Dec. 29 Portland, ME....Providence Takes 4-3 Shootout Win from Portland Pirates
HEY PEEBS FANS! Your local media stopped covering your games? MLN Sports is interested in seeing how many of you miss your game-to-game coverage. Below is a sample of what Dan Hickling can offer Bruins fans. If you think that you'd like to see this quality game coverage online, email me and let me know! Thanks! - ed.
By DAN HICKLING
MAJORBLOGS.net
PORTLAND, Maine -- Is there any test too stiff for the Providence Bruins to pass?
You wouldn’t know it by the way they rallied, Saturday, to pull out a 4-3 shootout win over the Portland Pirates.
Down twice by two goals, the Peebs fought back and eventually tied the contest on Jeff Hoggan’s shorthander with 8:21 to go in regulation.
“It builds team character, wins like these,” said Peebs captain Nate Thompson. “When you’re down two goals and can find a way to come back. This one was huge tonight, and everyone made it happen.”
Perhaps the biggest contributor was Hoggan, whose tally set the stage for the 4-1 shootout success, which he clinched himself by pocketing the deciding shot.
“Close the eyes and shoot,” said Hoggan. “That’s my move, eh. Don’t tell anybody, though.”
Hoggan was named the third star, but could have easily been named “le premiere etoile”.
“He’s the type of guy,” said Providence coach Scott Gordon, “(who) just wins battles. He competes hard. You look at his career and you probably don’t expect him to be in a shootout. But he’s got a knack for scoring goals on breakaways. He’s got speed, and he doesn’t complicate it.”
The Peebs found themselves in a bind after Portland scored twice in the opening 7:50.
Jason King netted his 11th for the Pirates at 5:09, ripping his low shot from the top of the right circle into the far side past Providence net minder Tuukka Rask.
Rookie defenseman Brendan Mikkelson followed with his third goal of the season on a slapper from the left point.
“Obviously we were at a huge disadvantage,” said Gordon. “Playing three games in three nights on the road. But like I told the guys after the game, ‘as lousy as you felt coming into this game, you found a way to get it done.”
The Peebs began their climb back at 14:54 with a tally by Pascal Pelletier, the AHL’s leading goal getter (with 21).
Taking Jonathan Sigalet’s feed low in the left circle, Pelletier surprised Portland goalie Gerald Coleman with a tight angled wrister that snuck inside the far post.
Geoff Platt restored Portland’s two goal lead, 47 seconds into the second period.
Byron Bitz made it a one goal game again, though, at 13:37 when he managed to jam the puck past the left skate of Coleman.
Hoggan earned the first assist by pressing the puck against the net long enough for Bitz to pick it up. He stepped up big again, shortly after the Peebs had failed to take cash in a five minute power play , with a shorthander, his 13th goal of the season.
Standing near the right post, he took Pelletier’s cross-crease feed and shoveled it into the open right side, to make it 3-3.
The standoff persisted through overtime, before all four Peeb shooters --David Krejci (now 6-for-6 in shootouts, 15-for-19 lifetime), Brett Skinner, Matt Hendricks, and Hoggan -- all converted.
“We were losing,” said Krejci, “but we never quit. We did our job, and then we won the game.”
EMPTY NETTERS: The Peebs lost high scoring winger T.J. Trevelyan at 5:03 of the third, when he suffered an undisclosed injury after colliding with Platt. Replacing Trevelyan on a line with Bitz and Hoggan was Wacey Rabbit. “I don’t even know what happened,“ said Gordon. “I just talked with the trainer (Mike Poirier) and he told me he was out.“ …With defenseman Dwayne Zinger hobbled by nagging injuries, Gordon was forced to skate with just five blue liners. “There’s no way he could play tonight,” said Gordon. “He’ll play on Monday (in Springfield).”…Gordon also indicated that injured rookie defenseman Adam McQuaid, out the last two weeks, should be ready to go in a week.”
It’s the sort of looseness that can only accompany winning. When team captain Nate Thompson threaded a 40-footer under the crossbar during the pre-game skate, the feat prompted a chorus of “whoops” and “whistles” from his mates. “We have a blast together,” said Thompson. “We’re tight knit. We have fun in practice and we have fun off the ice. If we’re hootin’ and hollerin’ that means the boys are ready to go.”
On hand to get his first look of the season at the Peebs was Kevin McDonald, an assistant GM for the St. Louis Blues, who also runs the Bluenotes’ AHL team in Peoria. McDonald was excited the job being done in Peoria by assistant coach Davis Payne, the former P-Bruin, who completed a successful stint as bench boss in Alaska (ECHL) “We got to know him,” said McDonald, “and we actually created a coaching position just for him. We didn’t interview anybody else. We pride ourselves in developing everybody, whether it’s an equipment man, a trainer, or coaches. We try to hire the best people, then give them a chance to grow.”. Payne was succeeded in Alaska by his protégé Keith McCambridge, who once captained the Peebs.
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Dan Hickling
in Hockey, Anaheim Ducks, Portland Pirates, American Hockey League
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