DIXON DOUBLES UP PENS; PIRATES TAKE SERIES LEAD

POST-GAME AUDIO: Todd Richards

PORTLAND, ME – Former Penguin Stephen Dixon came back to haunt his old teammates, netting both of the Portland Pirates’ goals as the home team scored a 2-1 win in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The loss puts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the brink of elimination from the postseason, as the Pens trail the best-of-seven series three games to two.  Game Six slated for Friday night at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.

The game exemplified playoff hockey, with both clubs playing a tight, defensive, grind it out game in what turned out to be the Pirates’ 10th one-goal win of the playoffs.

“Both teams really limited each other’s chances,” said head coach Todd Richards.  “There wasn’t a lot of room to skate out on the ice tonight.  We had our opportunities, especially in the third period, and just weren’t able to get that tying goal.”

Chances were few and far between for the first 35 minutes or so, and it wasn’t until Dixon got a piece of a point shot at 17:11 of the second period that the game saw its first goal.

“It was a miscommunication on the first one,” Richards said of the play, which saw a mix up behind the Penguins’ net. “You come back for the puck and have lots of time, it ends up as a turnover and the guy throws it at the net and there’s a deflection.”

Just 29 seconds after the second intermission, and Dixon was back at it again, as he deflected a point shot from Brett Festerling that eluded John Curry.

Jonathan Filewich finally got the Penguins on the board, taking advantage of a tripping call on former teammate Andy Schneider.  Filewich drove the lane and took a Kurtis McLean feed before redirecting his first of the playoffs behind Mike McKenna.

The Pens received a great opportunity to even the score when Connor James and Nathan Smith broke in on a two-on-one, shorthanded breakaway two minutes after Filewich’s goal, but McKenna was up to the challenge yet again. A big glove save on a Ben Lovejoy shot with 3:56 to play helped to guarantee the win for the Portland backup, who made 27 saves.

“They played hard.  They stepped up their urgency, you could see the desperation in their game.  I think we had it too.  It was one of those games, a 2-1 game, both teams had chances, the conditions out there aren’t ideal to make plays,” said Richards.  “Our backs are against the wall.  We’re backed into a corner, we’re fighting for our lives.  The good news is we’re playing in our own building on Friday.”