PORTLAND – Wednesday’s game at the Cumberland County Civic Center wasn’t a playoff game, but it sure looked like one.
In a grinder of a game, the Portland Pirates pulled out a 2-1 win against the Connecticut Whale to move into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
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“To be honest, I don’t think we played our best game, (but) we found a way (to get) a much-needed two points,” said defenseman Nathan Oystrick, who assisted on both of Portland’s goals. “We were sloppy early with the pucks and made some mistakes, but we found a way to do it, and at this time of year that is what really matters.”
The Pirates moved into eighth place in the conference, two points ahead of the Manchester Monarchs, who have played one fewer game.
The Pirates have two games remaining — Friday at home against Hershey and Sunday at Providence.
Portland (79 points) is also one point behind the seventh-place Syracuse Crunch.
The Providence Bruins (75) and Adirondack Phantoms (76) also remain in the race.
“Obviously, it’s in the back of our minds we’re watching what Manchester is doing, what Adirondack was doing, Providence is doing, but from here on we have to win. It’s simple as that,” Oystrick said. “We have to get two points in the next two games to give ourselves the best chance. Whatever those other teams do, they do. We’ll do everything in our power to put ourselves in the best position.”
Albany, Worcester and Springfield were eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night.
Ashton Rome opened the scoring six minutes into the game when he tipped Oystrick’s shot from the left point past goalie Cam Talbot for his 11th goal. The goal came moments after Talbot stopped Andy Miele on Portland’s first shot of the game.
Portland moved into a 2-0 lead 12 minutes into the second period when Marc-Antoine Pouliot flipped his 11th goal into the left side while the Pirates had a two-man advantage.
“It wasn’t a well-executed game, but I like the way we hung in there,” Portland Coach Ray Edwards said.
“The power play got us a goal. The penalty kill did a nice job, and (goalie Peter Mannino) did a nice job.”
Mannino, who had 34 saves, came very close to posting the Pirates’ first shutout of the season. His bid ended when rookie Marek Hrivik jammed the puck past him for his first professional goal with less than three minutes left.
“I don’t care about the shutout, right now,” said Mannino, who has played in 13 games since joining the Pirates March 8. “I’m just happy we got the win. We’re still in the picture.”
NOTES: The parent Phoenix Coyotes assigned former University of Michigan forward Chris Brown to the Pirates. Brown, 21, was the Coyotes’ second-round pick of the 2009 NHL entry draft
The Pirates went 5-1-1-1 against the Whale this season, winning all four games at the Civic Center. …
NHL Hall of Famer Ray Bourque was at the game to watch his son, Ryan, play for the Whale.
Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at pbetit@pressherald.com
Twitter: PaulBetitPPH
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