PORTLAND (AP) – Joel Perrault tallied a goal and an assist and Nathan Marsters made 35 saves as the Portland Pirates beat the Manchester Monarchs 4-2 Friday in the American Hockey League.

The Pirates (36-14-5-3) grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first period then hung on as the Monarchs (33-18-2-4) fought back tenaciously.

After Pierre Parenteau scored for Portland at :56 and Geoff Peters made it 2-0 at 6:06, Perrault connected on a power play with 1:13 remaining in the period. Richard Seeley netted Manchester’s first goal 1:05 into the second, and Jeff Tambellini narrowed the deficit to one at 18:38 of the third.

Ryan Shannon iced the game when he hit an empty net with 43 seconds on the clock.

Marsters stopped 35 of 37 shots and made key saves in the second period, when the Monarchs outshot the Pirates 16-7.

AP-ES-02-24-06 2159EST