AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs fall to Sharks

Published on December 28, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MANCHESTER, NH - The Manchester Monarchs dropped their first of two road games this week to the Worcester Sharks, 3-1, at the DCU Center on Wednesday night.

Manchester (19-12-0-2) drops to second place in the Atlantic Division with 40 points. Worcester (15-8-3-3) is third in the Atlantic Division with 36 points.

"Tonight we were unable to find the chemistry we've had," said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. "Our timing was a little off but the effort was there. We had a couple glorious chances to score but made some poor decisions and failed to execute when needed to. The goals Worcester scored seemed to have eyes. They got some fortunate breaks but they worked hard forcing the breakdowns. We need to move forward and bounce back. Tomorrow's a new day. The effort was there for the most part and that is important. Turn the page and prepare for the next game. That'll be my message to the team."

Defenseman Matt Pelech extended the Sharks lead to 2-0 at 18:06 of the middle stanza. Forward Curt Gogol won an offensive zone face-off back to right wing Ryan Del Monte who played the puck over to the right point. Pelech settled the puck at the right point before launching a slap shot beating Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff for his first goal of the season and the eventual game-winning tally.

The Sharks opened up the scoring at 14:48 of the second period with a goal off the stick of forward Nathan Moon. With the Sharks holding possession in the Monarchs zone, forward Brodie Reid passed the puck from the left wing boards to defenseman Sean Sullivan at the right point. Sullivan blasted a slap shot toward the net where Moon redirected the shot between Zatkoff's pads for his sixth goal of the season.

The Sharks finished off the Monarchs with Gogol's fourth of the season at 6:25 of the third period. Del Monte started the break out behind the Sharks net before feeding a pass to left wing Jimmy Bonneau in the neutral zone. Bonneau gained the Monarchs zone along the left wing boards and carried the puck behind the net before playing it back to Gogol in the left circle. Gogol wristed a shot on the short side of the net for his fourth goal of the season and a 3-0 Sharks lead.

Left wing Dwight King scored the lone goal for the Monarchs late in the third period. With a Monarchs defenseman in the penalty box, center Marc-Andre Cliche won a face-off up to king who broke free down the middle of the ice. King snapped a wrist shot that beat Sharks goaltender Harri Sateri five-hole at 15:16 of the final frame. The shorthanded tally was King's fifth tally of the season.

Zatkoff (9-4-1) took his fourth loss of the season stopping 32-of-35 shots. Sateri (6-4-0) earned his sixth victory of the season making 22 saves on 23 shots.

Manchester went 0-for-2 on the power play. Worcester was 0-for-1 with the man advantage.

Notables: The Monarchs are 5-2-0-0 against the Sharks this season...The Monarchs have scored seven shorthanded goals this season...Left wing Dwight King tallied his first shorthanded goal of his career...Right wing Brandon Kozun had his point-streak (1-56) snapped at five games tonight.

The Monarchs travel to the Times Union Center to take on the Albany Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 30. Catch all the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WTPL 107.7 The Pulse, WGIR.com and at www.manchestermonarchs.com, presented by Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2011


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