Preview:Can the Pirates Contain the Sharks?

10-19-12: Chris Conner battles Worcester’s Freddie Hamilton for the puck. (Photo Credit: Ron Morin/Ron’s Sports Photography)

Sunday evening the Portland Pirates took on the Hershey Bears in a 3-1 victory, boosting them to third place in the Atlantic Division. While they fell behind early Andy Miele was able to get the ball rolling as he tied the game before the end of the first period.  It would be Michael Stone‘s one-time from Mathieu Brodeur that would be the game-winner, with captain Alex sealing the deal with his goal in the third.

While the Pirates currently hold down third place, they still sit 2-points behind the Worcester Sharks whom they face off against tomorrow night at the Andsroscoggin Bank Coliseé in Lewiston.  This will be the third meeting between the two, the last game resulting in a 3-1 loss for the Pirates.

The Pirates are coming off of a three-in-three weekend where they finished 1-1-0-1 where as the Sharks finished their three-in-three 2-1-0-0.  The Pirates are undefeated at the Coliseé this season and look to extend their streak as the puck drops at 7:00PM ET Wednesday night.

Who’s Hot…

Goaltender Alex Stalock is going to be the Pirates worst nightmare as he is 6-0-0 on the season thus far with a .949 save percentage, ranking him 18th in the AHL.  The Pirates will also want to keep their eyes on Bracken Kearns and Tim Kennedy as they lead the Sharks in scoring and assists.

Alexandre Bolduc is still holding top scorer under lock and key with 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points, along with Chris Conner who has 5 goals and 8 assists.  The two are ranked among the top 20 scorers in the AHL sitting in 10th and 16th.  Chris Brown had a busy weekend for Portland as well as he registered the only goal against the Sharks on Friday night and went on to score a goal and an assist in Sunday’s game against the Hershey Bears, earning him his first multi-point game of the season.