Six days after rallying in the third period to stun the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the Portland Pirates found themselves on the other side of a comeback.

The Sound Tigers scored three unanswered goals in the final nine minutes to beat the Pirates 3-1 Friday night before a crowd of 3,035 at Cross Insurance Arena.

“The tables were totally reversed here,” said Coach Tom Rowe, who saw his Pirates fail to earn a point for the first time in five games. “They kept coming and we didn’t respond very well.”

Last Saturday, the Pirates scored twice in 10 seconds of the final minute to beat Bridgeport 2-1.

On Friday, it was Portland taking a 1-0 lead into the third.

“We definitely should have won it,” Rowe said. “We’re still learning how to close teams out. We didn’t do a very good job of that.”

Taylor Beck scored twice for the Sound Tigers and Justin Vaive added the clincher with just under two minutes remaining.

The tying goal came on a power play when Beck went top shelf from the left circle on Bridgeport’s seventh power-play opportunity. Five minutes later, he waltzed in from the right corner, skated through traffic and in front of the crease to flip a backhand past Pirates goalie Sam Brittain for a 2-1 lead.

“We just let him walk out of the corner,” Rowe said. “We didn’t challenge him whatsoever. You can’t do that.”

Brittain finished with 22 saves for the Pirates (10-11-1). Chris Gibson stopped 27 shots for Bridgeport (16-9-1).

The Pirates had taken the lead on a Rocco Grimaldi goal with Portland enjoying a 5-on-3 skater advantage early in the second period. Cameron Gaunce set up the one-timer by zipping a pass from right dot to left dot and Gibson didn’t have time to react.

An apparent goal by Chase Balisy midway through the first period after a slap shot from Kyle Rau was waved off by referee Jake Brenk because the puck hit Balisy’s hand before going in.

“(Brenk) said it was a hand pass,” Rowe said. “It’s tough. He was behind the play, so I can see why he made the call that he made. But once you watch video, it just goes off his body. His hand was up here (near his armpit). It goes off his hand but he didn’t pass it.”

Portland held a 13-7 advantage in shots in the first period and 28-25 overall.

“Puck management needs to be much, much better for us to consistently be in games,” said Bridgeport Coach Brent Thompson. “I thought Portland definitely had the upper hand in that. But we found a way to win, which is the sign of a good hockey team.”

NOTES: The Florida Panthers called up defenseman Dylan Olsen on Friday afternoon on an emergency basis after placing Nick Bjugstad on injured reserve. Olsen joined the Panthers in Boston on Friday. They play the Bruins Saturday afternoon. … The Pirates will wear Star Wars jerseys Saturday night that will be auctioned off after the game to benefit Special Olympics Maine. … After starting three games in a row, Brittain (4-4) will sit Saturday night in favor of veteran Mike McKenna (6-7-1). … Each team was 1 for 7 on the power play.

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