AHL Manchester Monarchs

Late Goal Dooms Monarchs

February 20, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LOWELL, Massachusetts - Jeff Daw's goal with less than four minutes to play and goaltender Arturs Irbe's 30 saves gave the Lowell Lock Monsters their first win against the Manchester Monarchs since opening night for both teams. Daw's goal, his 13th this season, also put an end to the Monarchs eight-game winning streak over their North Division rivals and it ended the Lock Monsters nine-game winless streak overall as the home team skated to 2-1 win at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell before an announced crowd of over 4,000 fans. The Monarchs entered play with a two-game winning streak. Lowell's last win over the Monarchs was a 7-3 triumph at the Verizon Wireless Arena on October 11, 2002.

Irbe, assigned to the Lock Monsters by the Carolina Hurricanes after clearing waivers last week, earned top star honors from the media present at the game. The 36-year-old Latvian earned his first minor league win since the 1995-96 season in his second home start and third overall appearance for the Lock Monsters.

Daw's goal, scored at 16:34 of the final period and on the Lock Monsters 41st shot, shocked the Monarchs who earlier in the period had tied the game on Steve Kelly's 13th goal. Damian Kurka and defenseman Steve Halko earned their second points of the night by assisting on the game-winner.

Kelly had to wait over 54 minutes to extend his personal point streak to four games, but the wait was worth it as he gathered in a neutral zone pass from defenseman Tomas Zizka and bolted toward the Lock Monsters net on a partial breakaway. Kelly patiently waited for Irbe to commit and then skillfully backhanded a shot just inside the near post at 14:01. The Lock Monsters took advantage of a Monarchs penalty midway through the second period to score their first goal. Kurka recorded his 12th goal and his third against the Monarchs this season by flipping a shot toward the net after receiving a behind the net feed from Halko. Kurka's goal, scored at 9:03, seemed to catch Scott by surprise. Mike Watt also earned an assist on the power play tally.

The Monarchs best chance to score in the period occurred minutes before when Irbe received plenty of help from defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy. The fearless McCarthy faced down defenseman Richard Seeley's slap shot from the blue line and calmly kicked it away from the goalmouth with 15:45 left in the period. Moments before Irbe had left the crease to make a save. Seeley also was unable to finish against Irbe later in the period as the savvy netminder stood his ground before snuffing out his wide-open chance with 13:30 to play in the period. Seeley, trailing on the play, had a clear lane to the net after Kelly located him for the far corner.

Two veteran goaltenders battled their way through a scoreless first period as Travis Scott matched 12-year NHL'er Irbe save for save. Irbe turned aside 12 Monarchs attempts, and Scott was even busier repelling 15 shots in his first Monarchs start since February 8. Scott, who has one NHL appearance to his credit, was on recall with the Los Angeles Kings for a week before returning to Manchester yesterday. In his first start back, he took the loss despite tying a Monarchs season high with 40 saves.

The Monarchs (30-14-7-3, 2nd North Division) return to action on Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena for a match-up with the Portland Pirates at 7:35 p.m. ESPN analyst Barry Melrose will be a special guest at Friday's game. Melrose and his "hockey hair" will be inducted into the Mullet Hall of Fame as the Monarchs celebrate Mullet Night. Over 4,000 mullet wigs, provided by Trimz Family Haircut Center, will be distributed to the men in attendance at Friday's game, and only a few hundred tickets remain. For ticket information, contact the Monarchs at (603) 626-7825.

NOTES...The Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday recalled goaltender Cristobal Huet, who will join the Kings in Philadelphia for Thursday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers (8:00 EST). Huet, 27, has yet to appear in an NHL game. In 30 games with the Monarchs this season, he has a 16-8-5 record, a 2.29 goals against average, a .922 save percentageand one shutout. The 6-foot-0, 194-pound native of St. Martin D'Heres, France,was selected by the Kings in the seventh round (214th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft...Eric Healey's four-game goal streak and Greg Koehler's seven-game point streak came to an end against the Lock Monsters on Wednesday...Prior to Wednesday, the Monarchs had scored the first goal in nine straight games.



American Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2003


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