Portland, ME — The intensity on day two of Portland Pirates training camp was kicked up a notch as players continue to fight for only one or two spots on the roster.

“I thought intensity level was good today,” said Pirates coach Ray Edwards. “There was a lot of physical play. There were some bodies flying around. Usually, that first day on the ice, it s a little bit like pond hockey out there, but it was pretty good first day.”

Long time AHL veteran Dean Arsene noted that players were well-prepared by the coaching staff about the expectation on the ice.

“It’s competitive,” he said. “It was competitive in Phoenix and I would expect nothing less here. I think the coaching staff has been preaching to us about competing every day. We need to compete in every drill and play every shift out there til the end. It’s about excelling and striving for a consistent effort. That comes with the work ethic.”

Evidence of that was as a planned scrimmage was winding down forwards Ethan Werek – his first ever fight at any level – and Ryan Hollweg dropped the mitts near center ice.

The fight left Edwards impressed with Werek’s character for not backing to a player who is known for his fighting skills.

You know what’s good about that,” Edward questioned. “Number one, it’s a young kid sticking up for himself. He could have very easily skated away. The kid showed up and that’s important because what Ethan showed his teammates, is that he’s going to stick up for himself and stick up for a teammate.”

The games ended in favor of Team Black as Colin Long scored both goals in a 2-1 victory over Team White. David Rutherford scored for the white team.

The scrimmage was a good opportunity for the Coyotes assistant general manager Brad Treliving, Edwards and the rest of the staff to observe the players in real action as they begin the process of trimming down the roster to the final group, which is expected to happen later this week.

Edwards has already released one player as Brendan Shinnimin was sent back to the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League.

During the Tuesday’s scrimmage Kevin Henderson went down awkwardly and needed help off the ice and was later taken for medical treatment. Edwards didn’t have an update on his situation.