PORTLAND – Dennis McCauley spent four seasons playing at Northeastern University to develop his skills as a hockey player.
A 6-foot-3, 225-pound left wing, McCauley is a physical presence.
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“I could have gone a different route and fought my way through juniors,” he said. “But I wanted to go to college and be a two-way player.”
McCauley, who has already been in 10 fights this season, used his deftness with his stick, not his fists, Saturday night to propel the Portland Pirates past the Manchester Monarchs, the AHL’s Atlantic Division leader.
McCauley scored his second goal of the game with two minutes left to lift the Pirates to a 4-3 win before 4,597 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
The victory moved the Pirates to within three points of the Monarchs. Portland, which remained in a tie with the Connecticut Whale for second place in the division, holds three games in hand on Manchester.
“That was a heck of a hockey game,” Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said. “That was a good team out there, and we had to work for every inch we got.”
McCauley scored his second winning goal at the end of an extended shift.
“We got pinned in a little longer than we expected,” McCauley said. “When they went for a line change, I stayed on, and (T.J.) Brennan made a great pass. Before I knew it, I was in by myself. It’s a great thrill to get the game-winning goal.”
It was the third consecutive win for the Pirates, who skated one player short because of an injury to the left elbow of defenseman Tim Conboy.
The Pirates held a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period.
A little more than a minute into the game, the Monarchs’ Bud Holloway scored his 10th goal of the season on a blast from the top of the left circle after Justin Azevedo won a faceoff.
Less than two minutes later, rookie right wing Maxime Legault finished a break with Derek Whitmore to tie the score.
Manchester regained the lead two minutes later when Azevedo scored his 11th goal on a shot from the left circle following Holloway’s feed from the slot.
Again Portland responded quickly, as McCauley stuck his seventh goal under the crossbar after weaving through three defenders.
With 1:46 left in the period, Legault scored his eighth goal on a shot from the right circle.
“It was a pretty entertaining first five minutes of hockey with (the two teams) going back and forth,” Dineen said.
During the second period, the game became more of a grind-it-out affair. Portland killed off three Manchester power plays, including a 38-second segment when the Monarchs played with a two-man advantage.
“I like the physical tone we set,” Dineen said. “We played good clean, hard hockey. But when you start getting punched in the head after a hard hit, I think you’re frustration level rises. We lost our composure a little bit in the second period, but that stems from me.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
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