Monarchs Ice Cats, Win Fifth Straight
November 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
WORCESTER, MA - The Manchester Monarchs returned to the scene of their only loss this season and gained a measure of revenge against the Worcester IceCats, beating their Atlantic Division rivals, 6-0, before 2,146 fans at the DCU Center on Thursday night.  With the win, their fifth straight, the Monarchs improved to 12-1-0-0 (24 points) on the season and increased their first place lead in the division to four points over the idle Hartford Wolf Pack (10-3-0-0, 20 points).  The third place IceCats, who edged the Monarchs by a score of 4-2 at the DCU Center on November 5, saw their record drop to 8-4-1-0 (17 points) on the season. The IceCats entered Thursday's action with no regulation losses in six home games this season (5-0-1-0).  Center Yanick Lehoux (1-1=2) and right wings Tom Kostopoulos (0-2=2) and Brad Smyth (1-1=2) each collected two points in Thursday's game, which also included goals from left wing Noah Clarke, right wings George Parros and Dan Welch and center Michael Cammalleri.  The six goals were more than enough for goaltender Mathieu Garon, who collected his league-leading fourth shutout of the season while improving his overall record to 8-1-0.  The Monarchs struck first with Lehoux's team-leading 13th goal, scored from near the left post of the Worcester net just 5:11 into the contest. Kostopoulos, who entered the game with a four-game goal-scoring streak, collected the only assist on the play.  With 13 goals, Lehoux also moved into a first place tie with Manitoba Moose forward Jason King for the AHL's goal-scoring lead. Lehoux established a professional high for goals in a season with 16 back in 2002-03.  The Monarchs defended their net for much of the next 10 minutes as the IceCats attempted to rally with three power play chances. But Garon was up to the task, stopping all 16 shots fired his way by the IceCats in the period.  The Monarchs increased their lead 15:45 into the period when Parros drilled a pass from center David Steckel by goaltender Curtis Sanford (31 shots, 25 saves). Defenseman Doug Nolan also assisted on the first goal of the season for Parros.  The second period belonged to the Monarchs, who added to their lead with two more goals on 17 shots. The IceCats countered with just five shots in the frame.  Clarke gave the Monarchs a 3-0 lead just 47 seconds into the period with his third goal, assisted on by both Kostopoulos and defenseman Mike Weaver. With the assist, Kostopoulos gained a share of the team assist lead with his 13th of the campaign.  Lehoux took sole possession of first place in the American Hockey League's scoring race with his second point of the night. Lehoux's 24th point this season (13-11=24) came on a centering pass to Smyth, who collected his sixth goal by jamming the puck through the pads of Sanford at 11:16.  The Monarchs pushed their lead to 6-0 with two goals on just five shots in the final period. Welch scored his first goal of the season with assists from defenseman Troy Milam and center Matt Ryan at 17:50, and Cammalleri registered his ninth goal with assists from left wing Dustin Brown and Smyth at 19:38.  With the goal, Cammalleri extended his team-best scoring streak to nine games (6-9=15) and Brown improved his scoring streak to seven games (6-5=11)  The Monarchs return to action on Friday, November 19 at 7:35 p.m. when they meet the Lowell Lock Monsters at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Catch all of the play-by-play action with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network (WGIR-AM 610, Manchester; WGIN-AM 930, Rochester; WGIP-AM 1540, Exeter; WTSL-AM 1400, Lebanon) and at www.monarchshockey.com.  Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 2,300 seats in the Silver level remain for Friday's game against the Lock Monsters. Come meet Carter Oosterhouse from the hit TV show, Trading Spaces, at Friday's game. One lucky fan in attendance will also win a $5,000 room makeover courtesy of Goedeke Paint & Decorating.  Fans in need of Monarchs tickets may purchase them in person at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office, at any TicketMaster location, by phone at (603) 868-7300 or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com. The box office opens at 10:00 a.m.
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American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2004
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