Manchester, NH - The Pirates moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with a 5-2 win over the Monarchs in Manchester. Colin Murphy scored two goals in the victory.

The Monarchs scored first, just 2:19 into the game, as Tom Preissing got his first goal from Scott Parse and Gabe Gauthier. It was the lone tally in the first period, with Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopping 11 other shots.

In the second period, Portland came out flying and evened the score just 1:52 into the frame. On a power play, Colin Murphy took a slap shot from the right wing and simply overpowered Manchester goaltender Jonathan Bernier for his sixth goal of the season. Marc-Andre Gragnani and Mark Mancari picked up assists.

Portland struck again just a few moments later when Derek Whitmore got his 10th goal of the year off a feed from Dylan Hunter, with Kyle Rank picking up the other helper. Portland took the 2-1 lead at 5:11 of the second. Less than two minutes later, Felix Schutz took a pass from Mike Kostka springing him on a breakway. Schutz deked Bernier and scored his 12th goal of the season. Kenny MacAulay earned an assist as well and the Pirates took the 3-1 lead at 7:01 of the second period and carried it into the second intermission.

Manchester regained the momentum in the third though, when Marc-Andre Gragnani fell down and turned the puck over in his own end. It caromed in the slot to Richard Clune, who put a quick shot past Enroth for his third goal of the year at 3:30 of the third. David Meckler picked up the only assist.

For the next 7:56, Manchester carried play, peppering Jhonas Enroth with shots. The Pirates goalkeeper stood his ground, until a key turnover turned the tides. Jonathan Bernier played the puck behind his net right to Felix Schutz. The Portland forward centered it to Colin Murphy for a slam dunk goal, and Portland had a 4-2 lead an all the momentum at the 11:26 mark of the third. Mathieu Darche added an empty netter from MacAulay at the 18:55 mark and Portland won 5-2.

Pirates goaltender Jhonas Enroth made 39 saves on 41 shots and picked up the win. Manchester netminder Jonathan Bernier stopped 20 of 24 shots and took the loss. Daniel Taylor came on in relief and made 6 saves on 6 shots.

Allied Home Mortgage Three Stars of the Game: 1. Colin Murphy (POR) 2. Jhonas Enroth (POR) 3. Felix Schutz (POR)

Notes: Jhonas Enroth won his second game in a row and the Pirates picked up their first back to back wins since January 24th and 30th...Portland moved into third place in the Atlantic Division with the win...Attendance: 5,903.

The Pirates next game is Friday, March 20, 2009 as the Pirates host the Hartford Wolf Pack at 7:00. It will be Time Warner Cable Sports night as fans receive free Portland Pirates hats. 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).