Bruins Edge Monarchs For Sixth Straight Win
April 3, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
PROVIDENCE, RI â Goaltender Hannu Toivonen finished with 30 saves and left wing Andy Hilbert collected the game-winning goal with 5:41 to play as the red-hot Providence Bruins edged the Manchester Monarchs, 3-2, in front of a crowd of 6,728 fans at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday night.
With the win, their sixth straight, the Bruins (38-26-3-7, 86 points) strengthened their hold on the fourth and final playoff spot in the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division. Even better, they pulled to within two points of the third place Lowell Lock Monsters (41-25-1-5, 88 points), who lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-1, at the Tsongas Arena on Sunday night.
The loss was a costly one for the Monarchs (46-19-4-4, 100 points), who saw their lead over the second place Wolf Pack (46-21-3-3, 98 points) shrink to just two points. Like the Wolf Pack, the Monarchs have seven games remaining on their regular season schedule.
The teams skated through a scoreless opening period thanks to Toivonen and Monarchs netminder Mathieu Garon. Toivonen stopped 11 shots in the period and Garon stopped 15.
The Bruins took a 1-0 lead 3:45 into the middle period with left wing Thomas Kurka's sixth goal of the season. Center Brad Boyes and defenseman Milan Jurcina each assisted as Kurka scored on his own rebound after Garon (33 shots, 30 saves) got a piece of his wrap-around attempt.
An unassisted goal from center Ben Guite gave the Bruins a two-goal lead later in the period. Guite's eighth of the season found its way through traffic in front before hitting the back of the Monarchs net at 10:09.
Things went from bad to worse for the Monarchs minutes later when defenseman Tim Gleason was viciously checked into the boards by Bruins right wing Yorick Treille at 12:26. Referee Dean Morton gave Treille a five-minute major for boarding, but the Monarchs failed to score during the ensuing man-advantage. Gleason left the game with an injury and did not return.
The Monarchs made it a 2-1 contest with veteran right wing Brad Smyth's third goal in three games. Center Michael Cammalleri and defenseman Denis Grebeshkov each assisted on Smyth's 20th of the season, triggered from the right circle 1:22 into the third period. Cammalleri, who leads the Monarchs with 99 points on the season (42-57=99), extended his scoring streak to six games on the play. He has seven points (2-5=7) during the streak.
The Bruins made it 3-1 with left wing Andy Hilbert's team-leading 37th of the season, wired home from the left circle at 14:19 of the period. Centers Keith Aucoin and Patrice Bergeron assisted.
But the Monarchs quickly struck back with a goal from right wing George Parros, who deflected a shot from left wing Chris Schmidt past Toivonen at 14:58. Defenseman Mike Weaver also assisted on Parros' 12th goal of the season.
The Monarchs pulled Garon in the final minute in an attempt to net the equalizer, but they were unable to get anything more past Toivonen (27-15-3), who finished with his sixth straight win.
Garon took the loss, his first in four meetings with the Bruins this season. His record dropped to 28-13-4.
The Monarchs, who finished the regular season with a record of 6-3-0-1 in 10 head-to-head match-ups with the Bruins, get back at it on Wednesday night with a game against the Portland Pirates. Wednesday's game is scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. start at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 500 seats in the Silver level remain for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.
Monarchs tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office. Individual tickets may also be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (603) 868-7300, or by visiting Ticketmaster on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.
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American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2005
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