Nic Dowd scored his second goal of the game 3:28 into overtime Friday night to lift the Manchester Monarchs to a 4-3 win over the Portland Pirates before a crowd of 3,486 at Cross Insurance Arena.
Moments after the teams began skating three-on-three, Dowd took the puck away from defenseman Dylan Reese near the left boards and used a backhander to beat goalie Mike McKenna for his seventh goal of the season.
The Monarchs, owners of the American Hockey League’s best record, won for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Despite the disappointing ending, Portland Coach Ray Edwards remained upbeat.
“If we keep on playing like that, we’ll be all right,” he said.
Portland got one point for the overtime loss and remained in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Providence and Hartford and two ahead of the Springfield Falcons, who hosts the Pirates on Saturday night. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.
The Pirates have eight games remaining – three more than Springfield.
“We can’t ask anybody for help,” Edwards said. “We’ve got to do it ourselves.”
The Pirates played Manchester dead even. Both teams took 32 shots.
The Monarchs, who are 7-2-0-1 against the Pirates this season, held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.
Portland opened the scoring less than seven minutes into the game when Brendan Shinnimin lifted the puck inside the left post for a short-handed goal.
Manchester answered just nine seconds later, however, as Jordan Weal got his 19th goal of the season on a shot from the slot.
Dowd put the Monarchs ahead at 13:41, sending a rebound past McKenna’s glove.
The Pirates scored two power-play goals in the second period to take a 3-2 lead.
Midway through the period, Shinnimin put in a backhander while moving through the slot for his 20th goal. Rookie defenseman Patrick McNeil, who has eight assists in his last four games, set up the score with a centering pass from the right circle.
Less than three minutes later, rookie defenseman Philip Samuelsson put in a slap shot from center point for his fifth goal.
Justin Auger made it 3-3 with less than eight minutes remaining in the regulation. Auger skated across the slot unchecked and slipped a backhander under McKenna’s pads for his 12th goal.
NOTES: Friday’s referee was Evgeny Romasko, who became the first Russian-born referee to officiate an NHL game last month. Romasko, a former Kontinental Hockey League defenseman, is one of 10 referees who work both NHL and AHL games. … Former NHL tough guy Paul Bissonette, who had an assist on Dowd’s goal, suited up for his 41st game with the Monarchs since he was released by the Pirates in early December. … Portland left wing Lucas Lessio and defenseman Dylan Reese, who each had an assist, joined Shinnimin in extending their scoring streaks to four games.
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