AHL Manchester Monarchs

Manchester falls to Portland 4-1

March 28, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Manchester Monarchs could not recover from a fast start as they lost to netminder Peter Mannino and the Portland Pirates, 4-1, at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Wednesday night.

Manchester (35-31-0-3) ranks second in the Atlantic Division with 73 points. The Pirates (31-29-3-5) are in third place in the Atlantic Division with 70 points.

"The puck was not our friend in Portland," said Monarch Head Coach Mark Morris. "We fumbled too many passes at key moments. Our first seven or eight minutes, we dominated, but soon after our first goal was called off our execution began to deteriorate. We needed to be crisp. There were lots of near misses and great chances but we couldn't seem to make plays the way we are capable of making. This game was there for us if we were able to complete more plays. We squandered this opportunity to distance ourselves from the teams on our heels."

Right wing Brett MacLean gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the first period. Defenseman Tyler Eckford found MacLean at the Monarchs blueline as he split the defensemen. MacLean skated the puck into the zone before firing a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff on the stick side. MacLean's 20th goal of the season was also assisted by right wing Matt Watkins.

Shortly after Monarchs defenseman Patrick Mullen had a goal waived off, the Pirates took an early 1-0 lead at 7:31 of the opening period when defenseman Nick Ross one-timed a shot past Zatkoff. With Portland on the power play, right wing Ryan Duncan passed the puck from the right wing half wall to right wing Mathieu Beaudoin at the bottom of the right wing face-off circle. Beaudoin skated to the net before finding Ross who was driving down the center of the ice. Ross finished off the play by one-timing in his second tally of the season.

The Monarchs cut the Pirates lead to 2-1 at 2:49 of the second period as left wing Ray Kaunisto tallied his sixth goal of the season. Defenseman Nick Deslauriers found right wing Brandon Kozun who carried the puck into the Pirates zone along the right wing boards. As Kozun stepped over the Pirates blueline, he found Kaunisto breaking down the left wing. Kaunisto corralled the pass at the top of the left face-off circle before skating in and across the goal. Kaunisto slid the puck from his forehand to his backhand and past an outstretched Mannino.

The Pirates regained a two-goal lead at 6:32 of the second period off the stick of MacLean. Center Ethan Werek started the transition by finding MacLean in the neutral zone. MacLean found Watkins along the left wing boards entering the Monarchs zone. Watkins skated in before firing a slap shot from the top of the left wing face-off circle which produced a rebound in front of the net. MacLean scooped the rebound in to the open net for his 21st tally of the season and second goal of the game.

Right wing Ashton Rome extended the Pirates lead to 4-1 at 19:07 of the second period. Ross intercepted a Monarchs breakout pass in the neutral zone and tipped it to left wing Kenndal McArdle along the left wing boards. McArdle played the puck to Rome who gained the Monarchs zone down the left wing side with speed. Rome released a wrist shot from the top of the left wing face-off circle for his 10th goal of the season.

Zatkoff (20-15-1) took his 15th loss of the season stopping 16-of-20 shots. Monarchs netminder Martin Jones relieved Zatkoff at the beginning of the third period and turned aside all nine shots faced. Mannino (8-8-1) earned his eighth victory of the season making 33 saves on 34 shots.

Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Portland was 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

Notables: The Monarchs are ranked in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 73 points as the top eight teams qualify for the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs...The Monarchs are 7-5-0-0 against the Portland Pirates this season...Center Justin Azevedo had a four-game goal streak snapped.

The Monarchs travel to the DCU Center to take on the Worcester Sharks at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 31. Catch all the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio network WGIR 610 AM, WTPL 107.7 FM The Pulse, WGIR.com and at www.manchestermonarchs.com, presented by Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.



American Hockey League Stories from March 28, 2012


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