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Arizona Coyotes AHL Report- 4/13/15

By Guillermo Salcido

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Although the Coyotes 2014-2015 season ended last weekend, it doesn’t mean that the action is over. Actually, far from it. The Arizona Coyotes AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, only have three games remaining in the regular season and their grip on the 8th position in the Eastern Conference has only loosened up. After a week of four defeats and only two points, the Pirates will have regroup fast to fight off all challengers.

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On Tuesday, the Pirates played host to the Worcester Sharks in a low scoring affair. The end result was a 1-0 loss in overtime with Portland being able to salvage a point. David Leggio was in goal and stopped 24 of 25 shots fired at him. Leggio was a deadline acquisition this season from the New York Islanders, although he’s only spent time this season with their AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Jan 29, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Arizona Coyotes forward Lucas Lessio (38) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Arizona defeated Toronto 3-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

On Friday, the Pirates took on the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Manchester Monarchs. Another tightly contested game result in another loss, but also another point. The matchup ended in a 3-2 shootout loss for the Pirates. Lucas Lessio found his way into the scoresheet with a goal. Meanwhile, recently sent down defenseman, Brandon Gormley, got in the action with an assist. Mike McKenna was in goal and saved 29 shots.

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The two game series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins saw the Pirates take two regulation defeats. On Saturday, the Penguins were victorious 5-2 over Portland. Alexandre Bolduc scored a goal. Meanwhile, Brendan Shinnimin, Philip Samuelsson, and Lessio all got assists. On Sunday, Portland lost 3-1 with Shinnimin scoring the lone goal and Lessio assisting on the score.

The unsuccessful week for the Pirates has made things interesting in the race to make the Calder Cup playoffs. With one week remaining in the regular season, the Portland Pirates and Springfield Falcons both have 83 points. The Pirates have a game in hand over the Falcons and will be hitting the ice on this three occasions this week. On Friday, they’ll head to Manchester to take on the Monarchs. On Saturday, they’ll play host to the Providence Bruins and on Sunday they’ll end the regular season on the road in Worcester to face the Sharks.

Mar 9, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goalie Louis Domingue (35) looks on against the Nashville Predators at Gila River Arena. The Predators won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

With the Coyotes season all wrapped, Arizona was able to send back reinforcements to their affiliate in Portland. Louis Domingue, Klas Dahlbeck, Henrik Samuelsson, and Jordan Szwarz will all be returning for the stretch run. Samuelsson and Szwarz have spent most of their time in Portland. Domingue had spent the first half with the Pirates before the Coyotes traded away Devan Dubnyk. Dahlbeck had spent time with the Rockford IceHogs before being acquired by Arizona from Chicago.

With Portland this season, Domingue is 10-6-2 with a 2.57 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Samuelsson has 14 goals and 21 assists in his season with the Pirates. Szwarz has 9 goals and 12 assists for Portland. Dahlbeck has 4 goals and 6 assists this season in AHL play.

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