Flames Fall 7-4 to the Monarchs
December 21, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Saint John Flames News Release
Saint John, NB - Jason Morgan revived the Flames with back-to-back, unassisted, short-handed goals in the middle of the third period but in the end, it proved to late for the Flames as the Manchester Monarchs skated away with a 7-4 win.
The Monarchs were powered by Jared Aulin (5 assists), Eric Healey (3 goals, 1 assist) and Tomas Zizka (3 assists). Jerred Smithson (2 assists) and Chris Schmidt (2 goals) also posted multiple point performances for Manchester. For the Flames, Mike Martin (2 assist) and Jason Morgan (2 SH-goals) netted multiple point games also.
The first period saw a total of 7 goals scored and 64 penalty minutes assessed between the two squads with Manchester holding the 5-2 by the time the players headed to the dressing rooms.
The second frame saw a shift in pace. Eric Healy notched the only goal of the period to complete his hat trick.
In the third period, the teams again continued their subdued scoring pace from the second until the midway point of the period when Jason Morgan pinched on a penalty kill stealing the puck from Monarchs netminder Cristobal Huet and collecting a short-handed marker. Later on the same penalty kill, as the Flames changed their lines, Morgan again bit Huet, intercepting a long forward pass just inside centre ice and one-timing a shot into Manchesters open cage. That brought the Flames to within 2, however, that would be as close as it would get. Manchester would regain their 3-goal cushion with an empty net goal from their scoring leader, Steve Kelly, at 19:47.
Levente Szuper (3 GA, 5 Saves, 13:10, Loss) and Dany Sabourin (3 GA, 11 saves, 45:23) shared time in Saint John's net while Cristobal Huete (4 GA, 26 Saves, 53:05 Win) and Travis Scott (0 GA, 7 Saves, 6:55) did so for Manchester.
The games three stars were: 1. Jared Aulin (MCH), 2. Eric Healey (MCH), 3. Jason Morgan (SJN)
The Flames now sit a 9-16-2-1 on the season, good for 21 points and fourth in the Canadian Division.
American Hockey League Stories from December 21, 2002
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