Just weeks after turning pro, Chris Rawlings of North Delta moved one step up the minor hockey ladder.
The goaltender played in his first American Hockey League game Sunday night for the Portland Pirates, just a day after signing an amateur tryout contract with the minor-league affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes.
He played the final 40 minutes of a 4-1 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, making 19 saves on 20 shots, allowing just one goal.
He turned pro just weeks earlier, and played two games with the Idaho Steelheads of the East Coast Hockey League. He earned a shutout in his first start, making 23 saves in a 5-0 win over the San Francisco Bulls on March 29.
He played the final two periods the next night, stopping 16 of 17 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Stockton Thunder.
Rawlings just completed his fourth season with the Northeastern Huskies in the Hockey East league of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), where he set a record for career shutouts with 11. He ranks second all-time among Huskies net minders with a .914 save percentage, and third with 47 wins and a 2.83 goals against average.
Prior to joining the Northeastern roster, he played four seasons in the BC Hockey League with the Powell River Kings, Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Cowichan Valley Capitals.
