Monarchs Regain Atlantic Division Throne
Published on December 9, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - Veteran right wing Brad Smyth led the Manchester Monarchs back into first place as they beat the Portland Pirates 3-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in front of a crowd of 7,291 fans on Friday night. Manchester (16-4-1-3, 36 points) took sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division and Portland (16-7-2-0, 34 points) dropped to second place in the Atlantic Division.
The Monarchs got off to an early start with goals from Smyth and center Connor James. Smyth batted in a saucer pass from left wing Noah Clarke as they skated in 2-on-1 on Portland's goaltender Nathan Marsters. Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov started off the play in the neutral with a pass over to Clarke. Smyth scored his ninth of the season on the power play at 6:18 of the first period.
James added his seventh of the season to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead at 8:51 of the first period. Off the face-off, Smyth slid the puck to the point and defenseman Richard Seeley sent a shot in towards Marsters. James was able to get some wood on the puck and slipped it over Marsters.
The Pirates cut the Monarchs lead in half with a power play goal at 7:18 of the middle frame. Center Ryan Getzlaf, deep in the far corner, sent a pass out in front to center Igor Pohanka. Pohanka wound up and sent a slap shot past Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser for his fourth of the season. Right wing Corey Perry assisted on the goal to make it a 2-1 game.
Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev solidified the win at 10:32 of the third period with his eighth goal of the season. Defenseman Joey Mormina shot the puck off the boards over to a sprinting Pushkarev. With a Pirates' defenseman on his back and nobody between him and Marsters, Pushkarev kicked the puck around the diving goaltender and shot it in the open net for the Monarchs 3-1 victory over the Pirates.
Hauser (11-3-2) earned his 11th win of the season stopping 34 shots. Marsters (9-4-0) took his fourth loss of the season with 26 saves.
Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Portland was 1-for-7 with the man advantage.
Returning to the MassMutual Center for the third time this season, the Monarchs will play the Springfield Falcons at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 10.
Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network (WGIR-AM 610, Manchester; WGIN-AM 930, Rochester; WGIP-AM 1540, Exeter) and at www.monarchshockey.com. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto www.monarchshockey.com and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to the each Monarchs game to watch the game live!
American Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2005
- Wolves hang around, beat Rivermen 6-5 - Peoria Rivermen
- Five Rivermen games to air live on Insight Cable - Peoria Rivermen
- Admirals Top Griffins 5-2 - Milwaukee Admirals
- P-Bruins Fall to Lowell 3-2 - Providence Bruins
- Iowa can't corral Rampage - Iowa Chops
- San Antonio defeats Iowa - AHL
- Phantoms win big over Albany - Adirondack Phantoms
- Monsters defeat the weather and the Bruins, 3-2 - Albany Devils
- Schaefer Leads Barons to 5-2 Win at Toronto - Cleveland Barons
- DesLauriers Helps âDogs Down Crunch - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Monarchs Regain Atlantic Division Throne - Manchester Monarchs
- Rivermen announce December community appearances - Peoria Rivermen
- Canadiens recall Murray - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Beech, Finley Recalled - Milwaukee Admirals
- Law nets four points, Voloshenko scores two PPG - Houston Aeros
- Admirals bag Tigers 5-2 - Norfolk Admirals
- Bears battle to win at Binghamton 6-4 - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Sunk By Admirals 5-2 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Canadiens recall Murray - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Stars have pair of upcoming games - Iowa Chops
- Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Re-Assign Cunning to WHL - Abbotsford Heat
- Houston makes lone trip to Rochester - Houston Aeros
- Columbus Recalls Motzko - Syracuse Crunch
- Americans host Houston - Rochester Americans
- Kings Return Tambellini To Manchester - Manchester Monarchs
- Iowa Stars Forward Reassigned by Dallas - Iowa Chops
- Hamilton Bulldogs Game Notes - Hamilton Bulldogs
- AHL Quick Hits for December 9th - AHL
- Bears in Southern Tier Tonight to Face Senators - Hershey Bears
- Falcons Host Wolf Pack Tonight - Springfield Falcons
- Tremblay Reassigned to Quad City - Cleveland Barons
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