Gilbert Brulé continues to carve a legacy as a clutch performer for the Portland Pirates, and after a tough start to the season, the Portland Pirates are starting to make a name for themselves in the American Hockey League.
Brulé scored 1:43 into the overtime period to help lift the Pirates to a 4-3 win over the Providence Bruins on Sunday, capping a weekend during which the Pirates secured five of six possible points against three of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference.
“Winning here is a by-product of that winning culture Phoenix is trying to build,” Pirates’ coach Ray Edwards said. “Considering it was a 3-in-3 against teams ahead of us in the conference, and we were banged up, overall it was good to get the wins.”
The Pirates defeated Eastern Conference front-runner Manchester on Friday, took a point against Springfield Saturday and then grabbed two points from the Bruins on Sunday.
Louis Domingue, one of three goalies on the Pirates’ roster and one of three to get a start over the weekend, earned the victory with a 43-save performance. It was his second start in the American Hockey League, and the second start of his career against the Bruins. It was also his second win.
“He won last year as well,” Edwards said. “Going into this weekend, we had all three goalies here, we figured we might as well give them each a start.”
The win Sunday didn’t come easily, as the Pirates dug themselves a two-goal deficit in the second period. But Tobias Rieder closed the gap in the middle frame with his team-leading sixth of the season. Brandon McMillan netted his second of the game against Providence keeper Malcom Subban to even things up at 3-3 later in the third, setting up Brulé’s winner in OT.
There, Brulé capitalized on a power play as Kevin Miller was whistled for tripping. Chris Brown and Brandon Gormley picked up assists on the winner.
“The win wasn’t perfect, but considering it was our third game in three nights, and that we were playing with some guys out of the lineup and others banged up pretty good, it was good to get the win,” Edwards said.
Former Pirates skater Nick Johnson gave the Bruins the lead in the second. After a furious exchange of chances between the two teams, Johnson’s shot beat Domingue at the 2:31 mark of the second to give Providence a 2-1 lead. Chris Casto extended the lead to 3-1 after scoring his first professional goal off a faceoff at the 10:48 mark.
But Rieder struck back for the Pirates. His team-leading sixth goal of the year, at 15:22 of the second, brought the Pirates within one as the second period came to a close. Ethan Werek and Chris Summers picked up assists on Rieder’s goal.
In the third, the Pirates tied the game on an odd play, as McMillan slipped the puck past Subban on a third-chance shot to score his second goal of the game. Chris Brown had the assist to give both Brown and McMillan a goal and an assist on the night. Despite multiple opportunities for each side, regulation expired with the score tied at three.
The Pirates return to action Friday and Saturday, with a pair of road games in Norfolk, Virginia, against the Norfolk Admirals.
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