Pirates Come Back to Blast Admirals in Shootout

Norfolk, VA – The Portland Pirates came back from a 3 goal deficit to force overtime and Ethan Werek tallied the game winner in the shootout to give the Pirates a 4-3 shootout victory over the Norfolk Admirals at the Norfolk Scope. Brandon McMillan and Andy Miele scored in the last 3:04 of regulation to force the overtime period and keep the Pirates now 7 game point streak alive.

The Admirals wasted little time before opening the scoring. Chris Wagner tallied the first Admirals goal just 32 seconds into the contest, beating Pirates starter Mike Lee. Just 1:16 later, Charles Sarault beats Lee to double the Norfolk lead at 2:18, chasing Lee after he had only faced two shots. Mark Visentin came in in relief and was greeted by Dave Steckel, who scored on the breakaway to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead at the 8 minute mark. Despite the Pirates outshooting the Admirals 10-7, Norfolk held the 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Pirates would close the gap in the second. Lucas Lessio struck for his third goal of the season 8:13 into the second to bring the Pirates within 2. Jordan Martinook and Chris Summers had the assists for the Pirates. The Pirates posted 12 shots on goal in the second to the Admirals 7, but the Admirals maintained their 3-1 lead after two periods.

The Pirates comeback waited until the last minutes of regulation. Former Admiral Brandon McMillan scored with 3:04 left, his third goal of the year from Chris Brown and Andy Miele to close the gap. With Visentin pulled and an extra attacker on, Andy Miele would tie the game for the Pirates, scoring his 6th goal of the year with 1:24 left in regulation. Miele’s goal was assisted by Brandon Yip and Tobias Rieder, and sent the game into extra time for the fourth straight game.

After a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout. Both Andy Miele and Rickard Rickell scored in the first round, and both Brandon Yip and Chris Wagner scored in round 3. Ethan Werek’s fourth round goal would prove to be the difference maker, as Mark Visentin shut the door on Antoine Laganiere and Max Sauve in rounds 4 and 5 to give the Pirates the come from behind victory.

Visentin earns the win in relief to improve to 6-4-1 on the year, stopping 13 shots in relief of Mike Lee. The victory improves the Pirates to 2-1-2 overall in extra time this season, and extends their point streak to 7 games. Brandon McMillan’s goal extended his point streak to 5 games, while Tobias Rieder’s assist extended his point streak to 3 games.

The Pirates get back to action for the final game of their 4 game road swing when they face the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday at the XL Center in Hartford. Puck drops at 7 PM and the game can be heard on the Pirates flagship stations WPEI 95.5/95.9 FM as well as WEZR AM 1240 in the Lewiston/Auburn area and WTME AM 780/1450 in Oxford County. The game can also be heard online at portlandpirates.com by clicking “Listen Live” and can be seen live on AHL Live at ahllive.com. The pregame show starts at 6:40 with Jeff Mannix.