Stunned. Surprised. Shocked.
Those are the only adjectives to describe effectively how the Portland Pirates felt after the final seconds of regulation ticked off Friday evening against the Hershey Bears.
With the game tied and seemingly headed for overtime, Connor Carrick scored a shorthanded goal with 14.8 seconds left in regulation to lift Hershey past the Pirates, 3-2, before 8,164 at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA.
The Pirates, (7-7-0-0) who saw their four-game winning streak snapped, had a glorious opportunity get two points against an Atlantic Division rival just ahead of them in the standings.
With 2:17 remaining in regulation, Mike Moore was given a four-minute double minor for high-sticking after he clipped Shane Harper in the face, drawing blood.
The Pirates failed to set anything up in the offensive zone, and with Moore’s first penalty expired, it appeared that both sides would take one point and settle it in overtime.
Carrick threw a fluttering shot from the right point that hit the skate of Pirates’ defenseman Cameron Gaunce and changed direction, beating goaltender Mike McKenna for the game-winning goal.
“(Carrick) knew it was coming down to the end of the period and our power play guys totally backed off,” said Pirates’ coach Tom Rowe. “I don’t understand why that happened because we should have been pressuring the puck to get it back.”
Portland finished 0-for-7 on the power play that included two extended four-minute power plays. The power play has been a glaring issue for the Pirates over the past 10 games, going 3-for-41 (7.3 percent) over that span.
“Our power play stunk to be quite honest with you,” said Rowe. “We’ve got guys trying to do too much and making plays that aren’t there and holding onto the puck way too much. We may go with 11 forwards tomorrow. We’ve got to send a couple of these guys a message. Frankly, I’m tired of watching it. We’ve got guys sitting out that don’t necessarily deserve to be sitting out. We may go with seven (defensemen) tomorrow and wake a couple guys up.”
The first period started strong for Portland as they staked a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Logan Shaw raced down the left wing and beat forward Chandler Stephenson around the outside before cutting toward the net and snapping a shot to the short side of Bears’ goaltender Justin Peters at 12:36 of the first period for Shaw’s sixth goal of the season.
“He’s an NHL-ready player now,” said Rowe. “He’s spent a lot of time down here, and he’s played the game the right way, shows up to practice the right way every day. It’s just a matter of time for that opportunity comes along.”
Hershey took control of the game in the second period, but only managed to score once in the period due to the outstanding play of McKenna, who finished with 29 saves. McKenna was forced to make several saves in the period including stopping a two-on-one and getting some help from the crossbar on Carter Camper.
The lone goal to beat McKenna came with three seconds left on a delay of game penalty to Brett Regner. Chris Bourque, falling to his knees, whipped a shot across the front of the crease that deflected Gaunce into the net for a power-play goal at the 8:06 mark of the second period to tie the game, 1-1.
“We played a very good first period. We played it exactly the way we talk about playing and then we totally came of that game in the second and third,” said Rowe. “We got what we deserved. Mike McKenna stood on his head and gave us a chance to win. That’s all you can ask of any goaltender.”
Hershey and Portland traded goals early in the third period, scoring only 31 seconds apart.
Ryan Stanton won the battle along the left sidewall and dished the puck to Dustin Gazley, parked inside the right faceoff circle for a quick wrist shot past McKenna at 2:41 of the period.
At 3:12, before the public address announcer could finish announcing the goal, Dylan Olsen threw a shot on goal, beating a screened Justin Peters to even the game, 2-2.
Peters finished with 22 saves.
Portland won’t have time to let this game stew. Both teams will meet again Saturday night at 7:00 pm to complete a two-game set.
NOTES: Pirates’ rookie Kyle Rau was out with an injury that he sustained Wednesday in Syracuse. He’s listed day-to-day…. The AHL announced a new format to the All-Star Classic in January. The league will adopt a format similar to the NHL, playing a tournament style game that will consist of four divisional teams splitting a nine-minute period in half between four-on-four and three-on-three with the top teams meeting for a three-on-three six-minute period for the championship.
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