Portland Pirates goalie John DeCaro, after weathering a 15-shot rubber storm from a pressing Hershey Bears team, described the game's final 10 minutes.

"Hectic," he said.

DeCaro, making his first American Hockey League start of the season and third in his three seasons of pro hockey, stood up to the deluge, enabling the Pirates to defeat the Bears 3-2 at Giant Center Sunday night.

The loss snapped a 10-game unbeaten streak for the Bears, who entered the game with the best record in the AHL. The victory halted a three-game slide for Portland, the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.

DeCaro, who played 17 games for the Las Vegas Wranglers in the East Coast League this season, got the start because Portland coach Kevin Dineen wanted to rest No. 1 goalie Jhonas Enroth.

"It was a little bit like throwing a guy to the wolves but John answered the challenge pretty well," Dineen said.

DeCaro made 37 saves. He surrendered Graham Mink's power-play goal 2:24 into the game and then Quinton Laing's slot shot later in the first.

And that was it.

"I haven't played for a while," said DeCaro, who joined the Pirates on Jan. 21. "It was good to get back into the swing of things."

DeCaro played two games for the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 2006-07 season. Since then, he's played most of his hockey in the Central League.

"This is defintely a step up from the 'Coast' but with the talent (Portland) has, it's easier to play," he said. The pace is a lot different. After the first period, I got into a groove and felt good."

DeCaro had no chance on the power-play goal that gave Hershey a 1-0 lead. Tic-tac-toe passing — Alexandre Giroux to Keith Aucoin to Mink — resulted in a Bears goal.

But Portland's Derek Whitmore popped in a rebound when Hershey goalie Michal Neuvirth couldn't control the puck after he made the save on Dylan Hunter's shot.

"That was my goal, for sure," said Neuvirth.

Laing roofed a shot from close range to restore Hershey's lead but the Pirates evened the score again before the end of the period on Aaron Slattengren's goal, which, again, came on a rebound.

While Neuvirth finished with 25 saves, the Hershey rookie had a lot of things going through his mind.

He's spent the last week backing up Jose Theodore in Washington. He came to Hershey to get some playing time, having not played since Jan. 31. He will return to Washington and there's a chance he'll get his first NHL start Saturday vs. Tampa Bay.

He was asked if the possible NHL start was weighing on his mind Sunday night.

"A little bit," he said. "I was wondering how it would feel to play in Tampa and how nervous I would be."

Portland scored the game-winner midway through the second period when defenseman Mike Kostka's shot from center point flew past Neuvirth, who said he was screened on the shot.

DeCaro took over from there.

He made an early third-period save on Giroux and then stopped Jay Beagle from in close. Beagle thought he had scored on a rebound to tie the game but referee Chris Cozzan blew the whistle when he couldn't see the puck, negating the goal.

"It's frustrating but our line had chances all night," said Beagle, who knew DeCaro when both played college hockey for the University of Alaska-Anchorage. "I had at least three or four opportunities that should have been in. Got to be better."

Note: The Bears host Hamilton at 7 Wednesday night.

E-mail: kfreeman@lnpnews.com