams and Derek Couture netted the other goals for the Whale, who ended a four-game losing streak with the win and are now 39-30-2-6 on the season.

Colin Stuart and Mark Parrish scored for the Pirates, who dropped their third straight and are now 44-23-6-2 on the campaign.

The Whale jumped out quickly as Williams and Weise scored in a span of 22 seconds in the opening four minutes of the game to account for all of the first period offense and give the home side an early 2-0 advantage. Couture netted the lone goal of the second on a late period power play to send the Whale into the third up 3-0. Weise netted his second of the game early in the third to up the Whale lead to 4-0 before Stuart and Parrish connected the final half of the third to complete the scoring.
The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were all from the Whale. Weise was the first, Mats Zuccarello (two assists) the second and Kris Newbury the third.

--PIRATES COMMUNICATIONS--

Monarchs crown Pirates

David Kolomatis, Bud Holloway, Justin Azevedo, Justin Johnson and David Meckler each scored to lead the Manchester Monarchs to a 5-2 win over the Portland Pirates in an American Hockey League game played tonight in front of 9,127 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The win moved the Monarchs (43-25-3-6) to within one point of the Pirates (44-22-6-2) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Portland still holds three games in hands.

Luke Adam and Derek Whitmore scored for the Pirates.

Adam opened the scoring with a power-play strike six-and-a-half minutes into the game but the Monarchs would connect twice in the final five minutes of the first period, on goals by Kolomatis and Holloway (on the power play), to carry a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. The Monarchs carried the momentum into the second building a 4-1 lead before the midway point of the period on goals by Azevedo (on the power play) and Johnson. The Pirates got one back only 49 seconds after the Johnson goal as Whitmore brought the visitors back to within two heading into the third. Meckler hit the open net with under five seconds left in regulation to complete the scoring.

The Monarchs out-shot the Pirates 40-25 in the game.

David Leggio started for the Pirates and turned aside 20 of the 24 shots he faced before being replace by Jeff Jakaitis midway through the second period with the Monarchs leading 4-1. Jakaitis turned aside all 16 shots he faced.

The Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were all from the Monarchs. Azevedo was the firs, Holloway the second and Kolomatis the third.

The Pirates continue a three-game road trip tomorrow (Sunday) in Hartford against the Connecticut Whale in a 3 p.m. start. The game can be heard live on 95.5 News Talk WLOB and on line at portlandpirates.com beginning with the pre-game show at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday the Pirates are in Worcester to face the Sharks in a 7 p.m. start.

Portland Pirates sign 3 including Maine Black Bears Jeff Dimmen

The Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League announced today that they have signed defensemen Corey Fienhage and Jeff Dimmen and forward Kyle Ostrow to Amateur Tryouts.

Fienhage, a third round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft, comes to the Pirates from the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League. In his lone season with the Blazers the 6-foot-3 defenseman collected four goals and 10 assists for 14 points to go along with 96 minutes in penalties. The 20 year-old from Apple Valley, Minnesota played at the University of North Dakota in 2008-09 and 2009-10 where he registered three assists and 56 penalty minutes in 39 career games.

Dimmen recently completed his four-year collegiate career with the University of Maine Black Bears. In 2010-11 the 24 year-old from Colorado Springs, Colorado collected seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 29 games. In his Black Bears career, the 6-foot defender played 135 games totaling 27 goals and 40 assists for 67 points.

Ostrow is coming off his final season at the University of Denver where he had 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points in 36 games. In his Pioneers career the 5-foot-8 forward registered 55 goals and 50 assists for 105 points in 158 games.

All three players are scheduled to be available to the Pirates when they begin a three-game road trip in Manchester against the Monarchs tonight (Saturday). The game can be heard live on News Talk 95.5 WLOB and on-line at portlandpirates.com beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. The trip will also take the Pirates to Hartford, to take on the Connecticut Whale, on Sunday at 3 p.m. and to Worcester to face the Sharks on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

--PIRATES COMMUNICATIONS--

Maineiacs advance, dispatch Moncton

The Lewiston MAINEiacs put forth one of their better efforts of the playoffs on Friday night, finishing off their best-of-seven series against the Moncton Wildcats. After playing to a 1-1 tie in the first, the MAINEiacs lit the lamp twice in the second and three times in the third, exploding for a 6-1 victory. Lewiston won the series four games to one, earning their first playoff series win since 2007. The win was achieved in front of 1,828 fans.

Lewiston scored first in the opening period. Christophe Lalonde sent a shot on goal from the right side that was stopped by Brandon Thibeau. The rebound went to Alex Zafiris, who potted his second tally of the series. The MAINEiacs controlled most of the first period, but with 57 seconds to go, the Wildcats got on the board, as Devon MacAusland deposited a drop pass from Marek Hrivik for the equalizer.

In the second period, the MAINEiacs took the lead with the man advantage. Michael Chaput rang a shot in off of the post from the left circle for his third goal of the series, before Kirill Kabanov extended the lead with a wrist shot from the slot. Lewiston finished the series 5-for-22 on the power play, while also going 25-for-28 on the penalty kill.

Lewiston continued to have success in the third period, finding the twine three more times. Matt Bissonnette extended the lead to three, capitalizing on a turnover in the slot. Stefan Fournier netted the fifth goal for the MAINEiacs, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with Ian Saab. Finally, the icing on the win was provided by Bryce Milson, who redirected Olivier Dame-Malka's point shot into the back of the cage, giving the contest a 6-1 final score.

Nicholas Champion earned the win, making 30 saves on 31 shots. The Lewiston backstop went 4-1 in the series, stopping 132 of the 142 shots he faced. Brandon Thibeau suffered the loss for Moncton, allowing six goals on 31 shots.

The MAINEiacs will now face the Montreal Junior in the second round of the playoffs, starting on Friday night at Verdun Auditorium. Lewiston's first home game of the series will take place on Tuesday night (April 12th) at 7:00.

--MAINEIACS COMMUNICATIONS--

Mancari and Gragnani named First-team AHL All-Stars

Portland Pirates forward Mark Mancari and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani were two of six players announced today by the American Hockey League as members of the 2010-11 AHL All-Star First Team as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.

Mancari has again put up offensive numbers that rank amongst the AHL leaders, ranking tied for third in goals (32), and eighth in overall points (64) in 56 games for Portland. The London, Ontario native has been on recall to Buffalo since March 10th and has earned six points on a goal and five assists in 15 games with the Sabres. Another Pirates player currently on recall to Buffalo, Gragnani has had a record-breaking season for Portland. In 63 games, the veteran defenseman leads the AHL in points by a defenseman (60) and assists (48). Gragnani’s 60 points and 48 assists are both Portland Pirates franchise records for a defenseman. The 24-year-old Montreal, Quebec native has skated in four games for Buffalo this season, while earning his first career NHL point on an assist against the New York Rangers on March 30th.

Rounding out the First Team are Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Brad Thiessen, Houston defenseman Maxim Noreau, Oklahoma City left wing Alex Giroux, and Binghamton center Corey Locke.

Players named to the 2010-11 AHL All-Star Second Team include Hamilton goaltender Curtis Sanford, Binghamton defenseman Andre Benoit, Manchester defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov, Hamilton left wing Nigel Dawes, Hershey center Keith Aucoin, and Chicago Wolves right wing Darren Haydar.

--Pirates Communications--