The Portland Pirates played well Friday night, but just not quite well enough to win.

Rookie David Pastrnak, fresh from a five-game stint in the NHL, scored with 29 seconds left in overtime to lift the Providence Bruins to a 3-2 win at the Cross Insurance Arena.

It was the seventh consecutive loss for the Pirates.

“It’s the best game we’ve played in the last two or three games, and we’re going to try to build off that,” Portland Coach Ray Edwards said. “We competed hard.”

Portland held a 16-5 edge in shots during the first period, but Providence held a 27-15 edge the rest of the game.

“We gave up too many chances in the third (period), but we competed much harder tonight and did a lot of good things tonight versus the last couple of games,” Edwards said.

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Pastrnak, an 18-year-old right wing from the Czech Republic, got the winner on a two-on-none break while the teams were skating three-on-three.

In the AHL’s new overtime, each team starts the seven-minute extra session with four skaters, and one is removed from the ice from each team on the first whistle following the four-minute mark.

“It’s a whole different way of thinking,” Edwards said. “We shot from the point, the puck got blocked and they beat us up the ice.”

It was the first time this season the Pirates had played in a three-on-three situation.

“You always teach your guys when the puck’s at the point, get to the net,” Edwards said. “Well if the puck gets blocked, the two guys who are around the net usually get beat back up the ice.”

The score was tied 1-1 after the first period.

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Providence center Alexander Khokhlachev opened the scoring 10 minutes into the game when he finished a three-on-two rush for his seventh goal.

A little more than a minute later, Portland’s Lucas Lessio tipped in the rebound of his own shot to knot the score.

The Pirates took a 2-1 lead on a power play 12 minutes into the second period when Jordan Martinook redirected defenseman Andrew Campbell’s slapper for his fifth goal. With less than three minutes left in the period, Providence got the equalizer when Matt Lindblad’s wide-angle shot from the left corner eluded goalie Mike McKenna.

NOTES: Portland LW Eric Selleck chalked up two victories in second-period fights against Chris Casto and Tyler Randell. His eight fighting majors take over the team lead from Mark Louis, who did not play … Defenseman Steve Eminger, who spent two seasons with Portland after Washington made him the 12th overall pick in 2002, was in Providence’s starting lineup. … Announced attendance: 2,650.


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