Manchester, New Hampshire - The Pirates are back on the road Saturday night as they face the Manchester Monarchs in Manchester. Puck drop is set for 7 PM for game 6 of the VIP Cup Series, presented by VIP Tires & Service. Manchester leads the series 3-2.
The Pirates dropped a 4-3 decision in the shootout last night to Bridgeport. Brandon Gormley scored twice for the Pirates, with Tobias Rieder adding a tally for the Pirates. However, Bridgeport tied the game with under 20 seconds to go, forcing the 8th shootout game at the Colisee this season. Despite a shootout goal from Brett Hextall, Bridgeport got goals in the third and fourth rounds of the shootout to seal the victory. The loss extended the Pirates winless streak to 5 games, including 4 straight at home. A bright spot for the Pirates was the power play, which was responsible for all three Pirates goals.
Manchester defeated the Worcester Sharks 2-1 last night in Manchester. Brian O’Neill and Zach O’Brien scored for the Monarchs, while Jean-Francois Berube made32 saves for the Monarchs. Only 6 penalties were called during the game, with the Manchester penalty kill going 1-4 on the night. Manchester’s win extended their Eastern Conference lead to 12 points over the Providence Bruins.
The Pirates and Monarchs last faced each other in Manchester on Boxing Day, December 26, a 4-1 victory for the Pirates. Lucas Lessio scored twice and added an assist, with Andy Miele and Brendan Shinnimin supplying the additional offense as the Pirates rallied from a 1-0 deficit. Louis Domingue made 34 saves for the win and picked up his first career assist on Lessio’s only goal. The Pirates win narrowed the VIP Cup Series game to 3-2, breaking Manchester’s two game winning streak in the series long contest, presented by VIP Tires & Service. For more information and to vote for the VIP Player of the Series, visit www.vip-cup.com.
KeyBank Key to the Game
Press the Advantage: the Pirates scored three power play goals last night while the Monarchs allowed one. While the Pirates are ranked 15th in the AHL in power play with a 17.5% success rate and the Monarch’s penalty kill is ranked 14th (82.5%), the Pirates should look to exploit last night’s penalty killing lapse and press their power play advantage.
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 6:40 with Jeff Mannix Follow all the action on the Pirates official Facebook page and Twitter account (@PortlandPirates) with the hashtag #PiratesAway.
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