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McKenna named AHL Player of the Week; Panthers assign Grimaldi and Olsen to Pirates

(PHOTO: Michael Mcsweeney/Portland Pirates

(PHOTO: Michael Mcsweeney/Portland Pirates)

The American Hockey League announced Monday that Portland Pirates goaltender Mike McKenna has been named CCM/AHL Player of the Week for this past week’s effort.

McKenna won all three of his starts last week and currently has a four-game win streak with the Pirates.

Last week, McKenna allowed just three goals on 80 shots, posting a 1.00 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage.

On Wednesday night vs. Springfield, McKenna made 30 saves to backstop Portland to a 5-2 win over the Falcons. On Saturday, McKenna finished with 24 saves and stopped all 17 shots he faced in the final two periods to preserve a 2-1 Pirates win at Bridgeport. And in Sunday’s rematch with the Sound Tigers, McKenna turned aside 23 shots for his first shutout of the season to lead Portland to a 3-0 victory.

McKenna has appeared in 19 games for Portland this season and has a record of 10-7-1 with a 2.56 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage and one shutout.

With Sunday’s shutout, McKenna has taken over sole possession of second place among all-time franchise shutout leaders with 11 shutouts. He trails Maxime Ouellet, who has 17 shutouts in a Pirates uniform, for the all-time lead.

Originally drafted by Nashville in 2002, McKenna is in his 11th professional season in 2015-16 and has played 351 career American Hockey League games, posting a record of 169-138-21, a 2.72 GAA, a .912 save percentage and 23 shutouts. The native of St. Louis, Mo., has also made 22 career appearances in the NHL with Tampa Bay, New Jersey, Columbus, and Arizona.

Petrovic activated from Injured Reserve:

Portland Pirates regular season contest against the Springfield Falcons at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine on 12/9/2015. (PHOTO: Michael McSweeney/Portland Pirates)

Portland Pirates regular season contest against the Springfield Falcons at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine on 12/9/2015. (PHOTO: Michael McSweeney/Portland Pirates)


The Florida Panthers activated defenseman Alex Petrovic from injured reserve.

The 23-year old Petrovic has recorded three assists in 21 games with Florida this season. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 4. Petrovic has played in 67 career games, all with Florida (2012-15), recording seven assists.

Petrovic was originally drafted by Florida in the second round (36th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft.

Derek MacKenzie has also been deemed healthy and ready to return to the Panthers lineup.

To make room on the NHL roster, the Panthers assigned forward Rocco Grimaldi and defenseman Dylan Olsen to the Pirates, the Panthers AHL affiliate. Also, the Pirates assigned defenseman Josh Brown to the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL.

Grimaldi, a 5-foot-6, 160-pound forward rejoins the Pirates after a four-game stint with Florida in which he notched an assist. Overall, in 14 games with the Panthers this season, Grimaldi has one goal and one assist for two points.

The 22-year-old second-year pro has played 13 games for Portland this season, where he has scored four goals and five assists for nine points.

Olsen, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound defenseman, played five games on his most recent call-up to Florida, picking up an assist.

In eight games with the Panthers this season, the 24-year-old sixth-year pro has one assist and one point.

With the Pirates this season, Olsen has a goal and an assist for two points in 10 games.

Grimaldi and Olsen will join the Pirates in time for their game against the Providence Bruins at Cross Insurance Arena tomorrow night.

Brown, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenseman made his AHL debut with the Pirates Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport.

Before that, he played 27 games for Manchester this season, notching a goal and five assists for six points.

Selected in the Sixth Round (152nd Overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers, Brown captained the Oshawa Generals to the OHL’s J. Ross Robertson Cup and the Memorial Cup titles last season. He played four major junior seasons with Oshawa before turning pro.

Brown will join the Monarchs for their next game on Saturday, December 26 when they visit Adirondack to play the Thunder.

The Panthers recalled forward David Bolland from his conditioning assignment with the Pirates on Monday. Bolland appeared in two games with the Pirates, recording one assist.

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