Pirates Wrap Road Trip against Wolf Pack

Hartford, CT – The Portland Pirates will finish their 4 game road swing tonight when they travel to Hartford to face the Wolf Pack. Puck drop is set for 7 PM for the third meeting between the Pirates and Wolf Pack this season, and the second in Hartford.

The Pirates are coming off a 3 point weekend in Norfolk, defeating the Admirals in a shootout 4-3 on Saturday. Andy Miele and Brandon McMillan scored with less than 4 minutes left in regulation to erase a 3 goal deficit and Ethan Werek scored the decisive goal in the shootout for the victory. The game was the 4th straight Pirates game to go beyond regulation and the 7th straight game that the Pirates earned at least a point. Mark Visentin got the win for the Pirate, stopping 13 of 14 shots in relief of Mike Lee.

Hartford’s last game was Saturday, a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Springfield Falcons and former Pirates goaltender Mike McKenna. The loss was the second straight shutout suffered by the Wolf Pack, who also fell 3-0 to Albany last Wednesday. The Wolf Pack have only had 39 shots on goal in their last two games, and currently sit in 10th in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the Pirates.

Key Bank Key to the Game

Firing Lanes: With the Wolf Pack offense struggling, the Pirates need to prevent them from gaining any momentum and block as many shots as possible. Look for the Pirates defensemen, especially Mathieu Brodeur and James Melindy, two of the largest Pirates defensemen, to play an important role in shutting down the Wolf Pack offense.

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 with the hashtag #PiratesAway.

Sea Dogs take the opener in Trenton 4-2

Portland now four games out of a playoff spot
Trenton, New Jersey - The Portland Sea Dogs (63-67) began their eight-game roadtrip on an high note, defeating the Trenton Thunder (67-63) 4-2 on Thursday night at Arm & Hammer Park.  Portland now trails the Thunder by four games for the second playoff spot in the Eastern Division, but have eight more games with the Thunder.

SS Deven Marrero had the game-winning RBI, blooping a run-scoring scoring in the sixth to give the Sea Dogs a 3-2 lead. In the ninth, the 'Dogs added their fourth run on a wild pitch, scoring J.C. Linares.

Trenton tied the game in the fourth inning, but Pete Ruiz (3-3), who relieved Henry Owens minimized the damage.  Jose Gil drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing Owens out of the game.  Vazquez picked off Carmen Angelini at third base, Reegie Corona struck out and Mason Williams lined out to end the inning.  Ruiz pitched 3.1 hitless innings on one walk and three strikeouts.

LHP Rafael Perez notched his fifth save of the season, pitching 2.2 scoreless on two hits, two walks and four strikeouts.   In the ninth, Gil and Reegie Corona singled, but Perez retired the final three batters.

Owens had a tough outing, issuing a career-high seven walks on two hits, two runs and three strikeouts over 3+ innings.

LHP Nik Turley (9-8) took the loss for Trenton, yielding three runs on seven hits over 5.2 IP.

Trenton scored in their first at-bat, taking advantage of two passed balls by Christian Vazquez.  Owens walked two in the inning, but Ramon Flores scored the first run of the game on a passed ball with two outs.  Portland tied the game in the second inning on a leadoff homer by 3B Michael Almanzar, his 14th of the season.

In the third inning, Garin Cecchini was hit by a pitch and took second on a balk.  Linares followed with a run-scoring single, giving Portland a 2-1 advantage.

Portland has won four of their last five, and improved to 8-5 against Trenton this season.  The Sea Dogs had 10 walks, left 14 runners on base, but Trenton went 0-for-9 with runners-in-scoring position.

Prime Motor Group Player of the Game: Pete Ruiz

The Sea Dogs and Trenton Thunder (Yankees affiliate) play game two of their series tonight at Arm & Hammer Park.  RHP Matt Barnes (5-9, 4.50) takes on RHP Scottie Allen (1-0, 0.73).

Radio coverage begins at 6:45 PM on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network and seadogs.com powered by the Tune-In Radio app. Portland's final homestand begins on August 30th versus the Trenton Thunder (Yankees affiliate). Tickets are available by calling 207-879-9500 or at seadogs.com.