Garon Nails Down Team Record Eighth Shutout
Published on March 25, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH â Goaltender Mathieu Garon pitched his second consecutive shutout to lead the Manchester Monarchs over the Portland Pirates, 3-0, before 9,658 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. Garon set a Monarchs single season record with his eighth overall shutout this season. The 27-year-old netminder also stretched his current shutout streak to over 170 minutes with his 23 saves against the Pirates. His streak dates back three games to Friday, March 18 against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
With the win, their 44th of the season, the Monarchs (44-17-4-3, 95 points) moved four points in front of the idle Wolf Pack (43-21-2-3, 91 points) in the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division. The Monarchs also moved to within four points of clinching their fourth consecutive Calder Cup playoff berth. Two more wins and the Monarchs are guaranteed a spot in the postseason.
The Pirates chances for postseason play took a major hit on Friday night. With a record of 31-29-3-5 and 70 points, they trail the Providence Bruins and the Worcester IceCats by six points in the race for the fourth and final playoff spot in the division.
The Monarchs broke a scoreless tie 14:15 into the middle period with a highlight reel goal from center David Steckel. Fresh out of the penalty box, defenseman Joe Rullier outraced Portland defenseman Chris Hajt to a loose puck in the Pirates end and then centered for Steckel, who did the rest. The rookie out of Ohio State University cut down the slot, faked forehand and then softly backhanded his eighth goal of the season past Pirates goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck (31 shots, 28 saves) and into the Portland net. Veteran left wing Chris Schmidt also notched an assist on the goal.
The Monarchs doubled their lead 3:01 later with a power play goal, and once again an excellent pass led to the tally. This time, center Michael Cammalleri hit right wing Tom Kostopoulos in full stride at the Portland blue line. Kostopoulos gathered in the pass and then drove hard toward the net before scoring his 21st goal of the season. Garon (23 shots, 23 saves) picked up his third assist of the season on the play.
With his team-leading 93rd point (40-53=93) this season, Cammalleri moved into second place on the Monarchs all-time scoring list. He has152 career points (65-87=152). Only former Monarchs center Steve Kelly (50-114=164) has more career points than Cammalleri.
The Monarchs made it a three-goal game 6:35 into the final frame with the eighth goal of the season from left wing Jeff Giuliano. The Nashua, New Hampshire native redirected a blue line wrist shot from defenseman Jason Holland underneath the right pad of Daubenspeck. Right wing Dan Welch also had a hand in the play.
Garon (28-11-3) finished with his 28th win. He's allowed the opposition just four goals in his last four games, and he's finished with wins in each of the four contests. Daubenspeck (13-6-1) took the loss, just his sixth in 21 appearances for the Pirates this season.
Pirates goaltender Maxime Daigneault (3 shots, 3 saves) replaced Daubenspeck in net midway through the third period.
With three games still to be played in the season series, the Monarchs have a record of 6-0-0-1 in seven head-to-head match-ups with the Pirates this season.
The Monarchs will rematch with the Pirates on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center. After that, they'll meet the Lowell Lock Monsters on Wednesday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell before hosting the Providence Bruins on Friday, April 1 at 7:35 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 1,000 seats in the Silver level remain for Friday's game against the Bruins.
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.
American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2005
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