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AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Report

April 5, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Lowell (3/30): Two third period goals scored just 62 seconds apart led to the Lowell Lock Monsters, 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Monarchs at the Tsongas Arena on Wednesday night. Right wing George Parros tallied a pair of goals, his 10th and 11th this season, and left wing Chris Schmidt scored his fifth goal of the season for the Monarchs. Defenseman Mark Giordano and forwards Lynn Loyns, Matt Lombardi and Chuck Kobasew scored for the Lock Monsters. Monarchs goaltender Mathieu Garon (16 saves) was saddled with his 12th loss of the season. Lowell goaltender Cam Ward earned the win with 31 saves. Manchester went 1- for-6 on the power play. Lowell was also 1-for-6 on the power play.

Vs. Providence (4/1): Goaltender Hannu Toivonen had 43 saves through regulation and overtime play and another four stops in the shootout to lead the Providence Bruins over the Monarchs, 3-2, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. Right wing Brad Smyth and center Michael Cammalleri scored for the Monarchs in the second period, as did centers Ben Guite and Brad Boyes for the Bruins. Monarchs goaltender Mathieu Garon lost his fourth shootout of the season, stopping 25 shots in regulation and overtime and three more in the shootout. Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Providence was 1-for-6 on the power play.

Vs. Springfield (4/2): Left wing Dustin Brown collected the game-winning power play goal in overtime as the Monarchs edged the Springfield Falcons, 3-2, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. Right wing Brad Smyth and defenseman Tim Gleason also scored for the Monarchs. Springfield had goals from defenseman Gerard Dicaire and left wing Derek Bekar. Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser (21 saves) earned his 18th win of the season. Falcons goaltender Brian Eklund took the loss stopping 34 shots.

Manchester went 2-for-7 on the power play. Springfield was 1-for-4 on the power play.

At Providence (4/3): Goaltender Hannu Toivonen finished with 30 saves and left wing Andy Hilbert collected the game-winning goal with 5:41 to play as the red-hot Providence Bruins edged the Monarchs, 3-2, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday night.

Right wings Brad Smyth and George Parros scored for the Monarchs. Along with Hilbert's 37th goal of the season, forwards Tomas Kurka and Ben Guite lit the lamp for the Bruins. Monarchs goaltender Mathieu Garon (30 saves) took his 13th loss of the season.

Manchester went 0-for-4 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-2 on the power play.

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

4/3/05: Tim Gleason is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

3/30/05: Jeff Giuliano is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

3/9/05: Ryan Flinn is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

3/9/05: Noah Clarke is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

1/19/05: Yanick Lehoux is out indefinitely following knee surgery.

1/8/05: Scott Barney is out 16 weeks after undergoing hip surgery.

12/13/04: Greg Hogeboom is week-to-week after undergoing wrist surgery.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

3/31/05: Manchester signed right wing Ryan Murphy to an amateur tryout agreement.

3/28/05: Manchester recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) defenseman Beau Geisler and center Jeff Miles.

3/28/05: Manchester signed goaltender Ryan Munce to an amateur tryout agreement.

News & Notes

The Manchester Monarchs enter this week's action with a two-point lead over the Hartford Wolf Pack in the race for the American Hockey League's Atlantic Division title.

The Monarchs, with a record of 46-19-4-4 and 100 points, and the Wolf Pack, with a record of 46-21-3-3 and 98 points, each have seven games remaining on their schedules. The Monarchs have never won a division championship. They've finished second in their division in each of the last three seasons.

Two of the Monarchs seven remaining games will be played at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Monarchs are scheduled to host the Portland Pirates on Wednesday night and the Lowell Lock Monsters on Friday, April 15.

Monarchs Remaining Schedule
Apr. 6 PORTLAND
Apr. 8 @ Portland
Apr. 9 @ Springfield
Apr. 13 @ Hartford
Apr. 15 LOWELL
Apr. 16 @ Bridgeport
Apr. 17 @ Worcester

The Monarchs have a combined record of 30-12-3-2 and a combined winning percentage of .691 against their remaining opponents.

The Monarchs are 7-0-0-1 vs. Portland, 9-0-0-0 vs. Springfield, 3-2-2-0 vs. Hartford, 4-6-0-1 vs. Lowell, 1-1-1-0 vs. Bridgeport and 6-3-0-0 vs. Worcester this season.

Four of the Wolf Pack's seven remaining games will be played at the Hartford Civic Center. Hartford is scheduled to host the Providence Bruins on Friday night, the Monarchs on April 13, the Albany River Rats on April 15 and the Springfield Falcons on April 17.

Wolf Pack Remaining Schedule
Apr. 6 @ Worcester
Apr. 9 PROVIDENCE
Apr. 10 @ Providence
Apr. 13 MANCHESTER
Apr. 15 ALBANY
Apr. 16 @ Springfield
Apr. 17 SPRINGFIELD

The Wolf Pack has a combined record of 18-11-2-0 and a combined winning percentage of .612 against its remaining opponents.

The Wolf Pack is 4-3-0-0 vs. Worcester, 4-4-0-0 vs. Providence, 4-2-0-1 vs. Manchester, 0-1-0-0 vs. Albany and 6-1-0-1 vs.

Springfield this season.

The Monarchs, the first Eastern Conference team to clinch a playoff spot, are closing in on home ice advantage for at least the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Their magic number is five. The Monarchs enter this week's action needing any combination of their wins (2 points) and Lock Monsters losses (2 points for regulation, 1 point for overtime and shootout) equaling five points to clinch home ice advantage in the first round.

The Monarchs 100 points represent a new record for points in a season. The Monarchs previous high was 97 points in a season, set in 2002-03.

The Monarchs 100 points and winning percentage of .685 are second in the league to the Rochester Americans, who have 108 points (49-14-4-6, 108 points) and a winning percentage of .740.

For the second straight season, the Monarchs expect to finish the regular season with an average of over 9,000 fans per game.

Through 38 dates this season, the Monarchs are averaging 9,007 fans per game. The Monarchs average attendance per game is second only to the Chicago Wolves, who are averaging 9,076 fans per game after 38 dates. The Monarchs led all 97 other minor league hockey teams in North America last year with an average attendance of 9,141.

With his next point, center Michael Cammalleri will become just the second AHL player in four years to reach the century mark for points in a season. Cammalleri, who leads the league with 42 goals and is second in the league with 99 points (42-57=99), trails center Jason Spezza of the Binghamton Senators (29-76=105) by six points for the overall scoring title.

Cammalleri is third in the league with 57 assists and 17 power play goals. His 285 shots are second in the circuit only to Bruins left wing Andy Hilbert, who has 323 shots this season.

Cammalleri tied Monarchs team records for goals in a season (42) and career goals (67) on Friday night against the Bruins.

Cammalleri, who enters this week's action with a six-game scoring streak (2-5=7), needs just six points over his last seven games to tie the Monarchs team record for career points. Former Monarchs center Steve Kelly holds the record. He collected 164 points (50-114=164) while skating with the Monarchs from 2001-04 (162 career games). Cammalleri has 158 career points (67-91=158) in 126 career games.

For the eighth time in his AHL career, right wing Brad Smyth has scored at least 20 goals in a season. Smyth, who has a goal in each of his last three games, reached 20 goals on Sunday night against the Bruins. The three-game goal streak is his longest of the season.

Smyth, who earlier this season passed 500 games in his AHL career, has 289 career AHL goals with the Monarchs, the Senators, the Wolf Pack and the Carolina Monarchs.

Smyth's career AHL totals include 575 points (289-286=575) in 523 career games. His 289 career goals are 21st all-time and his 575 career points are tied for 44th all-time on the league's scoring lists.

Smyth twice has led the AHL in goals scored. He led the league with 68 goals while skating with the Carolina Monarchs in 1995-96 and he led the league with 50 goals while skating with the Wolf Pack in 2000-01. Smyth has averaged 36 goals a season during his AHL career (eight seasons).

Defenseman Jason Holland skated in his 500th AHL game on Sunday night against the Bruins. The nine-year pro has 206 career AHL points (49-157=206) with the Monarchs, the Rochester Americans and the Kentucky Throughblades.

Defenseman Mike Weaver's plus-28 rating leads the Monarchs and is fourth in the league. The AHL's plus/minus leader is Lock Monsters center Chuck Kobasew with a plus-35 rating.

Weaver and left wing Dustin Brown each missed their first games of the season last weekend. Weaver (1-20=21, 72 games played) missed Saturday night's contest with the Falcons. Brown (28-40=68, 72 games played) missed Sunday night's contest against the Bruins.

Left wing Chris Schmidt (5-13=18) is the only Monarchs player to appear in all 73 games this season.

Brown is second on the Monarchs with 28 goals, 11 power play goals, six game-winning goals and 68 points this season. He enters Wednesday's game against the Pirates with a four-game assist streak (5 assists during the streak).

Goaltender Adam Hauser's 1.97 goals-against-average is fourth and his .932 save-percentage is fifth in the league.

Hauser (18-10-0) is just two wins away from recording his second consecutive 20-win season with the Monarchs. Hauser finished with a record of 20-15-7 last year.

Goaltender Mathieu Garon is just three appearances away from matching former Monarchs netminder Travis Scott for most appearances in a season. Garon has a record of 28-13-4 in 47 appearances with the Monarchs this season. Scott recorded 50 appearances during the 2002-03 season.

Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov leads all AHL blueliners with 39 assists. Grebeshkov's 43 points (4-39=43) are tied for eighth in the league this year.

Defenseman Joe Rullier is the first Monarchs player to accumulate more than 300 minutes of penalties in one season. His 301 penalty minutes are second only to the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks Shane O'Brien among league defensemen.

Rullier also is second among league defensemen with a plus-26 rating.

The Monarchs are second in the league in both goals for and goals against per game average. The Monarchs are averaging 3.23 goals per game. Meanwhile, the Monarchs are allowing 2.19 goals per game to the opposition. The Senators lead the league with a 3.34 goals per game average. The Wolf Pack leads the league with a 1.97 goals against per game average.

The Monarchs have seven power play goals in their last seven games. With 74 power play goals this season, they need just five more power play goals over their last seven games to match the team record for power play goals in a season (79), set during the 2002-03 campaign.

The Monarchs 74 power plays goals are third in the league. The Milwaukee Admirals lead the league with 80 power play goals this season.

Promotions

Fan Appreciation Big Screen Giveaway - Enter to win a 51-inch Sony projection screen television, courtesy of Circuit City, thanks to the Monarchs and their Fan Appreciation Big Screen Giveaway contest.

Log on to Monarchshockey.com and click on the contest link located on the home page. Fans may also enter by mail by sending a post card or letter along with their name, home address, phone number and e-mail address to the Manchester Monarchs, Verizon Wireless Arena, 555 Elm Street, Manchester, NH, 03101, attention: Jon Crabbe. Limit one entry per person and per valid e-mail address.

The contest ends on Saturday, April 9 at 12:00 p.m. Post cards and letters must be postmarked by Thursday, April 7 and received by Saturday, April 9 to be eligible for the contest. For information on how to win the 51-inch Sony projection screen television valued at $1,699, visit the Advanced Auto Parts customer service table located behind section 105 during the Monarchs game against the Portland Pirates on Wednesday night or call (603) 626-7825.

Shirt Off Our Back - Hey fans, don't miss your chance to win the Shirt Off Our Back. Stop by the Shirt Off Our Back table located behind section 107 during Wednesday's game to purchase a raffle ticket to win your favorite Monarchs game-worn jersey. Raffle tickets are only $1. Winners will be chosen at the last home game of the season, scheduled for Friday, April 15 against the Lowell Lock Monsters. Proceeds will benefit Special Olympics of New Hampshire and the Monarchs Care Foundation. For more information, contact Cheryl Abbott, Monarchs Director of Community Relations and Special Events at (603) 626-7825, extension 6102.

Events

Monarchs Hockey School - The Monarchs will host their fourth annual hockey school this summer at the Tri-Town Ice Arena in Hooksett. Dates for the school are August 15-19. Players ranging in age from 7-14 are welcome to come and tune up their hockey skills with instruction from Monarchs players and Monarchs Director of Hockey Operations, Hubie McDonough. To find out more about the Monarchs hockey school, call (603) 626-7825, extension 6113 and ask for Jason Bergeron.



American Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2005


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