Portland, ME – The Portland Pirates rocked the Worcester Sharks, picking up a 7-1 win on home ice in the front end of a home-and-home series. Zach Tarkir and Chase Trull each picked up their first career goals.

The Pirates jumped all over the Sharks in the first period, as the hard work of a new face jump started the offense. Trent Campbell, in his Pirates debut, was strong on the puck behind the net before centering it to Dylan Hunter in the slot. Hunter went high for the first goal of the game and his second of the season. Paul Baier picked up an assist on the play as well.

Exactly 10 minutes later, defensemen Zach Tarkir found a rebound in the top of the slot and took a blast up high for his first goal of the year. Hunter picked up an assist along with Matt MacDonald. Less than a minute later, Portland struck again when Derek Whitmore slid a pass down low to Colton Fretter who was all alone in front. Fretter deked, then went up high on his backhand to put Portland up 3-0. Whitmore picked up an assist along with Felix Schutz. Jhonas Enroth stopped all eight shots he faced in the first period.

The offensive onslaught continued in the second period, when Chase Trull got his first AHL goal just 1:08 into the frame. Trull poked a rebound past Taylor Dakers to put Portland up 4-0. Marek Zagrapan and Marc-Andre Gragnani earned the assists. Just over a minute later Portland scored yet again, as a Paul Baier point shot found the back of the net. Whitmore and Hunter picked up the assists as the Pirates took a 5-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Worcester finally got on the board as the puck went crashing into the net past Jhonas Enroth along with a slew of bodies. Andrew Desjardins got credit for the tally and Claude Lemieux and T.J. Fox grabbed assists.

From there, the Pirates cranked up the offense once again. A fallen Chase Trull poked the puck to Mathieu Darche who cut across the doorstep and beat Dakers for his 12th goal of the season with Trull getting the lone assist. Later in the second, Colton Fretter tallied his second goal of the night when he stuffed a rebound into an empty net on a power play. Fretter's 12th goal of the season was assisted by Campbell and Tarkir.

Jhonas Enroth improves to 11-5-2 on the year after stopping 32 of 33 shots thrown his way. Thomas Greiss takes the loss after stopping six of nine first period shots. Taylor Dakers came on in relief and made 10 saves on 14 shots.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Dylan Hunter (POR) 2. Paul Baier (POR) 3. Derek Whitmore (POR)

Notes: The Pirates are perfect at home in the month of December, at 4-0-0-0...Zach Tarkir and Chase Trull each scored their first career AHL goals tonight...Trent Campbell registered his first AHL point with a pair of assists...Attendance: 4,806.

The Pirates next game is tomorrow, Monday, December 29th when the Pirates visit the Worcester Sharks at 7:05 pm. 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).