Monarchs Dominate Lock Monsters; Gain 3-1 Victory
January 10, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH â The Manchester Monarchs earned their 20th win in their 40th game this season, edging the Lowell Lock Monsters, 3-1, at the Verizon Wireless Arena before a crowd of 9,514 on Saturday night. The win was the second straight for the Monarchs (20-15-2-3, 45 points), who climbed to within three points of the first place Hartford Wolf Pack in the Atlantic Division standings. The Monarchs host the Wolf Pack on Sunday. The win was also the fifth in nine match-ups this season against their closest rival. The Lock Monsters (14-17-3-3, 34 points) have just one win in their last six games (1-3-0-2) overall.
The Monarchs dominated play from start to finish but found themselves in a 1-1 game after 40 minutes thanks to goaltender Patrick DesRochers, who finished with 39 saves. Through two periods, the Monarchs held the 33-to-11 shots on goal advantage.
Center David Inman gave the Lock Monsters the improbable lead 11:16 into the second period with his third goal this season. The second-year pro out of Notre Dame converted on the power play by slipping his wrist shot from the top of the right circle through the pads of goaltender Mathieu Chouinard. Forward Mike Zigomanis and defenseman Brad Fast also earned assists on the play.
The Monarchs tied the game late in the period with the third goal in two games from center Esa Pirnes. Pirnes, who collected the game-tying and game-winning goal for the Monarchs in their 2-1 overtime win over the Portland Pirates on Friday, fired his nicely placed snap shot over the blocker of DesRochers and just inside the left post with 1:53 remaining in the period. Forward Michael Cammalleri and defenseman Doug Nolan each shared assists on the play. Cammalleri, who replaced Chouinard on the ice when a delayed penalty was called against the Lock Monsters, kept the play alive with a nifty shuffle near the blue line. He next slipped the puck to Nolan, who located Pirnes cruising through the slot. Pirnes took the Nolan offering, waited for traffic in front, and then uncorked his shot.
The Monarchs sealed the victory with goals from left wing Noah Clarke and left wing Scott Barney in the third period. Clarke collected his 11th goal 5:20 into the period with help from both right wing Pavel Rosa and center Steve Kelly. Defenseman Bryan Muir started the play with his bruising hit near the Monarchs blue line. Rosa and Kelly next charged into the Lock Monsters zone, with Rosa dishing to Kelly near the blue line. Kelly carried into the slot, and then slipped his headman pass to Clarke on the left wing. Clarke finished by neatly tucking the puck inside the left post.
Barney's first goal in five games sealed the Monarchs victory. He slid his team-leading 19th goal under the left pad of DesRochers with 9:26 remaining in the game. Pirnes and Muir assisted.
Chouinard, who improved to 4-0-0 on home ice this season with the win, was solid down the stretch with eight third period saves. He finished with a total of 18 stops. Chouinard has an overall record of 5-3-0 in 12 appearances with the Monarchs. DesRochers's loss dropped his record to 9-12-1 on the season.
The Monarchs return to action against the Wolf Pack at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday, January 11. The first 5,000 fans attending Sunday's game will receive a free Ryan Flinn Bobblehead Doll, courtesy of Pepsi.
Monarchs Ticket Availability as of January 10
Sun., Jan. 11 vs. Hartford: Less than 100 seats remain.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from January 10, 2004
- Kunitz, Aucoin lead Ducks past Wolves - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Hudler and Miller Key 4-3 Win over Barons - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Senators Fall to Phantoms, 2-1 - Binghamton Senators
- Monarchs Dominate Lock Monsters; Gain 3-1 Victory - Manchester Monarchs
- Bruins, Falcons battle to 2-2 tie - Providence Bruins
- Sound Tigers Shutout Norfolk 1-0 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Phantoms win 2-1 in Binghamton - Adirondack Phantoms
- Roadrunners Tie Baby Leafs - Edmonton Road Runners
- Bears Crank it up against Albany, Win 5-0 behind Lawson - Hershey Bears
- Michaud earns first AHL win with shutout - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Kutlak assigned to Providence - Providence Bruins
- Hilbert to play for P-Bruins tonight - Providence Bruins
- Columbus Recalls Johnson - Syracuse Crunch
- Crunch Announce Details Of Saturn Test Drive With The Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Leafs Unveil Wall of Fame before a sellout crowd - Toronto Marlies
- Griffins Go back to the 80s - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Jarrod Skalde Wears the Hat in Victory Over Milwaukee - Utah Grizzlies
- Center Tony Martensson Recalled by Anaheim - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Capitals Assign Gordon to Pirates - Portland Pirates
- Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Preview - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Sound Tigers Sign Dusbabek To PTO - Bridgeport Islanders
- Crunch Announce Details of Sleep City Wacky Pajama Night, Set For January 17 - Syracuse Crunch
- Upshall and Johansson reassigned - Milwaukee Admirals
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.
