Lewiston, Maine - The Pirates will host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the 19th annual New Year’s Eve game tonight at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Puck drops at 5:30 PM for the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Pirates will host the largest indoor fireworks display in the state of Maine following the contest presented by Pyrotecnico Special Effects and Lasers.
The Pirates dropped a 4-1 decision to the Albany Devils on Saturday in their final road game of 2013. Andy Miele continued his hot streak with the lone Pirates goal, but it was not enough as the Devils scored 3 straight goals in the second period to take the lead. The AHL’s top goaltender Keith Kinkaid picked up the win for Albany. Despite taking a number of penalties, the Pirates penalty kill was a perfect 8 for 8 on the day.
Bridgeport’s last game was also against Albany, a 3-2 shootout win against the Devils on Sunday. The Sound Tigers were down 2-0 before former University of Maine captain Joe Diamond and Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored to tie the game up. The game concluded with a 9 round shootout, which was won by Philip-Michael Devos in the bottom of 9th shootout frame.
This is the first of four meetings between the Pirates and Sound Tigers this season after the two teams met 6 times last year. The Pirates won the first 5 matchups of the season last year, before dropping the final contest of the regular season on 4/21 in Bridgeport. Chris Brown, who was recalled to Phoenix yesterday, scored 4 goals and added 2 assists against Bridgeport last season while goaltender Mark Visentin was a perfect 4-0 in his matchups against the Sound Tigers.
KeyBank Key to the Game
Sound Off: The Sound Tigers are known for being an aggressive team, so the Pirates will need to play disciplined hockey and keep themselves from making undisciplined errors. The Pirates’ will also have to rely on their tough guys in Mark Louis, Keven Veilleux, and Darian Dziurzynski in order to make sure Bridgeport’s enforcers don’t get involved in the game.
Fans who arrive early at tonight’s game will receive noisemakers and other New Year’s party favors. Following the game, the largest indoor fireworks display in Maine will take place on the ice, presented by Pyrotecnico Special Effects and Lasers. The fireworks display will start approximately 10-15 minutes after the end of the game. Also, Pirates fans who bring a canned or non-perishable food item to the game will receive a pair of tickets to an upcoming January Pirates game.
Tonight’s 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 5:10 with Jeff Mannix. Tickets are available by calling (207) 783-2009 or online at thecolisee.com.
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