Goaltender Eddie Pasquale made 15 saves for the St. John's IceCaps in Wednesday night's game. (St. John's IceCaps)

Alexandre Bolduc scored twice Wednesday to lead the Portland Pirates in a 4-0 victory over the St. John's IceCaps in the American Hockey League.

Brett Hextall and Chris Conner had the other goals for the Pirates (2-3-0), while Chad Johnson earned the shutout with 27 saves, redeeming himself one night after allowing eight goals in an 8-7 loss.

Ed Pasquale made 15 saves for St. John's (3-3-0).

IceCaps captain Jason Jaffrey returned to the lineup after spinal fusion surgery last season but was unable to spark his club.

"It felt great to be in the dressing room with the guys again, not really the result I wanted out there, but personally I felt alright," Jaffrey said.

"(The) first period was a little shaky for me, just trying to get up to game speed. I thought the second and third were a lot better, I maybe stopped thinking about it as much as I was in the first."

Team lacked lustre, coach says

IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge was disappointed in his team's performance.

"It was a team tonight ... that didn't have as much life as it should have. At no time did it look like we were going to generate much offence 5-on-5," he said.

"What we look like right now is a team that is searching to see what our identity is. We need guys right now to bring their best game."

The IceCaps rallied back from several deficits on Tuesday but could do little against the Pirates the second time around.

Portland opened the scoring at 12:16 in the first period when Bolduc scored with the teams playing 4-on-4.

Hextall then put the Pirates ahead by two with a one-timer at 8:09 of the second.

The Pirates made it 3-0 just 24 seconds into the third when Bolduc was sprung on a breakaway by Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Portland added to St. John's misery at 7:45 when Conner slid a puck under Pasquale's pad on the power play.

The Pirates went 1-for-5 on the power-play while St. John's was scoreless in five chances.

Tuesday's games featured 15 goals and 76 shots, while Wednesday's offered just four goals and 46 shots.