Lewiston, Maine - The Portland Pirates picked up a key win in the Atlantic Division playoff race, knocking off the Lowell Devils 6-1.

In the first period, the Pirates took the lead 12:02 into the game when Colton Fretter took a feed in the high slot from Tyler Bouck and one-timed it past an off-balance Jeff Frazee.
Fretter's 20th goal of the season was assisted by Bouck and Felix Schutz.

The Devils tied it up just 14:11 later when Barry Tallackson poked a rebound past Jhonas Enroth for his 10th goal of the season from Mark Fraser and Patrick Davis. The game remained tied at one after the first twenty minutes.

In the second period, Portland regained the lead when Mark Mancari wound up a drive from the right wing and beat Frazee. Mancari's 25th goal of the year was assisted by Colin Murphy and Steve Ward at 6:28 of the second.

Portland's lead was extended about ten minutes later as Tim Kennedy tossed the puck towards the net from the right wing. It deflected off Nathan Gerbe's stick and in, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead on Gerbe's 23rd of the season. The assists went to Kennedy and Mathieu Darche at 16:26 of the second.

In the third period, the Pirates took advantage of a power play when Nathan Gerbe scored his 24th goal of the season on a one timer from the right point. The tally came at 12:20 of the third, with Tim Kennedy and Mathieu Darche earning the assists.

Just 17 seconds after the goal, Kevin Cormier took a run at Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth behind the Pirates net and was given a five minute major for charging. The Pirates quickly cashed in on the power play at 13:06 of the third when Steve Ward scored his first career AHL goal from Marek Zagrapan and Marc-Andre Gragnani.

Matthew Corente then took a two minute minor for roughing, giving the Pirates a 5-on-3 advantage. This time it was Mark Mancari getting the goal off a great feed down low. Mancari's 26th of the year was assisted by Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe. That would close the scoring as the Pirates took a 6-1 win over their bitter rivals.

Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 18 saves on 19 shots and picked up the win. Devils goalie Jeff Frazee took the loss after stopping 22 of 27 shots. Dave Caruso came on late and stopped 4 of 5 shots in a little over six minutes of action.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Nathan Gerbe (POR) 2. Steve Ward (POR) 3. Tim Kennedy (POR)

Notes: Jhonas Enroth snapped an eleven game winless streak with the win...Mark Mancari has a goal in back to back games...Attendance: 3,376.

The Pirates next game is Wednesday, March 18th as the Pirates travel to take on the Manchester Monarchs at 7:00. 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).