Friday Night Dwight's
March 25, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
NORFOLK, VA - Left wing Dwight King recorded his first career hat trick as the Manchester Monarchs posted a 4-0 shutout of the Norfolk Admirals Friday night at the Norfolk Scope.
Manchester (42-23-3-6, 93 points) is ranked second in the Atlantic Division, only a single point behind the division-leading Portland Pirates (43-18-6-2, 94 points). Norfolk (36-20-8-6, 86 points) is ranked fourth in the East Division with 86 points.
"Tonight's game was an exceptional road win," remarked Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris following the game. "With a short bench and some newcomers in the lineup, it was very rewarding. We had a huge game from (goaltender) Jeff Zatkoff and (right wing) Bud Holloway was extremely effective for us in all facets of the game."
"King had a hat trick and played very well and finished around the net," said Morris. "We killed off some key power plays. It was very gratifying to walk away - it was a real tough, physical affair and it should be an interesting game tomorrow night. Tempers flared and there was lots of physical play so I expect more of the same tomorrow night.
"Our fans should be proud of the way our guys laid it on the line tonight. It was a real gutsy effort," concluded Morris.
King scored his 22nd goal of the season on the power play at 17:45 of the second period, giving Manchester a 1-0 lead. From the defensive end of the ice, center Justin Azevedo sent a puck up ice to right wing Bud Holloway, who was skating up the right wing across the blueline. From the top of the right point, Holloway sent a pass across the slot to King, positioned within the left face-off circle. A wrist shot from the left face-off dot beat Admirals goaltender Dustin Tokarski five-hole for the Monarchs first goal of the game.
King scored his second goal of the game at 10:30 of the third period, doubling up the Admirals by a score of 2-0. A Monarchs player dumped the puck down into the left wing corner where King engaged an Admirals player in a puck battle. Skating away with the puck toward the left wing corner, King fired a bad angle shot on goal that snuck past Tokarski for King's 23rd goal of the season.
Left wing David Meckler scored his 15th goal of the season, an unassisted marker, at 13:46 of the third period. Following a puck battle in the neutral zone, Meckler skated up the left wing boards with the puck. Moving from left to right into the left face-off circle, Meckler wristed a shot on goal that beat Tokarski blocker-side, extending the Monarchs advantage to 3-0.
King added an empty net goal with 59 seconds remaining in regulation to complete the hat trick. With the puck sitting on the blueline at the right point, Holloway dished the puck toward the slot where King broke into the zone. Skating directly up ice, King eluded an Admirals defender and tapped the puck into the gaping net for his first professional three-goal performance.
Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (19-14-5) collected his 19th victory of the season, stopping all 35 shots on goal for his third shutout of the season. Tokarski (20-16-4) drew his 16th loss of the year, stopping 15-of-18 shots on net.
Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Norfolk was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2011
- IceHogs Finish Off Bulldogs 4-3 In Overtime - Rockford IceHogs
- Admirals Defeat Wolves 4-2 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Whale win over Checkers in shootout - Connecticut Whale
- Heat Fall 3-2 to Moose in Shootout - Abbotsford Heat
- Rampage Top Rivermen 4-2 - Peoria Rivermen
- Texas Rallys to Down Grand Rapids 5-3 - Texas Stars
- Aeros win 4-1 victory over Oklahoma City - Houston Aeros
- Amerks Fall To Monsters In Overtime; Drop Fourth Straight - Rochester Americans
- Moose Take The Heat In A Shootout 3-2 - Manitoba Moose
- Friday Night Dwight's - Manchester Monarchs
- Bulldogs Downed 4-3 by IceHogs in Overtime - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Phantoms Take Down the Bears - Adirondack Phantoms
- Rampage Sink Rivermen with 4-2 Win - San Antonio Rampage
- Crunch Demolish Devils, 6-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- Admirals Shut Out By Monarchs - Norfolk Admirals
- Rakhshani's Hat Trick Powers Sound Tigers Past Pirates 5-2 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Wolves Thrown Off By Admirals, 4-2 - Chicago Wolves
- P-Bruins Defeat Sharks 4-2 - Providence Bruins
- Devils Stall In Syracuse - Albany Devils
- Whale Stuns Checkers with Comeback Shootout Win - Charlotte Checkers
- Sharks trapped by Providence 4-2 - Worcester Sharks
- Sound Tigers Roll Against the Pirates - Portland Pirates
- Full Team Post-Game Autograph Session Sunday - Manitoba Moose
- Coyotes Recall Ryan Hollweg from San Antonio on Emergency Basis - San Antonio Rampage
- Florida Panthers Recall Patrick Rissmiller from Rochester - Rochester Americans
- Monarchs Sign Two to Tryout - Manchester Monarchs
- Anaheim Recalls Left Wing Matt Beleskey - Syracuse Crunch
- Minnesota Wild Reassigns Peters to Houston Aeros - Houston Aeros
- B-Sens Sign Defenseman R.J. Anderson and Goaltender Peter Vetri - Binghamton Senators
- Game Day Preview - Grand Rapids at Texas - Texas Stars
- Devils Add Blueliner - Albany Devils
- Islanders Recall Defenseman Ty Wishart - Bridgeport Islanders
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Game Day: Amerks Take on Red-Hot Monsters Tonight - Rochester Americans
- Hobey Baker Finalist Nyquist Joins Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- American Hockey League Announces Suspensions - AHL
- Senators Re-Assign Roman Wick to Binghamton (AHL), Recall Mike Brodeur - Binghamton Senators
- Barons Notes - Oklahoma City Barons
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