Sports stats



AHL Manchester Monarchs

Finish in Favor of Florek

March 23, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


PROVIDENCE, RI - Rookie forward Justin Florek recorded four points in his professional debut with the Providence Bruins as the Manchester Monarchs fell, 5-2, in Friday night's contest at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

Manchester (33-30-0-3) is in second place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points. Providence (29-30-3-4) is ranked fifth in the Atlantic Division with 65 points.

"Tonight wasn't the type of game we expected to see after two solid performances against St. John's," said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. "We executed poorly in too many areas. This was a disappointing setback. Errant passing and too many missed nets were recurring themes throughout the night and we had hoped for a better collective focus. As we head down the stretch, we need more guys playing big and stepping up. It's time to rebound quickly and play a more responsible game that equates to winning. We are better than the effort we gave against Providence."

The Bruins grabbed a two goal lead with Florek's first professional goal at 12:47 of the second period to make the score 3-1. Right wing Carter Camper played the puck from the right wing corner out to left wing Craig Cunningham in the high slot. Cunningham spun around and fired a wrist shot that was deflected up and over the netminder's pads by Florek to give the Bruins the lead for good.

The Bruins opened the scoring at 3:54 of the opening period when center Jamie Arniel wristed a shot past Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones. Center Bobby Robins fed the puck over to Florek entering the neutral zone from the Bruins end of the ice. Florek slid the puck over to Arniel along the left wing boards. Arniel gained the Monarchs zone with speed and created a one-on-one situation with a Manchester defenseman. Arniel fired a quick wrist shot from the top of the left wing face-off circle as the Monarchs defender closed in. The puck beat Jones high on the stick side for his seventh tally of the season. Florek's assist was also his first professional point.

Center Justin Azevedo answered for the Monarchs to tie the game at 1-1 at 17:40 of the first period. Right wing Stefan Legein tried to flip a pass into the Bruins zone from the Monarchs blueline. A Bruins defenseman corralled the loose puck and attempted to send a pass to his teammate but Azevedo deflected the pass out of the air and chased it down. Azevedo fired a wrist shot from the top of the right wing face-off circle on the stick side of Bruins netminder Anton Khudobin for his team-leading 21st goal of the season.

The Bruins took a 2-1 lead when Cunningham scored nine minutes into the second period. Camper played the puck up to Florek along the right wing boards. Florek carried the puck to the right wing half wall before finding Cunningham in the high slot for the quick wrist shot. Cunningham's wrister beat Jones on the blocker side for his 17th tally of the season.

The Monarchs cut the lead to one goal when right wing Brandon Kozun scored to make it 3-2 at 12:59 of the third period. Kozun took an initial shot on net from the right hash mark that produced a loose puck in front of the net. Center Marc-Andre Cliche attempted to corral the loose puck but it went off his stick and defenseman Patrick Mullen tried to gain possession. Kozun followed his shot and poked the puck behind Khudobin in a scramble in front of the net for his 18th goal of the season.

Florek scored his second goal of the game to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead at 16:23 of the third period. With the Monarchs cycling the puck in the Bruins zone, Florek deflected a pass and into neutral territory. Florek raced to the puck and carried it to the left wing half wall before firing a quick wrist shot that found the back of the net under Jones' left arm on the far side of the net.

Defenseman David Warsofsky finished off the scoring with a shorthanded empty net goal at 18:31 of the third period. Warsofsky picked off a break-out pass from a Monarchs defenseman at the redline and released a wrist shot into the empty net for his fifth goal of the season.

Jones (15-16-2) took his 16th loss stopping 26-of-30 shots. Khudobin (20-17-3) earned his 20th victory of the season making 29 saves on 31 shots.

Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Manchester Monarchs Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central