MANCHESTER, N.H. — Goalie J.P. Lamoureux came up big during a shootout for the second consecutive game Friday night to propel the Portland Pirates to a 4-3 victory against the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Center.

Lamoureux, making his third consecutive start since Jhonas Enroth suffered a left ankle injury Saturday night, stopped all four shooters in the shootout.

“I just try to keep a calm demeanor and try not to force the shot,” said Lamoureux, explaining his shootout approach. “The thing is I try to get that extra point and show my value to the team.”

Nathan Gerbe and Mark Mancari placed shots under the pads of Manchester goaltender Jonathan Bernier during the shootout.

It was the second straight victory for the Pirates, who are second in the Atlantic Division.

“I thought we played a real solid road game,” said Portland Coach Kevin Dineen. “The game had some seesaw to it. They had the pressure at times and we answered back. It’s one of those games I’m not surprised went into overtime.”

The teams combined for 51 shots.

“It was kind of a tough game to stay in because I went a long (periods of) time without seeing any work,” said Lamoureux.

The Pirates, who will play the Monarchs again Sunday at Lewiston, came from behind three times to send the game to overtime.

“It was a solid effort for us,” Dineen said. “We kind of grinded it away. We’re a team who has found out on its own what we have to do to compete.”

The Monarchs, who have beaten the Pirates just twice in eight games this season, held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.

Manchester left wing Bud Holloway opened the scoring 12:56 into the game by tipping defenseman Doug Nolan’s shot from the left point into the right side for his 18th goal of the season.

Nolan’s shot appeared to be headed wide of the net, but Holloway dived behind a defenseman and redirected the puck inside the right post.

At 16:15, rookie forward Paul Byron tied the score with his 14th goal, turning a nifty feed out across the neutral zone from Tyler Ennis into a breakaway down the right side.

Defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov put Manchester back into the lead 30 seconds later by scoring his ninth goal on a slap shot from the right point.

Ennis, who leads AHL rookies in scoring, forged a 2-2 tie after 12 minutes of the second period when his shot from the left side of the crease deflected off Manchester defenseman Alec Martinez for his 22nd goal.

The Monarchs regained the lead 41 seconds into the third period when left wing Dwight King swept the rebound past Lamoureux after Martinez rang a long shot off the right post.

With more than 10 minutes left, Mancari made it 3-3 when he put in a slap shot for his team-high 23rd goal while the teams were skating four-on-four.

Staff Writer Paul Betit can be contacted at 791-6424 or at:

pbetit@pressherald.com