Maine Hockey Journal

Pirates win third straight

PORTLAND – Perseverance paid off for the Portland Pirates when it counted most Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena.

In a game where the Pirates trailed for nearly 58 minutes and had to overcome a one-goal deficit on three occasions, Portland found a way to persevere and get the go-ahead goal, collecting two valuable points in the Atlantic Division standings with their third consecutive victory with a 4-3 win over the Springfield Falcons.

“It was absolutely a game of perseverance,” said Pirates head coach Scott Allen. “It was a tough start for us because the exact things we talked about in regards to what to look for in the game was how they beat us early on. They exposed our defensive zone, so that was certainly disappointing. I just felt if we could hang in there and keep it within one (goal) the whole way through we could continue to battle and battle. That is exactly what we did. We found a way to win.”

The Pirates (34-24-5-2) have claimed points in their last five games, and seven of their last nine games to maintain fifth place in the Atlantic Division and hold the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Hartford Wolf Pack kept pace with Portland, getting a 2-1 overtime victory against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Trailing by a goal, Portland netted the equalizer at the 6:21 mark of the third period as Wade Megan added to his league lead in shorthanded goals, recording his sixth shorthanded goal of the season as his shot from the left circle trickled past Falcons’ goalie Niklas Treutle.

Megan set a new franchise record for shorthanded goals in a season surpassing former Pirates’ captain and assistant coach Trent Whitfield, who previously set the record in the 2003-’03 season.

“Sometimes when you get going and get on a little bit of a roll and get some confidence everything goes your way. He certainly has everything going for him right now in that direction.,” said Allen.

“I’m glad he was able to (set the record) in a win.”

The Pirates would take their first lead of the game with less than two minutes left in regulation as Steven Delisle sat in the penalty box for tripping when Connor Brickley snapped a shot from the left circle past Treutle and the inside post for a power play goal.

Portland finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

Springfield opened the scoring less than five minutes into the first period as Dylan Reese snapped a shot quick shot from the right circle past Pirates’ goaltender Mike McKenna, who was down after a scramble in front of the netminder’s crease.

Chase Balisy tied the game, 1-1, just 1:30 later when he pounced on his own rebound after a two-on-one rush with defenseman Mackenzie Weegar.

Derek Smith was able to get behind the Pirates’ defense for an easy tap-in at the 12:46 mark of the first period, putting the Falcons back out front, 2-1.

The Pirates had a chance to get the tying goal while on a power play that last nearly five minutes and included two five-on-three opportunities, but Treutle stopped all five shots as Portland ended the period 0-for-3 on the power play.

“We had motion, movement and puck possession,” said Allen. “What we didn’t have was goals.”

Just 19 seconds after stepping out of the penalty box for hooking, Rob Schremp tied the game 2-2 after taking the puck on a rush down the left side wall, cutting the slot and snapping a shot by Treutle at 7:19 of the second period for his team-leading 20th goal of the season.

The Falcons took a one-goal lead at 3:25 of the third period when Greg Carey’s slap shot from the point was tipped by Stephan Fournier for his seventh of the season after winning a faceoff in the offensive zone.

McKenna finished with 35 saves to equal Martin Brochu’s franchise wins total with his 79th career victory in a Pirates uniform.

NOTES: The Pirates assigned defenseman Josh Brown to the Manchester Monarchs on Friday. Pirates’ defenseman Sena Acolatse was suspended one game by the AHL on Friday after he was called for a boarding major and handed a game misconduct Wednesday against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

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