St. John’s, Newfoundland – Marc-Antoine Pouliot had a three-point night on a goal and two assists, while Brett MacLean and Brett Sterling chipped in a goal and an assist each to lead the Portland Pirates (33-30-4-5, 75 points, 9th Eastern Conference) to a 5-1 victory over the St. John’s IceCaps (41-22-5-3, 90 points, 2nd Eastern Conference) in front of a sellout crowd of 6,287 at Mile One Centre. Justin Pogge made 26 saves in net for Portland and added an assist.
For the second night in a row, the IceCaps jumped on the board quickly. Garth Murray scored the first goal of the night just five minutes into the game. His third goal of the season was assisted by John Albert and Arturs Kulda.
But, Portland would tie the game when Pouliot took advantage of a turnover to score his ninth goal of the season with an assist from Sterling at 9:41. It was the second night in a row that Pouliot opened the scoring for the Pirates.
Portland took their first lead in the two-game midweek series when David Rundblad blasted a slapshot from the of the left circle past St. John’s starting goalie Chris Corrozzi for his seventh goal of the season. The power play goal was assisted by Tyler Eckford and Andy Miele at 16:30.
The Pirates then jumped ahead by two with a shorthanded goal from Matt Watkins at 18:27 of the first period. It came on the breakaway after Pogge cleared the puck to Watkins, who was behind the IceCaps defense. Pogge picked up the lone assist on Watkins’ 10th goal of the year.
Portland scored the only goal of the second period as Pouliot fired a backhand shot that was going wide, but hit Sterling in the hip and deflected past Corrozzi at 8:17. The goal was Sterling’s 29th of the season, and was also assisted by MacLean, who extended his point streak five games with the helper.
MacLean extended the lead to four when he banged in the rebound of a Pouliot shot that hit the post. The goal at 4:56 of the third period was MacLean;s 24th this season.
The win improved Pogge to 14-13-4 on the season. Corrozzi made 26 saves in the defeat. His record is now 1-1-0. Portland went 1-for-2 on the power play, while St. John’s was 0-for-3.
The Fairway Mortgage Three Stars of the Game were all from Portland: 1. Pouliot; 2. Sterling; 3. MacLean.
The Pirates will return to the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Sharks. The Pirates will welcome their 4 millionth fan in franchise history! Northeast Delta Dental will also give the first 1,500 fans through the turnstiles a limited edition Pirates tote bag. The night will also be another Bud Light Saturday Hockey Night in Portland, and the Pirates will be celebrating a Night of Champions, presented by Mercy Hospital. Come help the Pirates recognize local winter sports high school champions! These student athletes will participate in the ceremonial puck drop, receive both in-seat and videoboard recognition throughout the game, see their championship trophy displayed in the concourse, and have the opportunity to be featured a live in-game radio interview. Don’t miss out on the fun!
Portland Pirates 20th Anniversary Season Tickets are now on sale! You can secure your seats for as low as $50! Season tickets include plenty of great incentives! To find out more, call the Pirates Tickets Office at 828-4665, EXT 350 today!
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