Pirates Renew VIP Cup Rivalry with Monarchs

Pirates (15-16-1-7, 38 points) at Monarchs (27-12-2-4, 60 Points), 7:00 PM EST
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.

Pirates Look to Take VIP Cup Advantage vs. Monarch

Pirates (7-9-1-2, 17 points) vs. Monarchs (15-5-1-3, 34 Points), 7:00 PM

Lewiston, Maine – The Pirates will look to snap their 4 game losing streak and take a 2-1 series lead in the VIP Cup Series when they face the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday night. Puck drop is at 7 PM as the Pirates and Monarchs meet at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee for the third time this season.

The Pirates dropped an 8-2 decision to the Worcester Sharks last night in Worcester. Gilbert Brule extended his goal scoring streak to 5 games, tying him with Luke Adam and Reid Boucher for the longest goal scoring streak in the AHL this season, but Worcester scored 5 straight goals to open the game. Both Mark Visentin and Mike Lee allowed 4 goals on the night. Matt Neito tied a Sharks record with 5 points on the night for Worcester, while Brendan Shinnimin had the second Pirates goal.

Manchester also dropped their game on Friday night, a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Providence Bruins. Matt Fraser had a hat trick for the Bruins as the Monarchs allowed 5 goals in the third period. Jean-Francois Berube took the loss for the Monarchs, allowing 7 goals on 33 shots.

The Pirates tied the VIP Cup series in their last meeting with Manchester, a 4-1 win on November 15th at the Colisee. Gilbert Brule, Randy Jones, Tobias Rieder, and Chris Summers supplied the scoring for the Pirates while Mark Visentin made 24 saves for the victory. Brule’s goal was the third game of his current 5 game goal scoring streak.

The VIP Cup Series is currently tied at one game apiece. The Pirates have hosted all three VIP Cup games so far this season, with Manchester hosting their first game on December 20th. The Pirates are 2-1 all time in VIP Cup games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

KeyBank Key to the Game

Zone Defense: The Pirates need to support their goaltenders with strong defense and shot blocking. Pirates opponents have outshot the Pirates in each of their last 4 games, so shot blocking and strong defense will go a long way towards ending the Pirates’ four game skid.

Throughout the month of December, the Pirates will be collecting donations of non-perishable and canned food at all home games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. Pirates fans who donate will receive 2 tickets to an upcoming January Pirates game, based on availability. All food will be donated to the Good Shepherd Food Bank.

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. Tickets are available by calling the Colisee Box Office at (207) 783-2009 or online at thecolisee.com.