A special night for Pirates

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ”“ The special teams of the Portland Pirates lived up to the name in Wednesday’s clash with Atlantic Division foes the Springfield Falcons.

Penalty kill. Check.

Power play. Check (well, once, which was enough).

It all fed into the Buccos’ hard fought 4-2 win, before 2,698 at the MassMutual Center.

“When you get a lot of special teams in the game,” said Mark Mancari, once of four Pirate marksmen, “that ends up winning the game. I think every guy on the ice that had to play penalty kill did a tremendous job. When you’re killing off penalties that are that long, if you can kill those off, the momentum’s on your side.”

Portland’s special teams effectiveness set the tone with a pair of exceptional, and crucially timed kills.

One of those came an extended two man shortage in the scoreless first period, the other a four minute five-on-four to begin the second.

They were so effective that the Falcons were unable to generate a single shot on each occasion.

“You have to give (assistant coach) Eric Weinrich and the players a lot of credit on that one,” said Portland coach Kevin Dineen. “They really did a good job.”

The Pirates lost steam for a bit, when Springfield’s Ben Guite scored at 6:08 of the second to take a 1-0 lead.

However, the Pirates quickly rebounded with goals by Mancari and Luke Adam to take a 2-1 lead.

Mancari’s came at 7:38, on a blast from the high slot, while the Pirates were enjoying a five-on-three.

Less than five minutes later, Adam netted his 11th ”“ tops in the AHL ”“ after a nice set up by Mancari, as winger Colin Stuart camped just outside the crease of Falcons netminder David LeNeveu.

Rookie winger Jacob Lagace gave the Buccos some breathing room, when, at 6:29 of the third, he scored his first professional goal, pocketing a nifty back hander.

“It’s a relief,” said Lagace. “The pressure goes down. I like going to my back hand. I hope to get more chances to shoot the puck.”

Springfield’s Tom Sestito made it a one goal game again when he scored with just 1:45 remaining.

However, with 25 seconds to go, Travis Turnbill scored into an empty net to cinch up the Pirates win.

EMPTY NETTERS: It’s been quite a week for Springfield center Ben Guite, and the week is barely half over.

Monday, Guite became a first-time father, as he and wife Kristen welcomed son Patrick into the world.

Wednesday, the cagey veteran was named as the Falcons’ team captain.

As developments go, this one was no surprise.

In fact, it could have been seen coming from here to Orono, where Guite played under the late Shawn Walsh from 1997-2000.

It was certainly one of the easiest choices Springfield coach Rob Riley has made in his two months on the job.

Balloting among the players confirmed Guite’s selection.

“You have to name somebody,” said Guite, modestly. “I’m the only one with gray hair. You look around the locker room, you have a lot of character guys. I think (most) of them could wear the ‘C’.”

More than any other sport, a hockey sweater sporting a “C” is a treasured item.

The captaincy carries with it many responsibilities, most of them unwritten, but vital, nonetheless.

Guite said that all these years, he has just been putting principles drummed into him by Walsh and legendary assistant Grant Standbrook (now retired) into daily practice.

“Absolutely,” Guite said. “They were really built men. I remember going in at 18 having no idea what it took, not only to be a hockey player, but a successful person in life. They definitely set the foundation for hard work and for accountability. Just doing your best every day.”

To top off everything, Wednesday’s tilt was the 500th of Guite’s AHL career.

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