The reeling Portland Pirates dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the Hartford Wolf Pack Friday night at XL Center. The defeat was Portland’s seventh in a row (0-4-2-1) and left the club clinging to the final playoff spot in the AHL’s Eastern Conference.
Veteran forward Rob Schremp (18) opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at 12:44 of the first period to get the Pirates off to a good start..
Chris Brown and Nicklas Jensen dented the twine in the second period to give Hartford the lead after forty minutes. Marek Hrivik collected assists on both goals.
Portland’s Chase Balisy (6) lit the lamp 5:50 into the final frame, from MacKenzie Weegar and Connor Brickley, to forge a 2-2 tie.
Brickely (6) bagged an unassisted marker 3:48 later to give the Pirates the lead back.
The Wolf Pack countered with a power-play goal from Jensen at 12:16 to even the tilt, with game needing extra time to time to bring a decision.
The 23-year-old Dane provided the game-winner, and completed his hat-trick, 1:23 into overtime. Hrivik combined with Mat Bodie to set up Jensen’s 15th of the season.
Magnus Hellberg stopped 27 shots to post the win, while loser Mike McKenna finished with 35 saves.
Portland (31-24-4-2) will get right back at it tonight, visiting the Sound Tigers in Bridgeport.