Martin Jones' Locker
Published on October 15, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
PORTLAND, ME - Goaltender Martin Jones backstopped the Manchester Monarchs past the Portland Pirates in a 5-1 victory at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night.
Manchester (3-1-0-0) is tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with the St. John's IceCaps (3-1-0-0) with six points each. Portland (1-1-0-0) is tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with two points.
"It was another impressive outing for this team," said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. "There were contributions from everyone and it's nice to see the guys enjoying some early success. Half the battle is learning to be consistent. The players are playing hard for one another. It's a fun group to watch. Good work habits and lots of enthusiasm add up to good days at the rink."
Center Andrei Loktionov made the score 2-0 as he snap a wrist shot past netminder Curtis McElhinney for his first goal of the season. Center Marc-Andre Cliche won an offensive zone face-off back to defenseman Andrew Campbell at the right point. Campbell promptly returned the favor and Cliche redirected the pass to Loktionov along the right wing boards. Loktionov grabbed the puck and created space by skating toward the center of the zone, releasing a laser from just outside of the hash marks. The shot eluded McElhinney as he was screened by one of his defensemen. Loktionov's tally came at 16:23 of the first period and proved to be the eventual game-winning goal.
The Monarchs opened the scoring when left wing David Meckler buried a centering pass on the right doorstep of McElhinney. After gaining the offensive zone, defenseman David Kolomatis flipped the puck to left wing Ray Kaunisto who drew in three Portland defenders. Kaunisto centered the puck to an open Meckler for the winger's third tally of the season at 15:37 of the first period.
The Monarchs stretched the lead to three as defenseman Jake Muzzin launched a slap shot from just inside the blueline at 6:57 of the middle period. Manchester gained control off of a turnover in the Pirates zone and began to cycle the puck. Muzzin gained control of the puck and released a booming slap shot that ricocheted off a Pirates defender and found the back of the net. Defenseman Slava Voynov and right wing Jordan Nolan set up Muzzin for his first goal of the season.
The Pirates offense cut the lead to 3-1 at 9:51 of the second stanza. Right wing Brett Hextall broke out of his zone, skated through neutral ice and gained the Monarchs blueline as he sent a cross-ice pass to defenseman Garrett Stafford. With center Colin Long positioning himself on the Monarchs left doorstep, Stafford sent a pass to the net. Long tapped in the pass to beat Jones for his first goal of the season.
In the final frame, the scoring was opened up by Kaunisto who banged home a loose puck at 14:56. While up against the end boards, Meckler threw a centering pass to the front of the net intended for Kaunisto. After it hit a Pirates defenseman's skate, Kaunisto swiped the puck over the goal line. Muzzin was credited with an assist on the play; his second point of the night.
Center Justin Azevedo finished off the Pirates by setting up right wing Brandon Kozun's first goal of the season. Azevedo received a pass from right wing Stefan Legein and charged up the left wing. Kozun broke down the center of the zone as Azevedo fired a tape-to-tape pass from the left corner. Kozun snapped the puck past McElhinney for the final goal of the contest at 16:31 of the third period.
Jones (3-1-0) earned his third victory and second road-win of the season stopping 32-of-33 shots. McElhinney (1-1-0) picked up his first loss of the season making 28 saves on 33 shots.
The Monarchs went 0-for-4 on the power play. Portland was 0-for-8 with the man-advantage.
American Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2011
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- Martin Jones' Locker - Manchester Monarchs
- Admirals Top Wolves 3-2 in Shoot-Out - Milwaukee Admirals
- Hamel Scores 317th But Phantoms Take First Loss - Adirondack Phantoms
- Crunch Crush Phantoms 6-2 in Front of Sellout Crowd on Mirabito Opening Night - Syracuse Crunch
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