Redden nets shortie in OT for 2-1 Whale win

PORTLAND, Maine, – Wade Redden scored a shorthanded goal at 1:23 of overtime, to give the Connecticut Whale a 2-1 win over the Portland Pirates Monday afternoon at the Cumberland County Civic Center.
 
With Jeremy Williams in the penalty box for tripping, Tim Kennedy grabbed the puck in the Whale zone, after Portland point man Marc-Andre Gragnani had a pass go off of his stick.  Redden joined Kennedy on a two-on-one, and after Kennedy stickhandled down the left-wing side he passed in front to a wide-open Redden, who slapped the puck past Pirate goaltender Jhonas Enroth for the winner.
 
That was after the Whale had nursed a 1-0 lead into the final three-and-a-half minutes of regulation, only to see Portland’s Mark Mancari tie the score with 3:28 left.
 
The victory was the Whale’s sixth overtime triumph of the season, and their third in the season series against the Pirates.  Connecticut already led the AHL in overtime wins coming into the game.  The two points widened the third-place Whale’s lead over the fourth-place Worcester Sharks, who were idle Monday, to three points.  The Whale are now 28-22-2-6 for 64 points.
 
The one-goal verdict was the sixth in seven games between Connecticut and Portland on the season.  The Whale finished 3-1-0-0 on the season in Portland, where the Pirates are 18-4-4-1, and are 4-3-0-0 overall on the year against the Pirates.  The Whale are 4-0-0-1 in five games since a 9-2 loss at Toronto February 9, and have won four straight on the road.
 
Chad Johnson made 15 saves in net to get the win, in his first appearance in six games and his first start in seven.  Enroth stopped 29 shots, as the Whale enjoyed a 31-16 shots advantage for the game.
 
The Whale dictated play in the first period, outshooting the Pirates 18-4, but couldn’t solve Enroth, who came into the game with an 0-3 record against Connecticut, with a 3.67 goals-against average and an 87.6% save percentage.
 
The Whale capitalized on a turnover at 6:19 of the second period, to dent Enroth for the first time.  Kennedy, an ex-Pirate, broke up a Gragnani pass in the Portland zone.  Kennedy found Dale Weise on the right-wing side and Weise dished to Evgeny Grachev on the opposite side of the slot, and Grachev banged it into the net off of Enroth for Grachev’s 14^th goal of the season.
 
Johnson then held the Pirates at bay until Mancari’s late score, which was on a rebound after Johnson made a fine left-pad save on a Dennis McCauley shot.  Mancari was able to slide a second-chance backhander from 15 feet out in the slot underneath Johnson’s pads.
 
The Whale got a big opportunity late in regulation when Portland’s Tim Conboy was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor by referee Terry Koharski with 1:15 left.  Connecticut was not able to convert, though, and Koharski whistled Williams off only six seconds into the OT, leading to Redden’s shorthanded heroics. 
 
Redden’s shorthanded winner was the only shot of overtime, and was the Whale’s sixth shorthander of the season.
 
With his two assists, Kennedy now has seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven games against his old club.
 
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