Portland, Maine - On Monday, January 19th, the AHL's Portland Pirates hosted Willie O'Ree, the first Canadian of African decent to play in the NHL.

O'Ree is considered the "Jackie Robinson of ice hockey" when he broke the color barrier in hockey and made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins on January 18, 1958, against the Montreal Canadiens. He played in two games that year, and came back in 1961 to play 43 games. He scored four goals and 10 assists in his NHL career, all in 1961.

O'Ree recently celebrated the 51st anniversary of his first NHL game. As a result, the Pirates hosted the hockey legend and members of the NAACP on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Cumberland County Civic Center when the Pirates played the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack won the game 3-1.

Portland and Hartford played a scoreless first period, with Jhonas Enroth making 14 stops to keep the Wolf Pack off the board while Hartford goaltender Matt Zaba stopped all seven Portland shots.

Early in the second period, Mark Mancari put the Pirates on the board when he threw a turnaround shot on the net from the left circle and beat Zaba inside the far post. Marc-Andre Gragnani and Mathieu Darche picked up the assists on Mancari's 17th of the year at the 2:22 mark of the second.

The Wolf Pack answered around ten minutes later when Artem Anisimov fed a pass across the slot to Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau at the left circle. The former Pirate blasted a one timer past Enroth to tie the game at one. Anisimov and Brodie Dupont earned helpers on the play. Just a few moments later, the Wolf Pack struck again. Artem Anisimov took the feed from Parenteau at the top of the slot and put a one-timer past Enroth. Parenteau and Dupont got the assists on Anisimov's 20th of the year at the 15:09 mark of the second period. The Wolf Pack took a 2-1 lead into the third period.

Portland tried to mount a comeback in the third period, but Hartford put it on ice when Tommy Pyatt scored his ninth goal of the season off a feed from Mike Ouellette. Matthew Ford picked up the other assist on the insurance goal that game at 15:47 of the third period. Hartford hung on for the 3-1 lead to move into second place in the Atlantic Division.

Portland goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 27 saves on 30 shots and took the loss. Matt Zaba stopped 21 of 22 shots he faced to grab the win.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Artem Anisimov (HFD) 2. Brodie Dupont (HFD) 3. Jhonas Enroth (POR)

Notes: Nathan Gerbe was not in the Portland lineup...Mark Mancari scored his 17th goal of the season, pulling to within two of Gerbe for the team lead...Attendance: 3,933.

The Pirates next home game is Friday, January 23rd at 7:00 pm against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Pirates will give away Kevin Kaminski bobbleheads, sponsored by MEMIC, to the first 2,000 fans in attendance. It will also be a Forecaster Friday Family Night, so take the family to the game for only $35. Redeem the coupon from this week's edition of the Forecaster at the Civic Center Box Office.

In partnership with the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education, Unum will recognize six teachers and four school administrators who have made a daily difference in the lives of students in our public schools and who represent excellence in the educational profession. The ten people to be honored at this game were nominated and selected through Unum's Fourth Annual Maine Educators' Hall of Fame, supported by the Portland Pirates.

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).