AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Go Down with the Ship

Published on December 3, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MANCHESTER, NH - Left wing Mike Angelidis recorded two goals and three assists as the Norfolk Admirals snapped Manchester Monarchs four-game winning streak, 7-2, on Friday evening at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Manchester (15-8-1-1) recorded their eighth loss of the season while remaining in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division with 32 points. Norfolk (13-6-3-1) is ranked second in the East Division with 30 points.

"Our start was lethargic at best," explained Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris following the tough defeat. "[Getting off to a good start] is a point of emphasis every game. We didn't give ourselves a chance. I put most of the result on us having a poor start.

"I feel for Zatkoff; we didn't give him a good chance to win. We have a combination of things to correct before the puck drops again," concluded Morris.

Right wing Matt Fornataro scored his second goal of the night, his seventh tally of the season, at 4:45 of the second period. Angelidis found center Paul Szczechura streaking through the neutral zone. Szczechura carried the puck into the Monarchs zone when he was tied up to the left of Manchester goaltender Jeff Zatkoff. Fornataro gathered the loose puck and deked Zatkoff before lofting a shot top shelf for the third goal of the game.

At 1:49 of the first period, Angelidis tallied his sixth goal of the season to put Norfolk on the board. To Zatkoff's left, Fornataro won the draw back to defenseman Mathieu Roy, who let go of a quick wrister. Angelidis would deflect Roy's shot past Zatkoff on his glove side for the Admirals' second goal.

Fornataro scored his sixth goal of the season at 12:23 of the first period to give the Admirals the early 2-0 edge. Fornataro was positioned in the slot when he received a drop pass from Angelidis. Fornataro quickly let go of a snap shot to beat Zatkoff high on his glove side.

Left wing Dwight King tallied his seventh goal of the season, a power play goal, at 17:10 of the first period. Defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov gathered the puck at the left point and then cycled the puck to center Oscar Moller who unleashed a one-timer that was redirected by King in the crease for the Monarchs first goal of the season.

Center Blair Jones recorded his eighth goal of the season at 9:18 of the second period to give the Admirals the 4-1 lead. Left wing Pierre-Cedric Labrie let a shot go from the top of the right face-off circle after being fed the puck by Angelidis. Zatkoff could not corral the puck that landed on Jones' stick when he fired the puck home.

Angelidis tallied his second goal of the night, his seventh of the season, at 18:55 of the second period to give the Admirals a 5-1 advantage. Left wing Chris Durno connected with Roy in the neutral zone, who carried the puck deep into the Monarchs zone when he dropped the puck back to Angelidis. Camped at the top of the left face-off circle, Angelidis fired a wrist shot top shelf that beat Zatkoff on his stick side.

Center Marc-Antoine Pouliot extended the Admirals lead to 6-1 at 19:38 of the second period. Center James Wright was fed by defenseman Scott Jackson as he was streaking through the neutral zone. Wright lost control of the puck, but it was quickly gathered by Pouliot. The veteran center fired a quick snap shot that deflected off of Zatkoff and into the net.

Goaltender Martin Jones replaced Zatkoff in net for the Monarchs for the third period.

Left wing Bud Holloway scored his sixth goal of the season at 2:35 of the third period. The goal was set up after right wing Brandon Kozun and defenseman Patrick Mullen played hot potato with the puck near the left point. When Kozun collected the puck in the right face-off dot, he quickly fired the puck toward Admirals goaltender Cedrick Desjardins. Holloway, stationed at the far post, missed an initial swipe of the puck but put home the rebound while being knocked to the ice by a defender.

Pouliot tallied his second marker of the night, his sixth of the season, at the eight minute mark of the third period. Roy started the Admirals breakout when he passed the puck to Wright who was streaking through the neutral zone. Wright fed Pouliot who carried the puck over the Monarchs blueline. Skating through the slot, Pouliot beat Jones on the glove side.

Zatkoff (9-7-1) drew the loss, stopping 15-of-21 shots on net. Jones relieved Zatkoff to begin the third period, halting 6-of-7 shots on goal. Desjardins (9-4-1) collected his ninth win of the season, making 23 saves on 25 shots on goal.

Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Norfolk was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Notables: Tonight's losing deficit of five goals was the largest margin of defeat on the season, eclipsing the previous deficit of four goals set October 31 against Hershey (7-3 L)...The Monarchs also tied the franchise record for goals allowed in a contest with seven...Netminder Jeff Zatkoff allowed six goals, the highest amount of goals allowed by a Monarchs goaltender this year...With an assist on left wing Dwight King's first period tally, center Oscar Moller is on a four-game point streak (3-47)...The Monarchs have held their opponents scoreless on the power play in six of their last seven games...Manchester's four-game winning streak came to an end.

The Monarchs return to the ice on Saturday, December 4 with a 7:00 p.m. match-up against the Springfield Falcons at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGAM 900/1250 AM and at www.manchestermonarchs.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2010


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