Pirates sail to seventh straight

Felix Schutz and Mark Mancari each potted a goal, and Tim Kennedy added two assists as Portland won their seventh straight, 5-2 over Providence. The goal gives Mancari points in all seven wins, while Nathan Gerbe had an assist to raise his point streak to five games. Adam Dennis made 27 stops to get the win. The Rundown: Mancari: 1G, +2 Schutz: 1G, +1 Kennedy: 2A, +2 Kostka: 1A, +2 Gerbe: 1A, +1 Zagrapan: 1A, +1 Gragnani: 1A Butler: +2 Funk: +2 Card: even Whitmore: -1 Weber: 4 PIM Dennis: 27 saves

Gerbe, Pirates continue to cruise

In Friday AHL action, Nathan Gerbe scored two goals and added an assist as the Portland Pirates beat the Albany River Rats, 6-3. The BC product now has 12 goals in as many games, good for second in the league. Marek Zagrapan and Mark Mancari (shortie) also added a goal and an assist each for the Pirates, while Derek Whitmore scored his first of the year in the win. With another two points, Mancari maintained his spot at the top of the AHL points leader board with 23 on the season. Jhonas Enroth made 27 saves for his sixth straight win. The Rundown: Gerbe: 2A, 1A, 6 SOG, +3 Zagrapan: 1G, 1A, +3 Mancari: 1G, 1A, 6 SOG, +1 Whitmore: 1G, +2 Kennedy: 1A, 5 SOG Kostka: 1A, +2 Gragnani: 1A, +3 Schutz: 1A, +1 Weber: +3 Card: +2 Funk: -1 Butler: -1 Enroth: 27 saves, W

Pirates stay hot in win over Phantoms

Mark Mancari continued his scoring tear with a goal and three assists, and Tim Kennedy got back on the sheet with a goal and an assist of his own as Portland defeated Philadelphia, 5-3. The victory makes it five in a row for the Pirates, as Mancari jumps into the AHL point lead with 22 (9+13) through 11 games. With the Pirates taking five straight, Jhonas Enroth made 16 saves to earn his fifth straight win. The Swedish rookie is now 5-1, with a 2.67 goals against average and a save percentage of .912. Mancari: 1G, 3A, +3 Kennedy: 1G, 1A, +2 Gragnani: 1A Gerbe: 1A Card: +2 Funk: +1 Kostka: +1 Weber: +1, 6 PIM Zagrapan: 2 SOG Schutz: even Butler: even Whitmore: even Enroth: 16 saves, W The Pirates will return to action on Friday when they host the Albany River Rats in Lewiston.

11/5 Recap: On Pommer-like pace, Gerbe nets hatty

Nathan Gerbe scored an empty net goal in the final seconds to notch his first professional hat trick as Portland defeated Worcester, 5-3. Gerbe, who also added an assist, raised his goal total to 10 on the season including a league leading six on the power play. The blazing winger pounced on a Tim Kennedy rebound in the first period to score his eighth goal of the season. He later scored the unassisted game winner in third when he intercepted a cross-ice pass and buried the partial breakaway before topping the game off with :14 to play. Gerbe's early season ten-spot has him cruising at the same pace that Jason Pominville, then 23 in his fourth AHL season, was producing in 2005 before earning a call-up to Buffalo. Now a solid NHL performer, Pominville scored 19 goals in 18 games with Rochester before a J.P. Dumont abdominal injury forced the call-up. The 21-year old Gerbe is currently on pace to pot 20 goals in the same frame as a rookie. Mark Mancari tallied two goals and an assist in the win, while Kennedy added three helpers to extend his season-long point streak to nine games. Marc-Andre Gragnani skated as a forward due to a Colin Murphy injury scratch. Jhonas Enroth made 27 saves to earn his third consecutive win. The Rundown: Gerbe: 3G, 1A, 6 SOG Mancari: 2G, 1A, +2 Kennedy: 3A, +1 Gragnani: 1A Schutz: even Zagrapan: 1 SOG Card: even Butler: +1 Weber: 4 PIM Kostka: 1 SOG Whitmore: even Enroth: 27 saves, W ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In Wednesday QMJHL action, Jordon Southorn was +1 with three hits in PEI's 6-2 loss to Saint John. Luke Adam and T.J. Brennan were held pointless in Montreal's 1-0 shutout of Val-d'Or. Jean-Simon Allard was -1 in Quebec's 3-2 win over Rimouski.

Kennedy adds to streak; Mancari on pace to place

Tim Kennedy and Mark Mancari continued their hot hands with three-point nights, and Felix Schutz added a goal and an assist as Portland defeated Norfolk, 5-3. Jhonas Enroth was again excellent in the Pirates pipes, making 35 saves to earn the back-to-back road wins over the Admirals. Mancari upped his season points total to 14, and now sits in second place on the AHL leaderboard behind Hershey's Keith Aucoin (18). Nathan Gerbe was -3 in the win, and saw his five-game goal scoring streak snapped along the way. With a goal and two assists, Kennedy has now pointed in all eight games for a total of 12 this season. He had point streaks of eight and seven games last season at Michigan State, and will look to post his longest run since leaving the USHL on Wednesday at Worcester. The Rundown: Kennedy: 1 G, 2 A, +2, 4 SOG Schutz: 1 G, 1 A, +2 Mancari: 1 G, 2 A, +4, 6 SOG Kostka: 1 A, +1 Weber: 1 A, +1, 4 PIM Butler: 1 SOG, 4 PIM Gragnani: -2 Gerbe: 4 SOG, -3 Whitmore: 1 SOG Zagrapan: -2 Card: -1 Enroth: 35 saves, W

Enroth dismisses Admirals

Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy continued their scoring binge with a goal each, and Felix Schutz knocked him home his first of the year as Portland defeated Norfolk, 4-0. Jhonas Enroth made 29 saves on the road to earn the first shutout of his contract. Gerbe's goal gives him seven in as many games, including five in his last four. Meanwhile Kennedy's marker puts him on a seven-game scoring streak heading into tomorrow's rematch with the Admirals. The Rundown: Enroth: 29 saves, SO Schutz: 1 G, +2 Kennedy: 1 G, +1 Gerbe: 1 G, +1 Mancari: 1 A +1 Gragnani: 1 A, +1 Butler: +3 Kostka: +1 Zagrapan: +1 Card: even Weber: even Whitmore: even

10/29 Recap: Gerbe, Kennedy keep firing

Playing catch-up... In a mid-week AHL tilt, Nathan Gerbe scored on the power play and Tim Kennedy added another assist as Portland dropped a 3-2 decision to Hartford. Gerbe's goal was his sixth in as many games, while Kennedy now has a point all six. Chris Butler, Marek Zagrapan, and Mike Kostka also posted assists in the loss. The Rundown: Gerbe: 1 G, 4 SOG Kennedy: 1 A, -1 Zagrapan: 1 A, -2, 4 PIM Kostka: 1 A, -1 Butler: 1 A, 3 SOG Schutz: 2 SOG Gragnani: -1 Mancari: -1 Whitmore: -1 Card: -2 Dennis: 20 saves, L It was also announced this week that Dylan Hunter will be out four-six weeks after taking a puck in the foot during Sunday's win. Mike Funk (concussion) has started skating with the team, but is expected to be held back until next week. Also on Wednesday, Tyler Myers skated to a +2 as Kelowna cruised to a 7-2 win over Seattle. In the Q, Jacob Lagacé (+2, 5 SOG) scored an empty-netter as Chicoutimi topped Rimouski, 5-2.

Zagrapan, Gerbe pace Pirates

Down on the farm, Marek Zagrapan and Nathan Gerbe each potted a pair of goals as the Pirates extended their record to 4-1 with a 5-4 win over Wilkes Barre-Scranton. The goals were the first points of the season for Zagrapan, who also had an assist on the night, while Gerbe now has five in as many games. Marc-Andre Gragnani scored the first Pirates goal. Mark Mancari added three assists, while Jhonas Enroth made 33 stops to notch his first AHL win. Tim Kennedy racked up another assist, giving him points in all five games this season. The Rundown: Zagrapan: 2 G, 1 A, +1 Gerbe: 2 G, +2, 6 SOG Mancari: 3 A, +2 Gragnani: 1 G, +1 Card: 1 A, +1 Schutz: 1 A, +1 Kennedy: 1 A, -1 Weber: +2, 4 PIM Kostka: +1 Whitmore: 4 SOG Butler: -2 Hunter: left game (foot) Enroth: 33 saves, W

10/24 Recap: Orpik pots winner

In an ESPNU featured contest, Andrew Orpik (+1) scored what turned out to be the game winning goal for Boston College in their 3-2 win over Vermont. With BC up 2-1 late in the third, Orpik took the puck all the way down the right side from his own end and lifted a sharp wrister over Mike Spillane's shoulder to put the Eagles ahead by two. West Seneca, NY native Brian Roloff would score in the final minute to close the gap for UVM. In the end Orpik was excellent, hitting at even strength while helping control things down low on the power play to earn the game's #2 star. 2007 seventh-rounder Drew MacKenzie was -1 for the Cats. In NCAA exhibition play, shot machine Alex Biega fired six at the Trois-Rivieres net in Harvard's 3-1 win. Corey Tropp (mono) sat out as Michigan State skated to a 2-2 tie with Northern Michigan. In the DEL, Philip Gogulla potted the first Sharks goal then assisted on the game winner as Cologne keeps their momentum going with a 3-2 win over Kassel. The victory gives the Sharks their first two-game win streak of the season. In WHL action, Tyler Myers had two assists in Kelowna's 6-0 shellacking of Chilliwack. The Rockets shutout was the second straight against the Bruins after a 5-0 win on Wednesday. Myers now has a goal and five assists this season. Jacob Lagacé (+2, 2 PIM) had a goal and an assist to earn the game's #2 star in Chicoutimi's 7-1 win over Halifax. The win snaps a four-game skid for the Sags. J.S. Allard (-2) went pointless for the third straight game as a rusty Quebec team fell to Drummondville, 5-2. The Remparts, who played for the first time in eight days, lost just their second game of the season. Paul Byron (+1) had an assist while winning 13 of 17 draws for Gatineau in their 3-2 loss to Montreal. T.J. Brennan (1 SOG) and Luke Adam (2 SOG) were held scoreless but were otherwise effective for the Juniors. Adam was taken down by Byron with 1:06 left in the third, but his penalty shot was stopped by Maxime Clermont. Jordon Southorn was +1 in PEI's 5-2 win over Val-d'Or. Rocket 'tender Bobby Nadeau made 44 saves to earn the victory. Nick Crawford was -1 in Saginaw's 3-2 win over Erie. The Spirit (16 pts) sit in a distant second place in the OHL's Western Division behind CHL's top-ranked Windsor (26 pts). Drew Schiestel (2 PIM) was +1 as Niagara put forth a better effort than Thursday, but still came up short in a 4-3 loss to Mississauga. The Hamilton native was credited with breaking up a 2-1 break in the second period while skating without a point for the third time this season. In the AHL, Portland overcame a poor start to defeat Bridgeport, 4-3. Trailing 2-0 after one, the Pirates got their junk together in the final 40:00 with goals by Nathan Gerbe, Chris Butler, and Mark Mancari to set-up Tyler Bouck's game winner late. Adam Dennis made 33 saves for the win, while Tim Kennedy extended his point streak to four games with an assist on Gerbe's goal. The Rundown: Gerbe: 1 G, 5 SOG Mancari: 1 G, +1, 2 PIM Butler: 1 G, +1 Hunter: 2 A, +2 Kennedy: 1 A, +1 Gragnani: 1 A, +1, 4 PIM Whitmore: 1 A, +2 Kostka: +2 Weber: +2, 9 PIM Zagrapan: -1 Card: 4 PIM Schutz: even