Monarchs fall

The visiting Portland Pirates scored three straight goals in the first period, two of them shorthanded, then hung on to beat the Manchester Monarchs, 4-2, last night.

The Monarchs outshot the Pirates, 36-25, but couldn't overcome the early deficit despite scoring two goals in the second to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Patrick Mullen struck first for Manchester with assists from Linden Vey and Jordan Nolan 50 seconds into the second. Justin Azevedo then scored his 10th of the season, assisted by Mullen and Thomas Hickey, at 14:49 to make it 3-2.

But Portland's Michael Stone scored a minute and a half later, beating Monarchs goalie Jeff Zatkoff (21 saves) for the game's final tally.