The Phoenix Coyotes assigned rookie goalie Mike Lee of the ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators to the AHL’s Portland Pirates Monday.

Brad Treliving, Phoenix assistant general manager who serves as the Pirates’ general manager, said the move was made after veteran Portland goalie Chad Johnson sustained a lower-body injury during Sunday’s game against the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Johnson left after the first 19 minutes and rookie Mark Visentin played the rest of the game, a 4-0 win for the Pirates.

“Chad is a little sore today, and he can’t move real well, so we thought we’d get Mike up there for a couple of days of practice until we see how Chad is,” Treliving said.

“We’re not planning a lengthy call-up but with goalies you just never know. We’ll just see how Chad is doing and go from there.”

The Pirates leave on a trip Thursday. They are scheduled to play the Binghamton Senators Friday night and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night.

Advertisement

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Lee, who played the previous three seasons at St. Cloud State, is 9-5-1 record with a 1.87 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage in 15 games with the Georgia-based Gladiators. He already has been named the Reebok Hockey ECHL goaltender of the week twice.

In 14 games with the Pirates, Johnson, in his fourth professional season, is 7-5-0-2 with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.

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

pbetit@pressherald.com

Twitter: PaulBetitPPH

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.