Pirates advance with OT win

Pierre Parenteau‘s second goal of the night came on a power play with 3:06 gone in overtime and sent the Portland Pirates to the Eastern Conference final with a 5-4 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack in Game 6 on Sunday night.

The Pirates will meet Hershey for the right to play in the Calder Cup championship series. That series opens in Portland on Wednesday night.

Portland rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits in Game 6 to wrap up the hard-fought series and hand the Wolf Pack their first back-to-back road losses since Jan. 20-27.

Parenteau extended his scoring streak to 10 games with two goals and an assist on the night, finishing the series with three goals and five assists and a plus-9 rating in six games.

Garett Bembridge, who made his pro debut with the Wolf Pack late in the 2000-01 season, scored his first two AHL playoff goals and added an assist as well.

Zenon Konopka recorded four assists, his 12th consecutive playoff game recording a point and his 24th straight overall. Konopka had 12 points in the series, and now leads the AHL in playoff scoring with 23 points on the postseason.

Aaron Gavey added his first postseason goal since he was with the Dallas Stars in the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Rookies Brandon Dubinsky and Nigel Dawes paced the Wolf Pack with a goal and an assist each. Colby Genoway and Dwight Helminen also scored, and defensemen Marvin Degon and Dale Purinton were each a plus-4 on the night.

Alexandre Giroux led Hartford with eight points in the series, but was held scoreless over the final two games.

The Pack dropped to 5-2 all-time in Game 6’s, while Portland improved its all-time record to 10-11 with a chance to win a series.

Eastern Conference final schedule