Sports

CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
Tom Venesky on Facebook   |   TLTomVenesky on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Don’t let the score deceive you.

Coming into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, all eight of the Portland Pirates’ playoff wins came by one goal.

On Wednesday, they essentially lost their first.

Although the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins won the game 2-0, both teams played to a draw until Dave Gove scored his second playoff goal at 14:03 in the third period. Ryan Lannon added an empty-netter with 13 seconds left.

Gove scored the game-winner after he made the first shot on net during a rush into the Portland end.

Pirates goaltender J.S. Aubin made the save, but the rebound rolled out to the corner of the crease. Tim Wallace swatted at the puck while attracting a throng of Portland players. Gove dove at the loose puck and lifted a shot that deflected off Petteri Wirtanen’s leg and past Aubin into the corner of the net.

“The first shot wasn’t the one I wanted,” Gove said. “But the rebound, I knew there was a lot of traffic in front of the net and I just wanted to get the puck there.”

Before the goal, both teams played to a stalemate for more than two periods. John Curry and Aubin played like brick walls in front of the net, stopping the few scoring chances that did occur.

Head coach Todd Richards said the Penguins’ inconsistent play in the first two periods was mental than physical.

“I think sometimes you give teams too much respect and it backs you off a bit,” he said. “You talk about teams too much and guys play on their heels more than on their toes. That was the case for the first couple periods.”

Portland picked up their tempo a bit to start the third period. The Pirates kept the puck in the Penguins end for most of the first 10 minutes and managed several scoring chances.

But Curry held his ground and stopped five Pirates shots en route to his first career playoff shutout.

“You have to make those saves to win games,” he said. “I’m proud of the shutout, but I only faced 19 shots.”

The Penguins didn’t get a shot on net until 8:17 when Ryan Stone flipped a wrist shot at Aubin. But after they weathered the Portland barrage in the first half of the period, the Penguins picked up the pace which led to Gove’s goal.

Lannon’s goal at the end of the third period was his first of the playoffs.

Richards said he is comfortable when his team is up by a goal because his defense and goaltending are playing with confidence.

Still, he expects the Portland series to be a tighter matchup than the first two rounds.

“They have a better goaltender (than others the Penguins have faced) and they are a team that’s playing real well,” Richards said. “Overall it’s going to be a real tough series,” he said.

NOTES

Referee Francois St. Laurent left the game 12:21 in the first period after falling to the ice. Penguins trainer Patrick Steidle attended to him for a few minutes before he skated off favoring his right leg.

Play was stopped for 15 minutes while referee Dean Morton, who is scheduled to officiate tonight’s game, got ready to take St. Laurent’s place. Morton happened to be in town because he was working Game 2, but the American Hockey League doesn’t assign a backup official for games until the Finals.