AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs End String with Win over Portland

Published on March 5, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


PORTLAND, Maine - The Manchester Monarchs franchise-worst eight-game winless streak is history as is their scoreless streak in Portland.

The Monarchs stunned the Portland Pirates with four third period goals and regained second place in the North Division with a hard-fought 5-3 victory on Wednesday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center. The win snapped a Monarchs five-game winless streak against divisional opponents, and it moved the team to 74 points on the season. The Pirates, who entered play with a two-game winning streak, have 73 points on the season.

Mike Farrell slipped behind the Monarchs defense late in the opening period and scored his 10th goal on a right circle slap shot at 17:26. With two Monarchs defenseman converging on him, Mark Murphy skillfully delivered a pass to Farrell, who then pulled the trigger on his shot. Goaltender Travis Scott skated out of the crease to challenge the shot, which slid through his pads and slowly rolled into the Monarchs net. Dwayne Zinger also registered an assist on the play. Scott totaled 12 saves in the period, with one of his best coming at the end of a Portland power play on a Graham Mink's one-timer from the slot.

Glen Metropolit added to the Portland lead when he tipped home Krys Barch's centering pass from close range 5:40 into the middle period. Moments before goaltender Maxime Ouellet had stopped rookie Louis Goulet's scoring chance from the slot as he and Kip Brennan broke into the Portland zone on an odd-man rush.

With the Monarchs trailing 2-0 and skating short-handed, rookie Yanick Lehoux forced a Portland turnover near the Monarchs blue line and bolted all alone into the Pirates zone on a breakaway. Lehoux, who snapped a Monarchs scoreless streak of 153:05 with the goal, flipped his forehand shot over the glove of Ouellet at 13:05. The unassisted goal was Lehoux's first in 15 games and his 16th this season.

The Monarchs tied the game at 2-2 early in the third period as defenseman Joe Rullier's center-point shot fluttered past Ouellet at 1:05. Kent Davyduke's neutral zone steal set-up the play as he and Lehoux transitioned the turnover into a 2-on-1 break. Ouellet denied Lehoux's shot from the crease, but Rullier knocked down the Portland clearing attempt, then scored his second goal unassisted.

The Monarchs used the momentum of a third period power play to take their first lead at 3-2. Dietrich, who literally got off a plane, onto a bus and into a uniform in the span of two hours earlier in the day, scored his first Monarchs goal at 4:34, just seconds after the power play had come off the board. Dietrich scored from the left of the crease on a feed from Lehoux. Defenseman Richard Seeley also notched an assist on the goal.

The Pirates used their lone timeout to regain composure after the Dietrich goal, and the strategy worked as the home team scored 16 seconds later to tie the game at 3-3. Murphy recorded his third point of the night by slicing his shot by Scott with help from Metropolit and Barch at 4:50.

But the Monarchs continued to pressure Ouellet, and they were rewarded for their efforts when Steve Kelly netted the game winner with just 2:07 to play. Eric Healey's tough work in the corner paid off as he earned the only assist on Kelly's 17th goal.

The desperate Pirates pulled Ouellet with 90 seconds remaining, but never did seriously threaten to tie. Kelly's empty -net goal sealed the game with just 52 seconds remaining. Lonnie Loach and Scott assisted.

The Monarchs (31-19-9-3, 74 points) continue a stretch of 10 consecutive games away from home when they leave on Thursday for games in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts, on Friday and Saturday. The Monarchs next home game is set for Friday, March 14, against the Lowell Lock Monsters at the Verizon Wireless Arena at 7:35 p.m. Only a few hundred tickets remain for that game. For Monarchs ticket information, call (603) 626-7825.

NOTES: The Manchester Monarchs on Wednesday recalled center Brandon Dietrich from the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League and signed forwards Lonnie Loach and Louis Goulet, and defenseman Doug Schueller to professional tryout agreements...The moves were made necessary because nine Monarchs players are on call-up with the Los Angeles Kings and six Monarchs players are out with injuries...The list of injured includes captain Dane Jackson, who Wednesday missed just his second Monarchs games this season because of a wrist injury...Jackson scored the 199th goal of his AHL career on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phantoms...Wednesday's game was the ninth of 10 scheduled for the Monarchs and the Pirates this season...The Monarchs have a record of 4-3-2-0 against the Pirates this season.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2003


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