By Brian Ring
Hartford, CT, April 23, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale were defeated by the Portland Pirates, 6-4, Saturday night, before 4,514 at the XL Center. The loss enabled the Pirates to clinch their first-round playoff series with the Whale, four games to two, knocking Connecticut out of the postseason for the second time in four seasons.
Paul Byron had three points for the Pirates, including two goals, and Mark Parrish also had three points to lead the Portland offense over the Whale.
Jeremy Williams had put the Whale on the board first with his first goal of the playoffs, as his wrist shot beat Portland goaltender David Leggio (30 saves) as he skated in from the top of the left circle. Wade Redden and John Mitchell both assisted on the goal, which came on the Whale’s first power-play, just 3:45 into the opening period.
The Whale extended their lead to 2-0 on a nearly identical play, as Dale Weise scored on the power-play in his return to the lineup after missing Game Five due to injury. Weise scored on a wrist shot from the top of the circle, with Redden earning his second assist of the night and Brodie Dupont also getting a helper.
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Portland cut the lead in half two minutes into the second period when Byron put a shot past Whale goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris (24 saves) while Chad Kolarik was serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Mark Mancari and Corey Tropp both had assists on the score.
Mark Parrish tied the game for the Pirates just over two minutes later, as he buried a Colin Stuart rebound past Grumet-Morris. Defenseman Dennis Persson also assisted on the goal, his fourth helpout of the series.
The Pirates took the short-lived lead with their third unanswered goal, as Mancari scored at 9:25. The Whale failed to clear the puck from a scrum in front of the net and it was finally pushed underneath Grumet-Morris. Luke Adam notched the primary assist on Mancari’s second goal of the series.
The Whale tied it back up 1:22 later, when Carl Hagelin deflected a bid by defenseman Tomas Kundratek past Leggio for Hagelin’s professional goal. Kundratek had received the rebound from a Chad Kolarik shot which kicked out to the point, and Kundratek’s shot ricocheted off of Hagelin and into the goal.
Portland retook the lead for good, however, with 2:52 remaining in the second, when Alex Biega ripped a shot from the high slot, beating Grumet-Morris’ catching glove. Parrish and Byron both collected their second points of the night with assists on the goal.
Byron netted his second goal of the game 10:56 into the third period, extending the Portland lead to 5-3. Parrish grabbed his third point of the night with an assist on the goal. Tropp followed up with the Pirates’ sixth goal of the night at 14:14.
Kolarik tipped a Redden shot from the point past Leggio to make it 6-4 with just 17 seconds remaining, the Whale’s final goal of the season.
The Pirates will now advance to face the Binghamton Senators in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Portland Pirates 6 at Connecticut Whale 4
Saturday, April 23, 2011 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Portland 0 4 2 – 6
Connecticut 2 1 1 – 4
1st Period-1, Connecticut, Williams 1 (Redden, Mitchell), 3:45 (PP). 2, Connecticut, Weise 2 (Redden, Dupont), 18:42 (PP). Penalties-Biega Por (hooking), 3:22; Kundratek Ct (interference), 5:24; Valentenko Ct (interference), 9:44; McCauley Por (goaltender interference), 11:05; Weise Ct (boarding), 12:15; Voakes Por (boarding), 17:38.
2nd Period-3, Portland, Byron 1 (Mancari, Tropp), 2:00 (PP). 4, Portland, Parrish 2 (Stuart, Persson), 4:05. 5, Portland, Mancari 2 (Whitmore, Adam), 9:25. 6, Connecticut, Hagelin 1 (Kundratek, Kolarik), 10:47. 7, Portland, Biega 1 (Parrish, Byron), 17:08. Penalties-served by Kolarik Ct (bench minor – too many men), 0:33; Voakes Por (delay of game), 11:24; Whitmore Por (tripping), 17:22; Bickel Ct (roughing), 19:59.
3rd Period-8, Portland, Byron 2 (Parrish), 10:56. 9, Portland, Tropp 2 (McCauley), 14:14. 10, Connecticut, Kolarik 3 (Redden, Newbury), 19:43 (PP). Penalties-O’Hanley Por (hooking), 5:28; Tropp Por (tripping), 19:21.
Shots on Goal-Portland 6-18-6-30. Connecticut 12-7-15-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Portland 1 / 5; Connecticut 3 / 7.
Goalies-Portland, Leggio 4-2-0 (34 shots-30 saves). Connecticut, Grumet-Morris 2-3-0 (30 shots-24 saves).
A-4,514
Referees-Jamie Koharski (84), Ghislain Hebert (49).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Paul Simeon (66).
