Cammalleri Scores In OT; Monarchs Lead Division By Two Points
April 6, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH â Center Michael Cammalleri scored with 1:08 remaining in overtime to give the Manchester Monarchs a 5-4 victory over the Portland Pirates at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday night. Wednesday's game was played before the 16th sellout crowd (9,916) of the year.
With the win, their 47th of the season and eighth in nine games against the Pirates this season (8-0-0-1), the Monarchs (47-19-4-4, 102 points) stayed two points in front of the Hartford Wolf Pack (47-21-3-3, 100 points) in the race for the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division title. The Wolf Pack beat the Worcester IceCats, 3-2, on Wednesday night at the DCU Center. Manchester and Hartford both have six games remaining on their schedule.
Defenseman Mike Weaver had the lone assist as Cammalleri set a new single season record with his league-leading 43rd goal of the season. Cammalleri also moved into the No. 1 slot on the Monarchs career goals list with the tally. Wednesday's game-winner was the 68th career goal scored by Cammalleri in a Monarchs uniform.
The Monarchs were forced to work a little overtime after Portland center Brian Willsie tied the game at 4-4 with his second goal of the game and team-leading 21st of the season. Defensemen Chris Hajt and Steve Eminger each assisted on the goal, scored with 1:55 remaining in the third period.
The Monarchs grabbed the early first period lead as right wing Brad Smyth extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with his 21st goal of the season 10:25 into the opening period. Cammalleri and left wing Dustin Brown assisted as Smyth swatted an airborne rebound past the outstretched glove of Pirates goalie Kirk Daubenspeck (39 shots, 34 saves).
Cammalleri's assist gave him 100 points on the season. He finished with three points (1-2=3) on the night and has 102 points (43-59=102) on the season.
The Pirates tied the game with a goal from center Brooks Laich at 14:26 of the period. He notched his 15th of the season with assists going to defenseman Louis Robitaille and center Jason Ulmer.
The Monarchs rallied and took a lead into the locker room thanks to center David Steckel. He wired his ninth goal of the season past Daubenspeck with the Monarchs on the power play at 17:23. Defenseman Joe Rullier and right wing George Parros shared assists on the play.
The Pirates scored with a two-man advantage to tie the game midway through the second period as Willsie extended his goal-scoring streak to four games. Center Trent Whitfield and right wing Jared Aulin assisted, with Willsie jamming home Whitfield's centering pass from the left corner at 9:14.
Whitfield also had a hand in the next goal, scored by Eminger at 17:19. Aulin also assisted as Eminger found a loose puck in front of the Monarchs net and lifted it over goalie Mathieu Garon (30 shots, 26 saves) for a 3-2 Pirates lead. The goal was his second of the season.
The Monarchs tied the game on their eighth straight shot to open the third period as right wing Tom Kostopoulos went five-hole on Daubenspeck from the high slot at 5:11. Smyth and Cammalleri assisted on his 22nd goal of the season.
The Monarchs took a 4-3 lead 7:47 later when Parros ripped a shot off the left post for his 13th goal of the season. Kostopoulos and defenseman Denis Grebeshkov assisted.
Garon finished with 26 saves and his 29th win (29-13-4). Five of his wins have come in six appearances (5-0-1) against the Pirates this season.
Daubenspeck (13-10-1) took the loss for the Pirates, who are winless in their last seven games (0-4-1-2).
The Monarchs will rematch with the Pirates at 8:05 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Friday night. After that, they'll meet the Springfield Falcons at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. The Monarchs next home game is scheduled for Friday, April 15 against the Lowell Lock Monsters at 7:35 p.m.
Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 400 seats in the Silver level remain for the April 15 game against the Lock Monsters.
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 6, 2005
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