AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Report

April 3, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Portland (3/29): Goaltender Jani Hurme collected his first shutout of the season as the Portland Pirates blanked the Manchester Monarchs, 3-0, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday night. Right wing Pierre Parenteau, right wing J.B. Bittner and center Zenon Konopka scored for the Pirates. Monarchs goaltender Barry Brust stopped 43 shots in the loss. Hurme saved all 28 shots the Monarchs fired his way. Manchester went 0-for-6 on the power play. Portland was 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

At Toronto (3/31): Right wing Alexandre Daigle collected four points as the Manchester Monarchs return to their winning ways with a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum on Friday night. Along with Daigle, left wing Dany Roussin, center Greg Hogeboom, right wing Ryan Murphy and left wing Petr Kanko scored for the Monarchs. The Marlies lone goal came off the stick of Aleksander Suglobov. Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser earned his 21st victory of the season stopping 34 shots. Marlies goaltender Jean-Francois Racine took the loss with 16 saves in the first two periods. Todd Ford replaced Racine and stopped 13 shots in the final frame. Manchester went 0-for-4 on the power play. Toronto was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

At Hamilton (4/1): Right wing Duncan Milroy's penalty shot gave the Hamilton Bulldogs a 2-1 overtime victory over the Manchester Monarchs at the Copps Coliseum on Saturday night. Monarchs defenseman Brad Fast picked up a power play tally at the end of the first period to put Manchester on the board. Hamilton answered back with a power play goal midway through the second period from left wing Jean-Francois Jacques. Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser took the loss with 29 saves. Bulldogs goaltender Yann Danis earned the overtime win stopping 28 shots. Manchester went 1-for-9 on the power play. Hamilton was 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

4/3/06 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled right wing Konstantin Pushkarev and defenseman Richard Petiot on emergency condition from the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3/31/06 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) returned right wing Konstantin Pushkarev on loan to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

MONARCHS EVENTS/PROMOTIONS

4/8/06 - Fan Appreciation Night - Hundreds of prizes will be given away during the Monarchs game on Saturday, April 8 as we recognize the best fans in the American Hockey League. Every fan will also receive a team photo upon entrance to the game.

4/8/06 - Put Hunger On Ice! - The Monarchs are teaming up with the New Hampshire Food Bank to host a Food Drive on Saturday, April 8. All items including tuna fish, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, soup cereal, pasta and rice can be dropped off an any entrance to the Verizon Wireless Arena when entering the Monarchs game.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (40-27-3-4, 87 points) are in third place in the Atlantic Division behind the Hartford Wolf Pack (44-22-2-6, 96 points) and the Portland Pirates (48-18-5-3, 104 points).

The Monarchs clinched their fifth consecutive playoff berth with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on March 24.

The club has sent 25 out of their 74 games into overtime and/or a shootout this season, winning 18 out of those 25 games.

Manchester is 11-4 in shootouts and 7-3 in overtime games this season.

The Monarchs were undefeated (4-0-0-0) on Sundays at home during the 2005-06 regular season.

Manchester is undefeated (13-0-0-0) when they score five or more goals.

When the Monarchs score only two goals, the team is 0-9-0-0 on the road and 4-13-0-1 overall.

With special teams, the Monarchs power play is ranked 26th in the League, capitalizing 57 times on 425 opportunities with the man advantage. Ranked 10th in penalty killing, Manchester has given up 74 goals on 444 opportunities.

Manchester has the lowest number of penalty minutes in the AHL with 1,179 penalty minutes.

The Monarchs lead the AHL in attendance after 36 home games, averaging 8,622 fans per game.

Prior to Manchester's 6-1 win over the Toronto Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum on Friday, March 31, the Monarchs last road victory was on March 5 with a 3-1 triumph over the Binghamton Senators.

The Monarchs last five-goal victory prior to Friday against the Marlies came on February 8 when the Monarchs beat the San Antonio Rampage 6-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs was the Monarchs first overtime loss on the road this season and the second consecutive overtime loss to the Bulldogs (2-1 overtime loss on February 4).

Newly acquired right wing Alexandre Daigle has nine points (5-4=9) in ten games.

Daigle collected four points (2 goals and 2 assists) and a plus/minus of plus-4 in the Monarchs 6-1 win over Toronto on Friday, March 31. The only other time this season that a Monarchs player recorded a plus/minus of plus-4 was by forward Brendan Bernakevitch, currently with the Houston Aeros, in the Monarchs 6-5 overtime win against the Hershey Bears on November 12. Ironically, Bernakevitch was loaned to Houston for Daigle on March 13.

Left wing Noah Clarke leads the Monarchs in scoring with 40 points (12 goals and 28 assists) and is tied for first on the team with defenseman Richard Petiot, currently on recall with the Los Angeles Kings, with a plus/minus of plus-14.

Petiot is also tied for ninth among AHL rookies and 12th among defensemen with his plus/minus of plus-14.

Defenseman Marty Wilford leads Manchester's blueliners with 39 points and his 34 assists top all Monarchs.

Center Connor James is ranked third in team scoring with 16 goals and 20 assists for a total of 36 points. His 16 goals are ranked second on the Monarchs.

Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev, currently on recall with the Kings, tops the Monarchs in goal scoring with 18 tallies in his rookie season.

Right wing Petr Kanko is tied for fourth place in the AHL with four shorthanded goals on the season.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

Goaltender Adam Hauser is tied for ninth place among AHL goaltenders with 21 wins, tied for fifth in the league with a 0.919 save-percentage and ranked eighth with a 2.56 goals-against-average.

The 6-foot-2, 194-pound native of Bovey, Minnesota, leads the league with a shootout record of 8-2, allowing only nine goals on 50 shots for a shootout percentage of 82-percent.

On the Monarchs all-time goaltenders list, Hauser leads the pack with 117 games played, 6845:22 minutes played, 60 wins and 14 shutouts in three seasons of play (2003-2006).

Goaltender Barry Brust is tied for eighth in the AHL with a 0.917 save-percentage and is ranked 14th with a 2.68 goals-against-average.

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound rookie from Swan River, Manitoba, is tied for 19th place in the league among goaltenders with 17 wins.



American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2006


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