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Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs clinch Eastern Conference title with win

April 13, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


PROVIDENCE, RI - The Manchester Monarchs clinched their second Eastern Conference title in their 13-year history, registering their fifth consecutive win after defeating the Providence Bruins, 3-2, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester (48-19-2-6) leads the Atlantic Division with 104 points. Providence (39-24-2-9) is ranked third in the Atlantic Division with 89 points.

"Today's win was a hard fought battle and it typified this season to date, "said Monarchs head coach Mark Morris. "Most of the season, we've squeezed out wins when games are on the line. We found a way to get it done again this afternoon. Guys stepped up even though we lost two key players in last night's game against Portland; Brian O'Neill and Andrew Bodnarchuk. The winning goal came from an unlikely source, Jeff Schultz. He came through for us with a timely blast from the blueline to beat Malcolm Subban. Wrapping up the Eastern Conference is quite a feat when you consider the obstacles teams are faced with at the AHL level. This bunch is a fun group to be around and they work hard for one another. We hope to build on today's effort and use our next game to gear up for the postseason."

Defenseman Jeff Schultz scored the game-winning goal at 2:39 of the third period. After gathering a pass from right wing Steve Quailer, Schultz fired a slap shot toward Providence goaltender Malcolm Subban. The puck found its way past several bodies in front of Subban and found its way into the top corner of the net for the 3-2 lead and Schultz's second tally of the season.

Providence found the scoreboard first with a rebound goal by right wing Alexander Fallstrom. Forward Andrew Cherniwchan passed the puck to defenseman Mike Moore at the blueline. Moore fired a shot at Monarchs goaltender J.F. Berube which deflected off of his right pad. Fallstrom picked up the rebound and put it past Berube, making it 1-0 at 4:14 of the first period.

The Monarchs answered with a power play goal at the 10:50 mark of the opening period from left wing Andy Andreoff. Right wing Zach O'Brien received a pass along the left wing boards from center Linden Vey and put a quick wrist shot net. Andreoff secured the rebound on Subban's left pad side and put it between the netminder's legs for the goal.

Right wing Scott Sabourin gave the Monarchs a 2-1 lead at 3:09 of the second period with his 12th goal of the season. Sabourin stole the puck from a Bruins' defenseman in the Monarchs offensive zone. Sabourin swept across the right face-off circle toward the net and lifted one top-shelf over Subban's glove.

Providence evened the game back up at two apiece on a goal from right wing Nick Johnson at 6:33 of the second period. Fallstrom picked up the loose puck along the right wing boards in the Bruins offensive zone after a delayed penalty was called. Fallstrom skated down near the bottom of the right face-off circle and fed one over to Johnson in the left circle. Sitting atop the face-off dot, Johnson gathered the biscuit and snapped one into the net. Defenseman Tommy Cross assisted on Johnson's 18th tally of the season.

Berube (28-16-2) earned his 28th win of the season, stopping 18-of-20 shots. Subban (15-9-5) took his ninth loss of the season, making 24 saves on 27 shots he faced in the game.

Manchester was 1-for-3 on the power play. Providence went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.

Notables: The Monarchs have clinched their second Eastern Conference title in their 13-year history...Manchester has won their last five contests...The Monarchs have improved their record to 8-3-0-0 against the Providence Bruins this season...Manchester has scored at least once on the power play in their last three consecutive games (5-for-16)...Defenseman Jeff Schultz recorded his first goal with the Monarchs since October 12, 2013.

The Monarchs return to the Dunkin Donuts Center to battle the Bruins in the final regular season game at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 18. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on Monarchs Radio Network WGIR AM 610, WGIRAM.com, and at manchestermonarchs.com presented by Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

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