The hottest hockey team in Maine will skate out of the home locker room at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on Friday night, looking to tack another win onto a 10-game points streak in a game against its arch-rival, Providence.

With the Lewiston Maineiacs on the road this weekend, their neighbors to the South, the Portland Pirates, will take over the rink for the first of two home games at the Lewiston arena Friday with a pair of streaks on the line.

The first and more important of the two is the team's recent run of overall success. The Pirates are 7-0-3 in their last 10 games, including a 2-0 shutout win over Manchester on Wednesday.

"It's funny how a season works sometimes," Portland coach Kevin Dineen said. "You get going well, and the puck starts bouncing onto your stick instead of off of it. (Confidence) has a lot to do with it, there's just that feeling that you're going to do well every night, and when things are going well, the puck bounces your way."

Though the Pirates will technically be the home team Friday, it may be wise for them to think of it as a road game. Portland is 4-0-2 in its last six away from the confines of the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The Colisee, though, has been kind to the Pirates. In two games last year, Portland earned a pair of victories. That's the second streak the Pirates hope to extend this weekend.

"Shh, don;t tall anyone that," Dineen joked.

Part of it is a feeling from the players that the rink is a bit smaller than the surface in Portland. It isn't, but as Dineen pointed out, it's all about perception.

"With the enthusiastic fans there and the comfortable feeling of the building, it makes it almost feel like the rink is smaller when it actually isn't," Dineen said. "Things happen more quickly. All of our games on this stretch have been up-tempo, and that's only going to enhance it."

That, he said, and oh yeah, the Pirates are playing their arch-rivals.

"It's always been really competitive with Providence," Dineen said. "There's always an intensity to those games, whether it's in the playoffs or in October. It has to do, I think, with the fact that the Bruins have such a strong regional following. They cast their net all over New England, and it's tough on a lot of area fans, who are Bruins fans, too. They have mixed devotion, and it always makes the games more exciting."

Adding to the thrill for those venturing to the Colisee on Friday will be the chance to Patrick Lalime play in the Pirates' net. Lalime was assigned this week on a conditioning assignment to Portland from the team's parent club in Buffalo.

"With as well as (Ryan) Miller has been playing for the Sabres, it's been tough for him to get a game in," Dineen said. "They wanted him to stay game-ready, so we'll have him here for the weekend anyway."

Jonas Enroth, who has been the Pirates' go-to guy in net this season, will spend some time in Buffalo as Miller's backup.

Lalime, meanwile, has played 16 seasons of professional hockey, breaking into the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1996. He spent the early part of this decade as the No. 1 keeper in Ottawa, playing in 273 games from 1999 to 2004 with the Sens. Since then, Lalime has had stops in St. Louis and Chicago before sticking with Buffalo last season. This year, though, due to Miller's stellar play, Lalime has appeared in just three games for the Sabres.

Providence, meanwhile,are riding a five-game road win streak, with three of those victories coming either in overtime or a shootout. Overall, the Bruins are 12-11-1-0. With the Pirates' recent surge, the teams' division has tightened up considerably. Second-place Hartford, with 29 points, has just four more points and Springfield, which is in eighth place. Providence, for now, occpited the No. 7 slot, with Portland at No. 6.

The Pirates return to the Colisee again on March 21 to face Manchester.