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| Nathan Gerbe scored two goals for the Pirates in the loss |
Portland, ME - On Friday night, the Lowell Devils used seven different goal scorers en route to a 7-3 win over the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The Pirates return to action at home on Saturday against the Springfield Falcons at 7:00pm.
In the first period, the Pirates found the back of the net early when Derek Whitmore stuffed a centering pass into the back of the cage to give Portland the 1-0 lead just less than three minutes into the game. Keith Johnson and Dylan Hunter picked up the helpers on Whitmore’s 5th tally of the season.
Lowell responded quickly at the 4:12 mark when Petr Vrana took a pass from behind the Portland net and beat Jhonas Enroth low to the glove side to tie the game 1-1. Steven Gionta and Nicklas Bergfors picked up the assists on Vrana’s 4th goal of the season.
The Devils took their first lead of the game 8:19 into the opening frame on a goal by Vladimir Zharkov. Jon DiSalvatore took the puck into the zone, and attempted to use a Pirates defenseman as a screen. Enroth made the initial save, but the rebound ended up on the Zharkov’s stick and he buried the puck to the back of the net to give Lowell a 2-1 lead.
In the second period, the Devils added to their lead at the 2:54 mark when Pierre-Luc LeBlonde netted his first goal of the season on a cross crease pass from Patrick Davis.
Shortly after Lowell took a 3-1 lead, Pirates goalie Jhonas Enroth was pulled in favor of Ray Jean. Jean was making his first ever appearance in the AHL. Jean was greeted by the Devils with a screen shot by Matthew Spiller that beat Jean to his glove side to give Lowell a 4-1 lead.
Enroth then returned to the crease after the fourth Devils’ goal.
Later in the period, Lowell extended their lead when Rod Pelly picked up a loose puck in the slot, and fired past Enroth. The goal was Pelley’s 6th of the season and the Devils earned a 5-1 lead.
The Pirates rallied late in the second frame when Nathan Gerbe took a break out pass from Marc-Andre Gragnani, broke in alone, and beat Frazee low to the stick side.
To open the third period the Pirates broke into the zone and dumped behind the net, the puck popped back out front where Nathan Gerbe banged the loose puck into the open net to cut the lead to 5-3. The goal was Gerbe’s second goal of the night and his team-leading 17th goal of the season.
Just 18 seconds later Brad Mills knocked in a loose puck to increase the Devils lead back to three goals.
Later in the period, Michael Swift scored on a breakaway to make the final score 7-3.
Pirates goalie Jhonas Enroth made his 12th straight start. Enroth stopped 33 of 40 shots he faced while Devils goalie Jeff Frazee turned aside 39 of 42 shots to pick up the win.
Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Matthew Spiller (LOW) 2. Michael Swift (LOW) 3. Brad Mills (LOW)
Notes The Pirates matched a season-high for shots on goal with 42. Pirates goalie and Randolph, Maine native, Ray Jean replaced Jhonas Enroth in the third period for 2:18 seconds before Enroth returned. Tim Kennedy left the game in the third period and did not return. Attendance: 3,491.
The Pirates next home game is Saturday, January 10th, when the Springfield Falcons visit the Cumberland County Civic Center at 7:00. It will be Labatt Blue Light Hockey Night in Portland, so get the full night experience, including pregame Labatt drink specials at The Stadium from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will also receive Pirates rally towels, sponsored by UniFirst. The game will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable (Channel 22 in Cumberland and York Counties and on TWC where available). For channel listings in your area, visit yourtownscable.com. Sunday River will have a table in the lobby where fans can enter to win two lift tickets good until the end of the ski season (excluding holidays).
Fans can follow the Pirates on U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network or watch the game LIVE on the internet courtesy of AHL Live by clicking the icon on the left side of the home page. The U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network includes the Pirates flagship station, the Bay 1400AM and 1490AM (Portland) and affiliates WEZR 1240 AM (Lewiston-Auburn), WTME 780AM (Rumford) and WKTQ 1450AM (South Paris).