AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Advance To The Eastern Conference Title

Published on May 24, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


At Hershey (5/22): Left wing Boyd Kane scored the game-winning goal at 7:06 of the overtime period to give the Hershey Bears a 3-2 overtime victory over the Manchester Monarchs in game six of the 2010 Eastern Conference Final at Giant Center on Saturday. The victory gave the Bears the Conference series and advanced them to the Calder Cup Final where they will face-off against either the Texas Stars or the Hamilton Bulldogs. Right wing John Zeiler and defenseman Joe Piskula tallied for the Monarchs. Left wing Alexandre Giroux and defenseman Patrick McNeill scored in regulation for the Bears. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (10-6) was saddled with his sixth loss of the playoffs, stopping 28-of-31 shots on net. Bears netminder Michal Neuvirth (10-2) collected his 10th win of the post-season, halting 32-of-34 shots. Manchester did not have a power play opportunity. Hershey was 0-for-1 with the man advantage.

Vs. Hershey (5/20): Left wing Chris Bourque's goal at 10:28 of the overtime period lifted the Hershey Bears over the Manchester Monarchs, 3-2, in overtime at the Giant Center on Saturday night. Hershey has a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series of the 2010 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final. Game three is at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester on Monday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m. Center Gabe Gauthier tallied both goals for the Monarchs. Bourque scored twice for the Bears, including the game-winner, and center Steve Pinizzotto picked up his fourth tally of the post-season in the third period to push overtime. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (8-4) took his fourth loss of the playoffs with 37 saves on 40 shots. Bears netminder Michal Neuvirth (8-0) earned his eighth win of the post-season stopping 31-of-33 shots. Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Hershey was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Vs. Hershey (5/18): Goaltender Jonathan Bernier recorded his third shutout of the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs to lead the Manchester Monarchs to a 1-0 victory over the Hershey Bears in game four of the Eastern Conference Final at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Tuesday night. The series is tied 2-2 with game five in Manchester on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Monarchs left wing Dwight King scored the lone goal in the game. Bernier (10-4) collected his 10th victory of the playoffs, stopping all 18 shots on goal. Bears goaltender Michal Neuvirth (8-2) drew his second loss of the post-season, halting 25-of-26 shots. Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Hershey was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Vs. Hershey (5/17): Center Justin Azevedo scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Manchester Monarchs over the Hershey Bears, 3-2, in overtime at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Monday evening. Manchester cut Hershey's series lead in half to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series of the 2010 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final. Right wing John Zeiler and center Gabe Gauthier scored in regulation for the Monarchs. Left wing Alexandre Giroux and center Mathieu Perreault tallied in regulation for the Bears. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (9-4) collected his ninth victory of the playoffs, stopping 23-of-25 shots on goal. Bears netminder Michal Neuvirth (8-1) drew his first loss of the post-season, halting 37-of-40 shots. Manchester went 0-for-7 on the power play. Hershey was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

NEWS & NOTES The Manchester Monarchs (10-6) were eliminated from the 2010 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Final by the Hershey Bears, 4-2, in the best-of-seven series.

NEWS & NOTES (CONTINUED) This is the second time the Monarchs have advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in franchise history and the second time they have been eliminated by Hershey. Manchester previously met the Bears in the conference final during the 2007 Calder Cup playoffs and were swept by Hershey in four straight games.

During the regular season, the Monarchs and Bears finished with an even head-to-head record of 1-1.

Hershey 4 @ Manchester 1 on November 7, 2009 Manchester 2 @ Hershey 1 on October 11, 2009

The Monarchs handed the Bears one of only four regulations losses at the Giant Center during the regular season.

Left wing Bud Holloway (7-7=14) led the Monarchs in goals scored with seven tallies and points with 14. All of Holloway's goals were game-winners which tied him with right wing Darren Haydar for the most game-winning goals in one AHL post-season. Haydar completed his six game-winners in 21 games during the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs with the Milwaukee Admirals. Holloway had six game-winning goals in 16 games this post-season.

Holloway was the only player in the AHL with six game-winning goals in the playoffs this season.

Holloway seven tallies were tied for seventh place in the AHL.

Holloway also led the Monarchs with a plus/minus rating of plus-7.

Center Gabe Gauthier (7-4=11) ranked second on the Monarchs with 11 points and tied Holloway with seven goals.

Right wing Trevor Lewis (5-4=9) ranked third on the Monarchs roster with five goals and was tied with center Justin Azevedo (3-6=9), left wing Dwight King (2-7=9) and center Andrei Loktionov (1-8=9) for third place on the Monarchs with nine points.

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier finished with a record of 10-6 this post-season. His 1.81 goals-against-average ranked second in the AHL and his .939 save percentage finished first the league. He stopped 458-of-488 shots through 996 minutes of play.

Bernier's three shutouts also led the AHL.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from May 24, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central