Manchester, NH – The Portland Pirates fell 3-2 to the Manchester Monarchs after a late comeback bid was foiled by Scott Parse's game-winning goal with 3:22 left to play. Jhonas Enroth made 29 saves on 32 shots in the loss.

After a scoreless twenty minutes, it didn't take the Monarchs long to get on the board in the second period. Just 15 seconds into the period, Joe Piskula took a point shot through traffic. Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth made the initial save, but Brian Boyle collected the rebound and put it home on a backhander to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead. Ryan Murphy got the second assist on the play. Just a few moments later, Manchester struck once again as this time a big hit from Boyle created the chance. Boyle created a turnover and slid the puck to the left point for Alec Martinez on a rush. After a quick tic-tac-toe passing play, Martinez fired a one timer past Enroth from the left wing as Boyle and Dusty Collins earned the helpers.

Portland hung around until a flurry of Monarchs penalties gave the Pirates a 5-on-3 advantage towards the middle of the second period. Marc-Andre Gragnani held the puck at the right point and set up a Mark Mancari one-timer from the left point. Mancari was able to beat Monarchs netminder Jonathan Bernier for his 12th goal of the season, as Gragnani and Schutz picked up the assists. The Pirates couldn't net another in the second period though, and went into the final frame down 2-1.

Portland killed off what was left of a Dylan Hunter penalty in the third period before turning to the offensive. Mathieu Darche was then able to spring a 2-on-1 break for Marek Zagrapan and Mark Mancari. Zagrapan raced down the left wing and dropped the puck off for Mancari. The Pirates leading scorer returned the feed to Zagrapan on the doorstep and he beat Bernier to tie the game at 2. Darche and Mancari notched the assists.

Portland couldn't complete the comeback effort though, as the Monarchs grabbed the game back with a late goal from Scott Parse, who took a feed from Brian Boyle on a 2-on-1 and put a one-timer past Enroth to give Manchester a 3-2 lead. The game-winning goal was assisted by Boyle and Ryan Murphy.

Enroth suffered the loss and falls to 10-5-2 on the year despite stopping 29 of 32 shots thrown his way. Jonathan Bernier picked up the win by stopping 26 of 28 Portland shots.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Scott Parse (MCH) 2. Brian Boyle (MCH) 3. Mark Mancari (POR)

Notes: Mark Mancari scored his first goal since returning to Portland after a 7 game NHL stint with the Sabres...The Pirates suffered their fifth straight road loss...Attendance: 5,605.

The Pirates next game is tomorrow, Sunday, December 28th when the Worcester Sharks visit the Cumberland County Civic Center at 4:00 p.m. It will be Wrestling Night at the Civic Center, sponsored by WPOR. Fromer WWF/WWE Wrestling Champion and Westbrook, Maine native Scott "Scotty Too Hotty" Garland will be making an appearance and signing autographs during the second intermission. His appearance is sponsored by WPOR.

The Pirates and WWE have joined forces to bring you a special combo ticket offer! You'll get a Main Deck ticket for the Pirates "Maine Legends of Wrestling" night on Sunday and a ticket for WWE wrestling on Tuesday, December 30th at 7:30 pm. Get both for only $40, which is a savings of $8 if purchased separately! Visit the Civic Center Box Office or call (207)-775-3458 to purchase tickets.

Sudzie Family Five Packs are also available for this and all Sunday home games and provide fans with five Main Deck tickets, five hot dogs or pizza slices, five sodas, one Daily Scroll game program, and one free Sudzie Minuteman exterior car wash for the discounted price of $60.

Fans can follow the Pirates on U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network or watch the game LIVE on the internet courtesy of AHL Live by clicking the icon on the left side of the home page. The U.S. Cellular Pirates Radio Network includes the Pirates flagship station, the Bay 1400AM and 1490AM (Portland) and affiliates WEZR 1240 AM (Lewiston-Auburn), WTME 780AM (Rumford) and WKTQ 1450AM (South Paris).