PORTLAND — The Portland Pirates began a crucial seven-game homestand with a solid performance as they beat the Connecticut Whale 4-2 Wednesday night.
“This seven-game stretch is going to be huge,” said veteran center Alexandre Bolduc, who made his first appearance for Portland after missing the first 39 games because offseason shoulder surgery. “We have a team that can get on a roll. We can’t take these home games for granted, and we have to take advantage.”
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It was the third win in four games for the Pirates, who trail third-place Manchester by a point in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. It was the seventh consecutive loss for the Whale, the Northeast Division leader.
“We’ve got to get going on a little bit of a roll here,” said Bolduc, who had an assist on a second-period goal by Ryan Duncan. “We can’t keep on winning one and losing one. You’re not going to get up in the standings playing that way.”
Bolduc wasn’t the only new player plugged into the lineup. Center Cal O’Reilly, who was sent to Portland by the parent Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday, also played his first game.
“I thought it was a smart, safe game by (O’Reilly),” Portland Coach Ray Edwards said. “He’s obviously a calm presence out there, a lot of poise, and he’s a big reason why we had the puck so much.”
The Pirates (19-16-2-3) opened the scoring less than six minutes into the game on the flukiest goal of the season.
Connecticut goalie Chad Johnson put the puck in his own goal while retrieving rookie defenseman Mathieu Brodeur’s clear from the Portland end of the ice.
Portland was in the process of killing off a double-minor penalty to Bolduc for butt-ending when Johnson, who was pressured by rookie right wing Jordan Szwarz mishandled the puck.
“I was just trying to get the puck out of the end, and (Szwarz) put some pressure on the goalie,” Brodeur said. “I didn’t even see it go in. I was already back on the bench. (Szwarz) went all out and hit the goalie’s stick, and he felt the pressure and put it in his own net.”
With less than 10 minutes left in the first period, the Pirates took a 2-0 lead when Brock Trotter got his stick on a rebound and put a backhander into the left side for his 12th goal of the season.
Ryan Duncan made it 3-0 nine minutes into the second period when he finished a rush with a shot from the right circle for his ninth goal.
The Pirates took a 4-0 lead eight minutes into the third period when defenseman Tyler Eckford scored his fourth goal on a shot from the right dot early in a power play.
The Whale (19-15-2-4) got goals from Erik Christensen and Scott Tanski during the final nine minutes of the game.
“It was a great effort tonight. We held onto the puck,” goalie Justin Pogge said. “If we can play like that every night, we’ll have a lot of chances to win hockey games.”
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:
pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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