By DAN HICKLING

Staff Writer

PORTLAND ”“ Tuesday was a night of discovery for the Portland Pirates.

They discovered that they really do have a power play after all. That they do have a back up goalie (David Leggio) who can play. And that they can go nine rounds deep into a shootout and still find a way to win.

All of that came to light during their 3-2 win over the pesky Manchester Monarchs at the Civic Center before 2,194.

Portland’s power play, which had been marked “DOA” coming into the contest, popped in two goals in the third period, snapping an 0-for-2010 drought.

Leggio, making his first-ever AHL start, stopped 35 Manchester shots through the overtime, then thwarted eight of nine Monarch attempts in the shootout.

And rookie Corey Tropp kept the Pirates alive with a goal in the eighth round, which allowed Derek Whitmore to seal the win in the next one.

“I looked at ‘Lukey’ Adam,” said Whitmore, “and said, ‘I’m going to go with the back hand clapper. It’s kind of like a slap shot on the back hand. It’s just something that I’ve worked on, and I was able to cash in.”

All was scoreless until Manchester’s Dwight King scored with 4:23 left in the second period to make it 1-0.

The Pirates caught a break, when, at the end of the period, Manchester was called for too many men.

Despite their overall success (a healthy 5-1 mark), the Pirates’ power play had been an abysmal 0-for-33 before Adam banged a rebound into a wide open net at 56 seconds of the third period.

“You could see the sense of relief,” said Whitmore. “They weight was lifted off our chest.”

Indeed it was.

Portland scored on its next power play opportunity, when Colin Stuart beat Monarchs goalie Jeff Zatkoff from point blank range.

“The power play was an eyesore for us,” said Portland coach Kevin Dineen. “There’s lots of ways to get around it. I wasn’t disappointed with our looks in those games. But it’s nice to get some production. We got one (goal) from each (power play) unit, so that really makes it feel sweeter.”

Sweeter, too, for Leggio, who sits behind top prospect Jhonas Enroth.

Dineen informed him earlier in the day that he would be making his first AHL start, and he responded with a solid effort, and was named the game’s first star.

“I just had to be patient,” Leggio said. “I’m the new guy, and Jhonas has been playing excellent. I was fortunate to get the opportunity, and fortunate that the guys played a great game in front of me.”

EMPTY NETTERS: Tropp, a rookie from Michigan State, sported eight fresh stitches, after sustaining a nasty looking cut in a second period fight with Manchester’s Jordan Nolan.

“He got me with a good left,” Tropp said.

Whitmore hails from Rochester, N.Y., and was a big fan of the AHL’s Amerks, especially of star player Craig Charron, who died Monday night at age 42 following a long bout with stomach cancer.

“The hockey world has definitely lost a good man,” said Whitmore. “I was able to get to know ‘Sharky’ just from being around Rochester, and got to watch him play as a kid. He was a great competitor, and a great role model.

“The hockey world’s definitely going to miss him.”

Charron, who hailed from North Easton, Mass., left behind his wife and four children.