AHL Manchester Monarchs

Lundmark Hat Trick Leads Hartford Past Manchester

March 2, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


HARTFORD, CT – Three goals and four points from center Jamie Lundmark led the Hartford Wolf Pack over the Manchester Monarchs, 4-2, before 4,156 fans at the Hartford Civic Center on Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Wolf Pack (37-18-2-2, 78 points) pulled to within two points of the first place Monarchs (37-16-3-3, 80 points) in the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division.

The loss was the seventh in nine games for the Monarchs, who continue to struggle offensively. The Monarchs have failed to score more than two goals in all seven losses during their current slide.

The Monarchs collected six of the first seven shots in the game and their fast start led to the only goal of the opening period, scored by rookie center Jeff Miles at 2:47. Left wing Jeff Giuliano and right wing Tom Kostopoulos shared assists on the second goal of the season for Miles, sliced home from the bottom of the right circle.

The Wolf Pack, which was held to just seven shots in the opening period, fired eight shots at Monarchs goaltender Mathieu Garon (38 shots, 35 saves) in the first three minutes of the middle period. The Hartford flurry of activity included a one-timer from right wing Jed Ortmeyer, a backhander from defenseman Bryce Lampman and another one-timer from right wing Jeff Hamilton. Garon stopped all three scoring chances. He also had a little luck on his side as center Layne Ulmer missed a wide-open net when he attempted to stuff a rebound past Garon 5:15 into the period.

The Monarchs withstood the offensive onslaught as Hartford attempted the first 12 shots of the period. The Monarchs best chance to add to their lead occurred on their first shot of the period. Rookie center Matt Ryan took a center ice feed from left wing Dustin Brown and charged hard into the Hartford zone on a breakaway, but Wolf Pack goaltender Jason LaBarbera (29 shots, 27 saves) turned aside his 15-foot wrist shot with 9:44 remaining in the period.

Garon's luck left him early in the third period when he was whistled for a delay of game penalty. While attempting to relieve pressure, he sent the puck up over the right corner glass and into the netting.

Lundmark tied the game on the ensuing power play, lifting a rebound over the sprawled out Garon at 3:32. Defenseman Lawrence Nycholat and Hamilton shared assists on his eighth goal of the season and fourth on the power play.

Lundmark also had a hand in the next goal scored by Wolf Pack defenseman Jeff McMillan at 16:29. MacMillan's drive from the right circle dribbled through the pads of Garon. Center Alexandre Giroux also assisted on the play.

The Wolf Pack added to their lead 61 seconds later with the second goal of the game for Lundmark. He collected his ninth goal of the season shorthanded with an assist going to Ortmeyer, who stole the puck out of the corner of the Monarchs end.

The Monarchs pulled Garon for an extra attacker and sliced the deficit to one-goal with the league-leading 34th tally of the season for center Michael Cammalleri. Right wing Brad Smyth and Brown had assists on the play as Cammalleri maneuvered through traffic before sliding a rebound past LaBarbera at 19:03.

But Lundmark iced the game by tossing his hat trick goal into an empty net with 10 seconds to play. Ortmeyer and Lampman had assists on his 10th of the season.

LaBarbera improved to 4-0-0 on the season against the Monarchs with the win. He leads the Wolf Pack with a record of 24-11-1. Garon took the loss. His record dipped to 2-3-0 against the Wolf Pack and 24-11-3 overall.

The Monarchs are off until the host the Providence Bruins on Sunday, March 6 at 4:05 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

New Hampshire Legends Of Hockey - Pay tribute to the newest members of the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey when the Monarchs host the Providence Bruins on Sunday, March 6 at 4:05 p.m. The Monarchs will wear commemorative UNH jerseys for the game. The jerseys will then be auctioned off after the game with proceeds benefiting the Legends of Hockey, an organization that honors men and women who have contributed greatly to the sport of ice hockey in the state.

The newest class of inductees will be honored at a luncheon, scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at the Wayfarer Inn, and then introduced during an on-ice ceremony at the Verizon Wireless Arena prior to the Monarchs game with the Bruins. Tickets for the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey luncheon are $30 and can be purchased by calling Dick Theriault at (603) 895-2450. Theriault can also be reached via e-mail at dtheriaultd@msn.com .

Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold Level and 550 seats in the Silver level remain for Sunday's game against the Bruins.

Tickets for New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Night with the Monarchs 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 2, 2005


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