Right wing Chris Blight had an idea his stay with the Portland Pirates would be brief.

“I brought only one change of clothes,” said Blight, who was called up Tuesday from the Reading Royals of the ECHL, then played for the Pirates in their 3-2 shootout victory at the Cumberland County Civic Center that night against the Hershey Bears, the two-time defending Calder Cup champs.

Blight plugged one of the holes in the lineup after center Luke Adam and right wing Mark Parrish were called up to play that night for the Buffalo Sabres against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When Adam, Parrish and Mark Mancari, the Pirates’ leading scorer who was called up Saturday, were returned to the Pirates on Wednesday morning, Blight became expendable. He departed Wednesday on an 11:30 a.m. flight to Philadelphia.

For Blight, it was fun while it lasted.

“I’ve seen (the Pirates) a few times this year. I played against them a few times so I knew they had a really good team,” said Blight, who has played for seven AHL teams for brief periods during his six-year pro career.

“It’s fun to play with them. They’re a fast team and it’s good to beat Hershey. I played for them a few weeks ago.”

Portland Coach Kevin Dineen had no problems with the way Blight performed. With the return of Parrish, Adam and Mancari from their NHL call- ups, there simply was no room for him on the roster.

“He made some nice plays during the course of the game,” Dineen said.

“I like the idea he’s a high-end, plus-player. He’s got a decent body and a depth of experience. This isn’t all new to him. I’m happy with his game.”

Blight was the ninth player Dineen has brought up this season from the ECHL to fill holes in the lineup.

“I like to look for the guys who are on the top teams in the league because they’re coming from a winning atmosphere,” Dineen said. “I think it’s important that I know how they’re coached, and I like what Larry Couville does in Reading.”

Blight, who has played in 52 AHL games since graduating from Clarkson University in 2005, doesn’t mind serving as a short-term solution to a roster problem.

“You don’t have a choice,” he said. “When you don’t have an AHL deal, and you’re an (ECHL) player, you’re a free agent and you can go anywhere you want. You’ve kind of got to take the opportunities when they come up because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Blight, who has played for four AHL teams this season, has become particularly adept in plugging himself in.

“The systems are all pretty close but they’re all tweaked a little bit,” he said. “I’m fine after I get here, and (the coaches) show me what to do. I have trouble when I go back to Reading and they’ve changed stuff when I’ve been gone. They’re always tinkering with (the system), but the coaches are good about letting you know about it, and it’s up to you to be focused.”

MARTIN GENDRON will be inducted as the 14th member of the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame March 26 when the team plays the Charlotte Checkers at the Civic Center.

A right wing, Gendron racked up 74 goals and 61 assists in just 120 games during his two seasons.

He holds or shares team records for career hat tricks (5), power-play goals in a season (15) and goals in a game (4).

FORMER PIRATE Trent Whitfield was named the AHL Player of the Week after scoring four goals and registering three assists to help the Providence Bruins collect a pair of home wins.

Whitfield, 33, spent seven seasons with Portland when it was affiliated with the Washington Capitals.

Mark Parrish, a right wing who scored two goals and had seven assists to lead Portland to three wins last week, also was nominated for the weekly award.

THE FIRST 5,000 fans entering the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night to watch the Pirates play Providence will receive a Pirates poster courtesy of The Portland Press Herald.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com