Maine Hockey Journal

Parise Too Hot for Pirates

Lowell, MA – The Portland Pirates are in their final weekend of the regular season. They are also in a position they’d rather not be in as they won’t be heading to the playoffs, but with three games remaining, the Pirates are still playing for pride.

Despite getting a solid effort from Pirates goaltender Gerald Coleman, the Lowell Devils received a better performance from their young netminder Jordan Parise as he stopped 21 shots, backstopping the Devils to a 2-0 win before a crowd of 3,206 at Tsongas Arena on Friday night.

“Our goalie sure had a good game, he was ready and willing and wanted to add a W to his column before the season wraps up,” said Pirates Coach Kevin Dineen.

The Pirates playing without several regulars in the line up gave Pirates Head Coach Kevin Dineen a spirited performance, but a couple of critical turnovers led to all the offence the Devils would need.

“It’s the same story about goals allowed that turnovers are our biggest enemies,” said Dineen. There’s some execution issues that we’d like to see [us] bear down and have a strong finish.

Both teams skated to a scoreless first period, but not without having a couple of quality scoring opportunities to get on the board.

With Devils forward David Clarkson in the box in for charging, Mike Pandolfo would come close to striking first as he fired a shot on goal which beat Coleman, but clanged off the iron.

The Pirates would get a shorthanded chance of their own when Drew Miller was serving two minutes for hooking late in the period. Tim Brent had a partial breakaway, but couldn’t stuff it by Parise as he kept the puck out of the net.

Hitting the post was a common thing on this night as newcomer Pierre-Luc O’Brien fired a slapshot, ringing it off the crossbar in the second period.

At 10:12, Grant Marshall won the battle in the corner sending a cross-ice pass to Chris Minard, who snapped a shot through the five-hole of Coleman, giving the Devils a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates had a brilliant power play chance as they had a five-on-three for an extended period as the Devils were whistled for three penalties in span of 1:38. During that period, the Pirates could only manage five shots on goal as the Devils clogged the shooting lanes.

At 2:12 of the third period, Dave Clarkson gave the Devils a cushion as he connected on Petr Varna stretch pass from deep in the defensive zone. Clarkson was hauled down in the crease as the puck crossed the line, giving the Devils a 2-0, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“They came out and they hit and they had the real advantage in the penalties,” said Dineen. “That’s just the nature of our last little stretch here that we’re going see that a lot.
There will be a lot of bias against us and we’ll just have to deal with that and try to create some things on even strength.”

Plank Notes:
– The Pirates will finish there season with a weekend home stand against the Devils and Wolf Pack. They will face the Devils on Saturday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Game Time is 7:05pm

Three Stars of the Game:
1. LOW – Jordan Parise (21SH/21SV)
2. LOW – Chris Minard (1G, +1, GWG)
3. LOW – David Clarkson (1G, +1)

Shots on Goal:
POR 5-10-6=21
LOW 12-13-12=37

Goals by Period:
POR 0-0-0=0
LOW 0-1-1=2

Goaltending Summary:
POR: Gerald Coleman (5-6-0) 37 Shots/ 35 Saves
LOW Jordan Praise (17-11-2) 21 Shots/ 21 Saves

Power Play Summary:
Portland Pirates PP – 0-for-4
Lowell Devils PP – 0-for-6

Scoring Summary:
2. LOW Minard, (31) (Marshall, Pihlman), 10:12
3. LOW Clarkson, (19) (Vrana, Murphy), 2:12

Penalty Summary:
1 – POR Ferguson, 3:56 – Interference , 2 min (PP)
1 – LOW Clarkson, 8:46 – Charging , 2 min (PP)
1 – POR Miller, 16:03 – Hooking , 2 min (PP)
1 – POR Motzko, 17:58 – Tripping , 2 min (PP)
2 – POR Bembridge, 10:34 – Hooking , 2 min (PP)
2 – LOW Murphy, 10:47 – Interference , 2 min (PP)
2 – LOW Harant, 12:06 – Closing hand on puck , 2 min (PP)
2 – LOW McGillis, 12:25 – Hooking , 2 min (PP)
3 – POR O’Brien, 4:32 – Hooking , 2 min (PP)
3 – POR Ferguson, 16:10 – Major – Boarding , 5 min (PP)

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