AHL: Pirates feeding off team chemistry

The minor leagues may be the toughest place in the hockey world for a team to form.

Injuries come and go, just as they do anwhere in the game, at any level. Roster moves compound the chemistry formula -- as players are shipped off to the National Hockey League to fill voids there, those holes to be plugged here by East Coast call-ups.

College rosters change only once a year; even NHL rosters aren't in flux the way they are in the AHL. The Portland Pirates have been hit especially hard by recent comings and goings, but Saturday's night's 4-3 overtime win over Springfield may serve as a springboard through a grueling stretch of games over the holidays.

"It's extra motivation for us to go win like that, so close to Christmas," said Pirates center Geoff Platt, who arrived at the rink just 20 minutes before face-off after being demoted by Anaheim earlier in the day and then proceeded to assist on the game-tying goal late in the third period.

"You're emotions run a little lower, just because it's that time of the season where everyone wants to be with their families and wants things to be easier. It boosted the morale of the whole team."

After playing with the Ducks, Platt said he knew as soon as he hit the Cumberland County Civic Center Saturday that this was a tightly knit group of players -- one that has won 3 of its last 4 contests.

"A great indication was when I came back here, a player like (Ryan) Dingle who was traded here, and it's like right away -- and I haven't been here in 2 weeks -- and he's already a full-fledged member of the team," Platt said. "The whole team has already embraced him. It's great, and I'm happy to see it from everyone in the entire organization."

The Pirates were blanked, 4-0, at Manchester on Friday and twice trailed the Falcons by 2 goals on Saturday. Defenseman Brian Salcido said the team learned a few lessons in the loss to Manchester, namely that they couldn't afford to quit mid-stride.

Salcido scored on the power play to make it 3-2 midway through the third period, and Andrew Ebbett scored the equalizer with 2:33 remaining in regulation.

"You never see that with a team that wasn't connected like we are," Platt said.

"Everyone's really close," said Salcido, a 2nd-year pro out of Colorado College. "I don't think anyone really takes anything for granted, and we really treat everyone like family. Whether you get called up or sent down or whatever, we're all on the same team and we're all pushing for the same things. I think it's really important for a team when you have that."

Salcido also said he recognizes the difficulty of playing in the minor leagues, where rosters seem more fluid than anywhere else. But the atmosphere in the Portland room seems to be succeeding despite the uncertainty.

"We're getting better each day," Salcido said. "We had a couple of injuries there, a couple of call-ups, but it really kind of forces you to mesh -- on the ice, in the locker room and outside of the rink with each other. It's a big stretch right before Christmas, so hopefully we can get some wins going into the break."