Monarchs Edge Bruins In Thriller
January 2, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH â Goaltender Adam Hauser had 30 saves and right wing Sam Ftorek had the game-winning goal as the Manchester Monarchs edged the Providence Bruins, 2-1, in front of their sixth sellout of the year at the Verizon Wireless Arena. A crowd 9,916 strong cheered strongly as the Monarchs withstood a late charge from the Bruins to win their 17th game of the season. The win, the third in five meetings with the Bruins, pushed the Monarchs (17-14-2-3, 39 points) to within one point of the Bruins (16-12-8-0, 40 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Hartford Wolf Pack (18-12-4-1) leads the division with 41 points.
Hauser secured his first win since Nov. 29 with 11 third period saves. The Bruins pulled goaltender Tim Thomas with one minute remaining in regulation, but could not net the equalizer as left wing Rob Zamuner fired his left circle shot wide with 38 seconds left, and right wing Carl Corazzini fanned on a wide open shot between the circles with 15 seconds left.
The opening period finished scoreless, mainly because of the stellar play of Thomas. The veteran netminder finished with 18 saves in the period, and several of his best stops came with the Monarchs holding the two-man advantage. The Monarchs gained the two-man advantage after defenseman Ed Campbell was whistled for a high sticking major that produced a cut over the right eye of center Steve Kelly. Defenseman Jonathan Zion, left wing Noah Clarke, left wing Brad Church and Kelly all had cracks at Thomas on the power play, but Thomas stood his ground.
Corazzini, who scored the game-winning goal shorthanded in a 3-2 Bruins victory over the Monarchs at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Dec. 26, produced two of the Bruins best chances to score in the opening stanza. The former Boston University Terrier tried to jam a rebound by Hauser at the end of a Bruins power play, but he couldn't locate the puck between his skates before it was cleared to the corner. He also nearly scored with his backhanded wraparound attempt after stealing the puck from Hauser and defenseman Tomas Zizka deep in the Monarchs zone. Hauser, however, raced back to the crease and kicked away the shot attempt with his right pad. The Monarchs were on the power play at the time.
The Monarchs broke the scoreless deadlock with right wing Pavel Rosa's 14th goal, scored 9:25 into the second period. Rosa blasted Kelly's drop pass by Thomas from the right circle. Church, who has points in five of his last six games, also assisted on the play.
Corazzini used his trademark hustle and a little luck to tie the game at 1-1 with 2:17 remaining in the period. The pesky winger scored by deflecting the puck off the skate of defenseman Doug Nolan, who had just skated into the crease area. The puck clipped Nolan's skate and caromed past Hauser. Center Andre Savage and defenseman Rich Brennan shared assists on Corazzini's team-leading 10th goal.
The Monarchs took the lead for good just 34 seconds later when right wing Sam Ftorek redirected Zion's slap shot from the left point. The goal was Ftorek's second since signing a professional tryout agreement with the Monarchs on Nov. 29.
The Monarchs, in the middle of a four-game homestand, return to action on Sunday, Jan. 4 when they host the Lowell Lock Monsters at 4:05 p.m. Only single seats remain for Sunday's game, as the Monarchs will honor area youth with their Student Achievers program. Over 800 kids are expected to attend Sunday's game as a reward for doing well in school.
Monarchs Ticket Availability as of January 2
Sun., Jan. 4 vs. Lowell: Gold Level: Single seats. Silver Level: Single seats.
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American Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2004
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