PORTLAND – The Portland Pirates are getting good at missing chances.

The Pirates pounded the Manchester Monarchs with shot after shot Saturday night, but it didn’t matter.

They pinged shots off the post and sent them directly into Manchester goaltender Martin Jones’ glove as the Monarchs picked up a 5-2 win at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Portland outshot Manchester 42-17, but the Monarchs made their shots count.

Justin Azevedo scored four goals and had an assist for the Monarchs.

“Obviously, it’s pretty frustrating to take that many shots and not get more goals,” Portland’s Evan Bloodoff said. “We played hard tonight, we just have to keep working together to get opportunities.”

It was certainly a missed opportunity for the Pirates in the Eastern Conference standings.

Manchester (31-28-0-3) moved up to seventh place with the win.

The Pirates (27-27-3-3) saw their playoff hopes slip further away, as their second loss in as many nights dropped them to 13th in the conference. They are four points out of a playoff spot with 16 games remaining — 10 on the road.

“We’re giving away points now in the standings,” Portland Coach Ray Edwards said.

The Pirates can thank Jones for that slide.

Jones made 40 saves to stymie a Pirates offense that seemed to be doing everything it wanted — other than score.

Portland trailed 3-1 entering the third period, but Azevedo quickly ended any hopes of a rally. He scored 33 seconds into the third to make it 4-1, then pinged in a shot off the crossbar to make it 5-1 with 6:39 left.

Bloodoff scored the only way possible against Jones. After Jones was flat on his back following a save, Bloodoff flung a shot over him to make 5-2 with 3:14 remaining.

Portland goalie Justin Pogge was less effective. Though he stopped a pair of point-blank chances, he also let in five goals on 17 shots.

Manchester took just seven shots in the first period but scored three times for a 3-1 lead.

“They were very opportunistic, obviously,” Edwards said. “Our guys never quit, which is a good trait with our group. They kept working hard and taking shots.”

Taking shots hasn’t been a problem lately. Scoring enough to win has been, though.

They also took 42 shots Friday night in a 6-4 loss to Worcester. They play host to Providence at 4 p.m. today and need the puck to go into the back of the net if they’re going to make progress in the AHL standings.

“We’re getting down to the final games here,” Bloodoff said. “We knew this weekend was big, but it’s a quick turnaround for tomorrow’s game. We just have to turn over and get ready.”

NOTES: Brad Church was inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame during the intermission after the first period. Church played with the Pirates from 1996 to 2002 and lives in Cumberland. He is the 16th member of the Pirates’ Hall.

 

Copy the Story Link