Less is More: Lessio Powers Pirates Past Monarchs

Manchester, NH – Lucas Lessio scored twice and added an assist as the Pirates defeated the Manchester Monarchs 4-1 on Thursday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester. The win cuts the Monarchs’ lead in the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service, to 4-2.

Hunter Bishop opened the games’ scoring for the Monarchs, as his shot bounced off the skate of a Pirates defender and past Louis Domingue at 3:31 of the first to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. However, Lucas Lessio would level the game at 1 in his return to the lineup with a power play tally at 17:22 of the period. Lessio’s goal was his 6th of the season and was assisted by Randy Jones.

After a scoreless second that was highlighted by a successful Pirates penalty kill, the Pirates offense came alive. Lessio got his second power play goal of the night at 12:42 of the third to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead, with Jones and Domingue picking up the assists. 2 minutes later, Lessio fed Brendan Shinnimin in front of the net for Shinnimin’s 5th goal of the year to extend the lead to 3-1, and giving Lessio a 3 point night. With 1:40 left in regulation, JF Berube went to the bench for the Monarchs for the extra attacker and the Pirates would take advantage, with Andy Miele scoring with 1:33 left in the game to extend the lead to 4-1 and adding to his team lead in goals with 12.

Louis Domingue picks up his first career AHL win against a team other than the Providence Bruins, stopping 34 shots for his 3rd win of the season. He has yet to lose a game in regulation in his AHL career. The Pirates improve to 12-10-1-4 on the year and narrow the gap in the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service, to 4-2. Visit www.vip-cup.com to vote for the player of the series and get the latest news, scores, and updates about the series.

The Pirates will see their next action December 28th in Albany as they face the Devils for the second and final time on the road this season. Puck drop on Saturday will be 5:00 PM from the Times Union Center. 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 4:40 with Jeff Mannix.