AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Beat Wolf Pack In Shootout

March 19, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MANCHESTER, NH – Left wing Dustin Brown scored the game-winning shootout goal and goaltender Mathieu Garon stopped all but one of the shootout attempts he faced as the Manchester Monarchs edged the Hartford Wolf Pack, 2-1, before 9,183 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. With their 42nd overall win (42-17-3-3, 90 points), the Monarchs moved three points ahead of the Wolf Pack (41-21-2-3, 87 points) in the race for the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division title. The Monarchs also have two games in hand on Hartford, 0-2-0-1 in its last three games.

The Monarchs, winners in five of their last six contests (5-1-0-0), also had a shootout goal from center Matt Ryan. Defenseman Lawrence Nycholat was the only Wolf Pack player to beat Garon in the five-round shootout.

Hartford goaltender Jason LaBarbera (5-2) suffered just second shootout loss of the season. Garon (2-3) took the win, his second in five shootouts this season. The Wolf Pack entered Friday's contest with six straight shootout wins.

The Monarchs did everything but score in the opening period, and they found themselves trailing 1-0 on the scoreboard after 20 minutes thanks to the goaltending of LaBarbera (42 shots, 41 saves). He finished the period with 19 saves.

Two saves, in particular, stood out. LaBarbera made a diving stop on Ryan to break up a 2-on-1 with 3:40 remaining in the period, and he made an outstanding save, robbing center Michael Cammalleri of a goal, with 1:30 left on the clock.

Left wing Alexandre Giroux had the only goal of the period, scored from the slot with the Wolf Pack on the power play at 14:05. Nycholat and center Jamie Lundmark shared assists on his team-leading 25th goal. The puck appeared to deflect off a stick in front before sliding by Garon (32 shots, 31 saves).

More of the same for LaBarbera in the middle period as he collected another nine saves and snuffed out a Cammalleri and left wing Jeff Giuliano 2-on-1 with five minutes left on the clock.

LaBarbera opened the third period with two more quality stops, one on center Jeff Miles from the left of the crease, the other from Cammalleri on a one-timer in front. But the Monarchs kept on attacking, and they were finally rewarded for their efforts with the 26th goal of the season for Brown, triggered from the right circle with 11:33 remaining in regulation. Cammalleri and right wing Tom Kostopoulos assisted on the goal. For Cammalleri, it was his team record 50th assist of the season.

Brown regulation goal set the stage for his shootout winner. He's now tied for the Monarchs team lead with six game-winning goals this season.

Garon improved his record to 26-11-3 on the season. LaBarbera, who entered Friday's action with four wins over the Monarchs this season, saw his record dip to 26-14-2 on the year.

Seven games into the season series, the Monarchs have a record of 3-2-2-0 in head-to-head action with the Wolf Pack. The teams conclude their season series with a game at the Hartford Civic Center on April 13.

The Monarchs return to action when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The first 5,000 fans attending Saturday's game will receive a free Monarchs toothbrush, courtesy of Northeast Delta Dental.

Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 300 seats in the Silver level remain for Saturday's game against the Sound Tigers.

Monarchs tickets 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 19, 2005


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