Gerbe pots pair in Pirate loss

Nathan Gerbe scored a pair of goals, and Derek Whitmore added his fifth of the year as Portland stumbled against Lowell, 7-3. The goals give Gerbe a team-leading 17 on the year. With Adam Dennis done for the season (hip), Jhonas Enroth stopped 33 of 40 shots in his 12th consecutive start. Mike Card played his first game in nearly two months after missing time due to his third concussion in two seasons. The Rundown: Gerbe: 2G, +1, 6 SOG Whitmore: 1G, -1 Gragnani: 1A, +2, 5 SOG Zagrapan: 1A, 4 SOG Hunter: 1A, -1 Kostka: 1 SOG Card: -1 Kennedy: -1 Mancari: -1 Schutz: -2 Enroth: 33 saves, L

Zagrapan stays hot as Pirates fall to Devils

Marek Zagrapan potted a pair of goals to lead Portland in their 3-2 loss to Lowell. Nathan Gerbe, who was named a Planet USA starter for the AHL All-Star Game earlier in the day, assisted on both Zagrapan goals. Zagrapan raised his goal total to 10 on the year after seeing his seven game point streak snapped last week. Jhonas Enroth made his 11th straight start for the Pirates, stopping 36 shots in the loss. The Rundown: Zagrapan: 2G Gerbe: 2A Kennedy: 5 SOG Mancari: 1 SOG Gragnani: -1 Schutz: 2 SOG Kostka: 2 SOG Weber: 1 SOG Hunter: -2 Whitmore: -1 Enroth: 36 saves, L

Grags and Zags show up in loss

Marc-Andre Gragnani scored a goal and assist and Marek Zagrapan had a goal as Portland lost to Worcester, 3-2. The pair were the only Pirates in the "plus" column (+1). While on a two-man advantage, Gragnani whistled a shot past Taylor Dakers to tie the game 1-1 with less than a minute to go in the second period. Zagrapan scored his eighth of the year when he entered the zone, skated through a hit, then deked the goalie before slipping the puck into the open goal. The Rundown: Gragnani: 1G, 1A, +1 Zagrapan: 1G, +1 Mancari: 1A Kennedy: 2 SOG Hunter: -2, 2 PIM Kostka: 4 SOG Whitmore: 1 SOG Schutz: 1 SOG Weber: 1 SOG Enroth: 31 saves, L

Pirates open up a can on Worcester

Portland erupted for a Sunday touchdown in their 7-1 drubbing of Worcester in the front end of a home-and-home with the Sharks. Dylan Hunter had a goal and two assists for the Pirates, while Jhonas Enroth made 32 saves to earn his 11th win of the season. Derek Whitmore chipped in with two assists, while Marek Zagrapan, Felix Schutz, and Marc-Andre Gragnani all registered single helpers in the win. Tim Kennedy did not make it back to Portland in time after being returned by Buffalo earlier in the day. The Rundown: Hunter: 1G, 2A, +4 Whitmore: 2A, +3 Zagrapan: 1A, +1 Schutz: 1A Gragnani: 1A, +1 Weber: +2 Kostka: 2 SOG Mancari: +1, 4 SOG Enroth: 32 saves, W

Mancari, Zagrapan score as Pirates come up short

Mark Mancari and Marek Zagrapan scored for Portland in their 3-2 loss to Manchester. The goals brought the Pirates back after trailing 2-0, but the Monarchs secured the W with a Scott Parse tally with less than 4:00 to play. Portland was playing without Tim Kennedy, Chris Butler, and Nathan Gerbe (IR) who are all up with Buffalo. Mancari pounded a one-timer while on a 5-3 advantage with help from Felix Schutz and Marc-Andre Gragnani before executing a nice give-and-go with Zagrapan for the other Portland goal. Jhonas Enroth made 29 saves to move to 10-5-2 on the year. The Rundown: Mancari: 1G, 1A, 3 SOG Zagrapan: 1G, -1, 4 SOG Schutz: 1A Gragnani: 1A, -1, 3 SOG Kostka: -1 Whitmore: 3 SOG Weber: -2 Hunter: -1 Enroth: 29 saves

12/21-23 Recap: Buravchikov scores; Enroth with big night

Holiday catch-up. Vjacheslav Buravchikov scored a goal for Kazan in their 6-1 trouncing of Spartak Moscow on Tuesday. The goal was Buravchikov's second of the season and his sixth point to go along with a +1 in 29 games for the KHL's third place club. Kazan will wrap up their two-game Moscow swing with a Christmas day game with CSKA. In Tuesday DEL play, Philip Gogulla had three shots on goal in Cologne's 4-3 loss to Hamburg. Two of his best chances came midway through the third when Cologne started applying some late-game heat. Former Sabre Andy Delmore scored the overtime winner for the Freezers. On Sunday, Gogulla (2PIM) had two shots on goal in their 3-2 OT loss to Ingolstadt. Also on Sunday, the Pirates earned their first back-to-back wins since their eight-game winning streak ended on November 19th with a 3-2 victory over Worcester. Jhonas Enroth lead the charge with a season-high 41 saves, while Marek Zagrapan scored his third game-winning goal of the season. Mark Mancari added a pair of helpers for Portland to hit the 30 point plateau on the season. With Chris Butler earning praise from the Sabres coaching staff while on recall, Mike Weber finshed +3 while getting an assist for his third point in the last eight games. The Rundown: Zagrapan: GWG, +3, 4 SOG Mancari: 2A, +2 Kennedy: 1A, +2, 3 SOG Hunter: 1A Weber: 1A, +3, 2 PIM Schutz: +1 Gragnani: -1 Kostka: -1 Whitmore: 1 SOG Enroth: 41 saves, W

Pirates double up Providence

Dylan Hunter scored his first goal of the season and added an assist as Portland defeated Providence, 4-2. Marek Zagrapan added two assists on plays where he simply threw the puck towards the net for his third multi-point game of the season, while Derek Whitmore scored his fourth goal and dropped the gloves in the win. Felix Schutz had an assist for his first point in four games. Mark Mancari (-1) had a game-high nine shots on goal, but did not score. After a ten-game point streak that wrapped around his NHL call-up, the Pirates leading scorer has just one assist in his last five games. Portland's second leading scorer, Tim Kennedy, has no points in the same five-game stretch. Jhonas Enroth had to make just 18 saves to earn his ninth win of the season. The Rundown: Hunter: 1G, 1A, +2 Whitmore: 1G, +1, 3 SOG Zagrapan: 2A Schutz: 1A, +1 Weber: +2 Kennedy: 2 SOG Mancari: -1, 9 SOG Gragnani: even Kostka: -1 Enroth: 18 saves, W

Pirates drop third in a row

Portland ended a disappointing week with their third straight loss, 3-1 at Albany. Mike Kostka opened scoring with a power play goal, his third of the year, when his point shot was deflected at 5:41 of the first period. Marc-Andre Gragnani drew an assist on the play. Jhonas Enroth gave up two goals on 23 shots in the loss. The Rundown: Kostka: 1G Gragnani: 1A Butler: 5 SOG Kennedy: -1, 4 SOG Schutz: 2 SOG Mancari: 2 SOG Zagrapan: 1 SOG Weber: -1, 4 PIM Hunter: 2 PIM Whitmore: even Enroth: 21 Saves, L

Pirates lose to Baby Pens

Portland stumbled out of the gate, giving up three first period goals in a 5-1 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Mark Mancari and Chris Butler assisted on Mathieu Darche's third period tally, but at that point the paint was already drying on the Pirates' second consecutive loss. Jhonas Enroth made 20 saves, dropping his record to 8-3-2. The Rundown: Butler: 1A, -2 Mancari: 1A, -2 Schutz: even Gragnani: -1 Kostka: -1 Kennedy: -2 Hunter: 1 SOG Weber: 5-for-fighting Whitmore: -1 Zagrapan: -1