PORTLAND — The Portland Pirates didn't play like a last-place team Friday night.

The Pirates, who have resided in the cellar of the AHL's Atlantic Division since the start of the season, seemed unbeatable in a 5-0 win against the East Division-leading Hershey Bears before a season-high crowd of 6,621 at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

"It was a great win," said left wing Jeff Cowan, who scored his fifth goal of the season to help the Pirates take an early 2-0 lead. "Hopefully, it's the start of something new for us."

It was the Pirates' fourth win in five games at the Civic Center. They are 1-7 on the road.

Goalie J.P. Lamoureux, getting his second start following the call-up of Jhonas Enroth to the Buffalo Sabres, stopped 28 shots to post his first AHL shutout. After playing four years at the University of North Dakota, Lamoureux spent his first pro season with the ECHL's Alaska Aces.

"It's such a solid boost to know you have a guy who you know is going to push (Enroth) and when he has to step in can play," left wing Derek Whitmore said.

"There was no panic to his game," Portland Coach Kevin Dineen said. "He gobbled up a lot of rebounds, and I thought the guys in front of him played very well. It was a well-earned shutout by (Lamoureux) and a well-earned no-goal game by the team."

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the first 13:04.

At 8:54, Kyle Wanvig, who joined the team three weeks ago, scored his third goal while skating across the slot. Rookie Tyler Ennis help set up the goal with a long rush down the left side. He sent the puck across the slot into the right circle to Philip Gogulla, who immediately fed it back to Wanvig.

At 13:04, Portland scored the first of its two power-play goals when Mike Kostka's blast from the right point deflected in off Cowan.

"When you play a good team like that, you got to be sharp," Cowan said. "We came out ready, and they weren't ready, and we took advantage of it."

The Pirates played with only 11 forwards, one fewer than allowed. For the past month, left wing Brad Larsen has been out with a broken foot, and upper-body injuries kept left wing Nathan Gerbe and rookie center Paul Byron out of the lineup.

"You have to find some balance, make sure guys are not logging too much ice time," Dineen said. "You don't go to the same bullet all the time. You have to spread things around, and there was a lot of opportunity to get on the ice, and I thought the guys rose to that challenge."

The Pirates added third-period goals by Whitmore (2nd), rookie center Travis Turnbull (1st) and Mark Mancari (4th). Mancari's goal extended his points' streak to seven games.

NOTES: Rookie defenseman Dennis Persson returned to the Pirates after missing the previous three games because of a concussion. ... Veteran center Cody McCormick also was back after serving a five-game suspension. ... The Pirates played their third consecutive game without veteran defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, out with a leg injury.

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

pbetit@pressherald.com