PORTLAND ”“ The sight of Portland Pirates’ rookie phenom Tyler Ennis on the ice for Wednesday’s morning practice was a welcome one.

Ennis, who is among the AHL’s elite players, had been off skates since suffering a concussion on Feb. 28 at the hands (literally) of Albany River Rats’ defenseman Jay Harrison.

“I feel really good,” said Ennis. “I’m just being careful with it. We don’t want any setbacks. But I feel good and I’m ready to get back in. I’m excited to play.”

Harrison leveled the unsuspecting Ennis ”“ who was about to pocket an empty netter from center ice ”“  with a two hander to the face in the final moments of Portland’s 4-2 win.

“I remember the empty net,” said Ennis, who leads all other AHL rookies in scoring. “I was skating through the neutral zone and the guy just hit me in the head. It was pretty dirty.”

The incident came just as the issue of head hits has come under white-light scrutiny.

Wednesday, NHL club general managers received recommendations to rid the game of dirty head hits. A little too late to help Ennis, or the Boston Bruins’ Marc Savard, who appears to have been lost for the season after being hammered by a Matt Cooke elbow.

But, Ennis said, at least steps in the right direction are being taken.

“It doesn’t belong in the game,” Ennis said. “There’s got to be discipline when people get hit in the head. I think they’re doing a pretty good job of making people aware. But it’s still happening. They’ve got to get it out of the game, I guess.”

EMPTY NETTERS: Pirates’ coach Kevin Dineen had his indefinite AHL suspension cut to time served (one game), Wednesday. Dineen was forced to sit out last Sunday’s game with Rochester, after having gone ballistic at referee Chris Cozzan in Syracuse the night before. At issue was a disallowed game tying goal in the dying seconds of regulation.

“The league had a chance to see how things played out,” said Dineen. “They got a written explanation from me. I received a letter saying there was no further, discipline.” ”¦ Wednesday was the AHL’s Clear Day, the day which club rosters must be frozen at 22 players for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. The Pirates had 24 players on their list ”“ including Mark Mancari, who in Buffalo on recall ”“ which means that two cuts will have to be made.

The first was announced, Wednesday, when center Matt Caruana was sent back to Gwinnett (ECHL). Dineen will make the other cut when (or if) Mancari returns. ”¦ A side note from Biddeford’s Maine Class-A  boys hockey state title triumph. Tigers’ goalie Matt Roy joined his sister Katie in the championship winners’ circle. Katie Roy is a freshman at Cheverus, who went undefeated while winning this year’s girls’ hockey state crown. ”¦

– Contact Dan Hickling at dhickling@journaltribune.com.