The first period started off disastrously (what a surprise) as Portland thug Darren Banks floated a screened shot past Cowley just 17 seconds into the game. This situation, however, is something the IceCats are almost used to, and they didn't let the Pira tes' early lead discourage them. Instead, they fought hard and converted on the only power play of the period as left wing Walt Poddubny scored, assisted by his defensemen Terry Virtue and Dave Baseggio.
Unfortunately, poor passing a few minutes later led to a one-on-one between Portland left wing Andrew Brunette and Worcester defenseman Shaun Kane. Brunette faked a shot, burned past Kane who had laid down to block it, and finally put the move on Cowley t o sink his 15th goal of the season and put the Pirates on top, 2-1.
Not to be outdone, Worcester moved the puck into Portland territory late in the first, where IceCat center Denis Chalifoux let one rip from the right circle that trickled past Carey and probably took a pound of flesh with it. The goal was Chalifoux's 11th of the season, and was assisted by defenseman Jason Widmer.
When the players hit the ice in the second period, it appeared that both teams were satisfied with the score and decided to turn the rest of the game into a defensive battle. Aside from one minor penalty on each team, nothing of consequence happened until the last minute of the period, when Cowley let up another goal to Portland center Jeff Nelson. Frustrated, the Cats left the ice, down by one, with a score of 3-2.
In the third period, the battle shifted to the offense as Worcester fought to even the score and stay in the game. They failed to convert on a power play, but finally beat Carey a third time late in the period on a goal by Widmer, assisted by All Star def enseman Roy Mitchell and center Jim Bermingham. Bermingham was a recent addition to the IceCats line-up, replacing #19 David Haas, who left to play in Europe. The 6'4", 215 lb. forward has earned a point in each of the four games he has played with the Ca ts, and adds some size and offensive punch to the team.
Neither team could score in the 5 minute, "sudden death" overtime period that followed, and the game ended in a draw. For the IceCats, however, a tie was almost as good as a win, since Portland is the number #1 team in their division (Atlantic), as well a s the entire American Hockey League. The Cats beat Portland 5-3 on Friday the 27th, and then lost at home to the Pirates 7-2 on Saturday.