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Monarchs Weekly Report

April 16, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL) Manchester Monarchs

LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

@ Worcester (4/10): The Manchester Monarchs recorded a season-high 50 shots on goal but fell to the Worcester Sharks, 4-1, at the DCU Center on Tuesday night. Left wing David Meckler scored the lone goal for the Monarchs. Defenseman Sena Acolatse (two), center Ben Guite and right wing Sebastian Stalberg tallied goals for the Sharks. Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (20-17-1) took his 17th loss of the season stopping 29-of-32 shots. Sharks netminder Harri Sateri (14-19-1) earned his 14th victory of the season making 49 saves on 50 shots. Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play. Worcester was 2-for-5 with the man advantage.

@ Connecticut (4/13): The Manchester Monarchs kept pace with the Portland Pirates for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference for the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs by edging the Connecticut Whale, 5-4 in a shootout, at the XL Center on Friday night. The Monarchs scored goals from center Justin Azevedo (two), left wing Ray Kaunisto and defenseman Jake Muzzin. The Whale registered goals from center Kris Newbury, right wing Christian Thomas and right wing Steve Moses (two). Monarchs netminder Martin Jones (17-17-2) earned his 17th victory of the season stopping 31-of-35 shots in regulation and overtime, and made saves on four-of-five shootout snipers. Whale netminder Chad Johnson (22-18-6) took his sixth shootout loss of the season making 34 saves on 38 shots in regulation and overtime, and stopped two-of-four shootout snipers. Manchester went 1-for-3 on the power play. Connecticut was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

vs. Hershey (4/14): The Manchester Monarchs earned two big points toward their pursuit for a spot in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs by defeating the Hershey Bears, 5-1, on Faith and Family Day at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs tallied goals from center Justin Azevedo, left wing Richard Clune, right wing Stefan Legein, defenseman Patrick Mullen and right wing Linden Vey. Center Ryan Potulny recorded the lone goal for the Bears. Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff (21-17-1) earned his 21st victory of the season, stopping 19-of-20 shots. Bears goaltender Daren Machesney (0-2-1) took his second loss of the season making 12 saves on 16 shots. Bears netminder Scott Greenham (0-2-0) relieved Machesney for the third period making seven saves on eight shots. Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Hershey was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

vs. St. John's (4/15): The Manchester Monarchs are headed to the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs after defeating the St. John's IceCaps, 4-2, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Monarchs will face the Norfolk Admirals at the Norfolk Scope for game one of the 2012 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20. Left wing Andy Andreoff, center Marc-Andre Cliche, right wing Brandon Kozun and defenseman Patrick Mullen scored for the Monarchs. Center Patrice Cormier and right wing Spencer Machacek recorded goals for the IceCaps. Monarchs netminder Martin Jones (18-17-2) earned his 18th victory of the season stopping 32-of-34 shots. IceCaps goaltender Eddie Pasquale (23-12-1) took his 12th loss of the season making 22 saves on 26 shots. Manchester went 2-for-5 on the power play. St. John's was 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (39-32-2-3) finished the regular season in second place in the Atlantic Division with 83 points. The St. John's IceCaps (43-25-5-3) clinched first place in the division and have 94 points this season. The Portland Pirates (36-31-4-5) rank third in the division with 81 points. The Providence Bruins (35-34-3-4) sit in fourth place in the division with 77 points. The Worcester Sharks (31-33-4-8) are in fifth place in the division with 74 points.

The Monarchs earned a post-season position in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the IceCaps on Sunday, April 15. With a Syracuse Crunch (37-29-5-5) winning on Sunday, April 15, the Monarchs are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and will face-off against the top seeded Norfolk Admirals (55-18-1-2) in the first round. The Admirals earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference after finishing the season with 28 straight victories (28-0-0-0). The streak is a professional hockey league record.

The Monarchs best-of-five first round series playoff series dates:

Game 1 Friday, April 20 @ Norfolk (7:30 p.m.)

Game 2 Saturday, April 21. @ Norfolk (7:15 p.m.)

Game 3 Wednesday, April 25 vs. Norfolk (7:00 p.m.)

Game 4 Friday, April 27 vs. Norfolk (7:00 p.m.) (if necessary)

Game 5 Saturday, April 28 vs. Norfolk (7:00 p.m.) (if necessary)

At the Verizon Wireless Arena this season, Manchester finished with a 21-16-0-1 record.

The Monarchs were 21-7-2-3 in games that were decided by one goal.

Manchester was 25-15-0-2 against Atlantic Division teams this season.

Manchester was 26-4-0-3 in games when they led after the first period and 25-0-0-1 when they lead after the second period.

When scoring first this season, the Monarchs were 30-8-0-3.

Manchester's 1,325 penalty minutes ranked sixth in the league this season. The team averaged 17.4 penalty minutes a game which was also ranked sixth in the league.

The Monarchs were outshot in 42 of their 76 games with a 22-17-1-2 record in those games.

Center Justin Azevedo (28-22=50) led the team with 28 goals and 50 points.

Azevedo reached the 50-point plateau for the second consecutive season.

Azevedo led the team with seven first goals which tied for fifth most in the league this season.

Azevedo set a Monarchs all-time record with four goals in a game on Saturday, March 10 in a 5-2 victory over the Pirates.

Azevedo is the third player in franchise history to record a five-point (4-1=5) game as he collected four goals and one assist in the Monarchs 5-2 win over Portland on Saturday, March 10.

Azevedo ranks fifth on the Monarchs all-time assist list (94) and is in fourth place on both the Monarchs all-time points list (166) and on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list with 72.

Azevedo won the 2011-12 Union Leader Fan Favorite Award as voted on by Monarchs fans.

Right wing Brandon Kozun (20-26F) finished the regular season ranked second on the Monarchs in both assists (26) and points (46).

Kozun was second on the team with six first goals of the game which was tied for 13th most in the league this season.

Kozun and Azevedo tied for the team lead with seven power play tallies this season.

Kozun finished the season second on the team with 20 goals and 26 assists.

Right wing Linden Vey (19-24=43) ranked third on the Monarchs in goals with 19 and points with 43 this season.

Vey's four game-winning goals are second on the team and are tied for eighth most among AHL rookie players.

Center Marc-Andre Cliche (17-24=41) finished the season tied with defenseman Patrick Mullen (13-28=41) for fourth place on the Monarchs with 41 points.

Cliche finished the regular season tied with defenseman Jake Muzzin (7-24=31) and Vey for third on the Monarchs with 24 assists each.

Cliche's five game-winning goals led the team this season.

Cliche was successful in 7-of-8 shootout attempts this season to lead all Monarchs players.

Cliche is tied for third on the Monarchs all-time games played list with 284 games and is in ninth place on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list with 58 tallies.

Cliche won the 2011-12 Ace Bailey Most Valuable Player Award as voted on by his teammates and coaches.

Mullen led all Monarchs defensemen with 13 goals, 28 assists and 41 points this season.

Mullen's 28 assists were the most on the team.

Muzzin ended the season ranked sixth on the Monarchs with a career-best 31 points.

Muzzin ranked second amongst defensemen in goals (seven), assists (24) and points (31) this season.

Left wing Dwight King (11-18=29) tallied 29 points for the Monarchs this season ranking him seventh on the team.

King was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, February 10 and made his season debut against the New York Islanders on Saturday, February 11.

King scored his first NHL goal in a 4-2 victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, February 12.

King recorded 14 points (5-9=14) in 27 contests for the Kings this season.

King has appeared in Los Angeles' first three playoff games and has not recorded a point.

Defenseman Thomas Hickey (3-23&) finished the season ranked eighth on the team with 26 points.

Hickey led the Monarchs with a plus/minus rating of plus-16 this season.

Defenseman David Kolomatis (5-20=25) completed the season tied with right wing Stefan Legein (14-11=25) for ninth on the Monarchs in scoring with 25 points each.

Kolomatis is fourth amongst Monarchs defensemen with 25 points.

Legein's five shorthanded goals are a franchise single season best and tied for the most in the league this season.

Center Robbie Czarnik (8-15=23) completed his rookie campaign with 23 points which ranked 11th on the Monarchs in scoring this season.

Right wing Jordan Nolan (9-13=22) ranked 12th on the Monarchs in scoring with 22 points this season.

Nolan's 119 penalty minutes were third most on the Monarchs this season.

Nolan was recalled by the Kings on Friday, February 10.

Nolan made his NHL debut against the Islanders on Saturday, February 11.

Nolan scored his first professional goal in a 4-2 victory against the Stars on Sunday, February 12. The tally was also the game-winning goal.

Nolan had four points (2-2=4) and 28 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Kings during the regular season. Nolan has appeared in all three of the Kings' playoff games this season and has recorded zero points and two penalty minutes in those games.

Left wing Ray Kaunisto (7-15=22) completed the regular season ranked 13th on the Monarchs with 22 points.

Center Andrei Loktionov (5-15=20) is ranked 14th on the team with 20 points.

Loktionov recorded seven points (3-4=7) and two penalty minutes in 39 games with Kings during the regular season.

In 59 career games with the Kings, Loktionov has 14 points (7-7=14) and four penalty minutes.

Loktionov made his NHL playoff debut for the Kings in Game 2 against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, April 13 and also suited up for the Kings in Game 3. He has not recorded a point.

Defenseman Andrew Campbell (2-17=19) completed the season ranked 15th on the Monarchs with 19 points.

Campbell finished the season ranked second on the Monarchs with a plus/minus rating of plus-14.

Campbell ranks second on the Monarchs all-time games played list with 298 games and is one of two players (Hickey) to appear in all 76 games for the Monarchs this season.

Campbell and Hickey won the 2011-12 Monarchs Community Service Award as voted on by the Monarchs Care Foundation.

Campbell also won the 2011-12 Mark Bavis Unsung Hero Award as voted on by his teammates.

Right wing David Meckler (10-7=17) ranked 16th on the team with 17 points this season.

Meckler holds the franchise record with 342 games played.

Left wing Richard Clune (6-9=15) ranked 17th on the Monarchs with 15 points this season.

Clune led the team and ranked third in the AHL with 253 penalty minutes.

Right wing Justin Johnson (1-2=3) is ranked second on the team and finished ninth in the league with 187 penalty minutes.

Left wing Andrew Andreoff (1-0=1) made his professional debut with the Monarchs on Friday, April 6 against the Connecticut Whale.

Andreoff scored his first professional goal in the 4-2 victory against the IceCaps on Sunday, April 15.

Center Jordan Weal (0-0=0) made his season debut with the Monarchs on Tuesday, April 10 against the Sharks.

Goaltender Martin Jones finished the season with an 18-17-2 record, a 2.60 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage in 41 games for the Monarchs.

Jones recorded his lone shutout of the season making 28 saves in a 4-0 victory over the Sharks on Saturday, March 31.

Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff has a record of 21-17-1, a 2.49 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage in 44 games.

Zatkoff won the 2011-12 Manchester Monarchs Booster Club Player Of The Year Award as voted on by the Monarchs Booster Club.

Zatkoff recorded three shutouts in the month of March.

Zatkoff had a shutout streak snapped at 158:04 minutes when left wing John McCarthy scored at 10:57 of the second period in the Monarchs 5-1 victory over the Sharks on Sunday, March 25. The shutout streak spanned parts of four games between March 11 and March 25.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2012


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