AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs report

Published on January 23, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Springfield (1/15): The Manchester Monarchs scored three power play goals to beat the Springfield Falcons 5-2 at the MassMutual Center on Monday night. Center Gabe Gauthier, left wing Matt Moulson, center Patrick O'Sullivan, center Shay Stephenson and right wing John Zeiler tallied goals for the Monarchs. Falcons left wing Randy Rowe and left wing David Spina also found the back of the net. Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera earned the win with 31 saves. Falcons goaltender Karri Ramo was pulled midway through the second period after letting in two goals but returned to the net for the third period. Netminder Jonathan Boutin played 10 minutes in the second period and let in two goals for the loss. Manchester went 3-for-5 on the power play. Springfield was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

At Portland (1/17): Goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped 32 shots for his fifth shutout of the season as the Manchester Monarchs topped the Portland Pirates 6-0 at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Wednesday night. Right wing Tim Jackman scored twice as did left wing Matt Moulson for the Monarchs. Centers Matt Ryan and Patrick O'Sullivan also tallied for Manchester. Portland's goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris let in six goals on 15 shots before he was replaced by Mike Wall in the third period. Wall stopped both shots he faced. Manchester went 4-for-8 on the power play to tie a franchise record. Portland was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

At Houston (1/19): The Manchester Monarchs held on to top the Houston Aeros 3-2 at the Toyota Center on Friday night. Center Matt Ryan scored his fourth goal of the season and left wing Noah Clarke and center Marty Murray collected power play goals for Manchester. Left wings Josh Olson and Roman Voloshenko scored for Houston. Monarchs netminder Jason LaBarbera made 22 saves for the win. Aeros goaltender Josh Harding stopped 30 shots in the loss. Manchester went 2-for-8 on the power play. Houston was 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

At San Antonio (1/21): Goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped 5-of-6 shootout snipers and center Marty Murray scored in regulation and twice in the shootout to lift the Manchester Monarchs 5-4 over the San Antonio Rampage in a shootout at the AT&T Center on Sunday night. Along with Murray, left wing Lauri Tukonen, left wing Noah Clarke and center Matt Ryan lit the lamp for Manchester. Rampage center Donald MacLean collected a hat trick and center Joel Perrault scored his fourth of the season. LaBarbera stopped 31 shots for the win. Rampage netminder David LeNeveu made 19 saves in regulation and four in the shootout. Manchester went 0-for-6 on the power play. San Antonio was 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Monarchs (26-12-6-1) are in first place in the Atlantic Division with 59 points.

Manchester has a home record of 13-5-4-0 and a road record of 13-7-2-1.

The Monarchs power play is ranked sixth in the AHL after 45 games with a 20.6-percent man advantage scoring percentage. Manchester has scored 51 goals on 247 opportunities so far this season with the man advantage.

The Monarchs power play on the road is ranked first in the AHL with a 22.8-percent scoring rate. Manchester has scored 29 goals on 127 opportunities in 23 games with the man advantage outside the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Manchester's penalty kill is ranked 20th in the league after letting in 48 goals on 249 situations when the team has been down a man for an 80.7-percentage.

The Monarchs are on a four game win streak right now. Those four wins are also all road victories giving Manchester their longest road winning streak of the season. The team beat the Springfield Falcons 5-2 on Monday, January 15; blanked the Portland Pirates 6-0 on Wednesday, January 17; topped the Houston Aeros 3-2 on Friday, January 19; and edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in a shootout on Sunday, January 21.

The American Hockey League announced that Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera and rookie defenseman T.J. Kemp have been selected to the Canadian team and center Patrick O'Sullivan and rookie defenseman Peter Harrold have been selected to the PlanetUSA team for the 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic, which takes place January 28-29 in Toronto, Ontario. LaBarbera will be the starting goaltender for Team Canada.

Left wing Noah Clarke leads the Monarchs in scoring with 35 points (16-19=35).

Clarke's 16 goals are tied with O'Sullivan for the team's lead.

Clarke recorded his 100th assist with the Monarchs when he helped out on two goals in Wednesday's 6-0 shutout of the Pirates.

Clarke is on a four-game scoring streak (2-3=5) dating back to Monday, January 15.

Clarke leads the Monarchs all-time in goals (77), points (177) and power play goals (26) and he is tied with former Monarchs center Michael Cammalleri for second place in assists with 100 each.

O'Sullivan (16-16=32) is in second place in scoring for the Monarchs with 32 points.

O'Sullivan is on a three-game assist streak (three assists) and a four-game scoring streak (2-3=5) since Monday, January 15.

Left wing Matt Moulson (11-17=28) is ranked third on the Monarchs roster with 28 points.

Kemp leads Manchester's blueliners with 24 points (3-21=24) and is ranked fourth on the Monarchs squad in scoring.

Kemp is tied for fifth place among AHL defensemen with 24 points.

Rookie Kemp also leads the Monarchs team in assists with 21.

Right wing John Zeiler (11-11=22) is in fifth place on the Monarchs squad.

Zeiler leads the Monarchs in the plus/minus category with a plus-12 in 43 games.

Defenseman Eric Werner is in sixth place on the Monarchs and second among the team's defensemen with 22 points (3-19=22).

Harrold is third on Manchester's squad among defensemen and is ranked seventh overall with19 points (2-17=19)).

Defenseman Doug Nolan and newcomer Paul Crosty are the lone Monarchs players without a goal this season.

Center Matt Ryan is on a three-game goal scoring streak (three goals) since Wednesday, January 17 and a four-game scoring streak (3-1=4) since Monday, January 15.

Right wing Tim Jackman is on a three-game point streak (2-2=4) dating back to Wednesday, January 17.

Defenseman Joey Mormina played in his 100th professional game, all with the Monarchs, on Friday, January 19 versus the Aeros. Mormina recorded an assist in the game.

LaBarbera is first in the league among minutes played with 2,299 minutes in 39 games.

LaBarbera is also ranked first in the AHL in the saves category with 1,169 on the season.

LaBarbera is ranked second in the league with a save-percentage of .931 and he is tied for third among goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.27.

LaBarbera has played in 224 AHL games with the Monarchs and the Hartford Wolf Pack. He has a record of 115-69-20, a goals-against-average of 2.16 and a save-percentage of .926 in 12,480 minutes of work between the pipes and 5,663 saves in the AHL.

LaBarbera collected his fifth shutout of the season on Wednesday, January 17 versus the Pirates stopping all 32 shots he faced. His 26 AHL career shutouts with the Monarchs and Wolf Pack lead all active goaltenders and ranks seventh all time in the AHL.

Goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji, on recall with the Los Angeles Kings since January 12, made his NHL debut on Saturday, January 13 versus the St. Louis Blues by playing the third period. He made four saves on five shots in 19:17 minutes of work in the Kings 6-5 loss. Fukufuji became the first Japanese born player to play in the NHL. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound native of Kushiro, Japan, made his first NHL start versus the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, January 16. After letting in three goals on nine shots, he was pulled in the second period of the 6-2 loss. Fukufuji has appeared in parts of four NHL games with the Kings this season and has a record of 0-3-0, a goals-against-average of 4.38 and a .837 save-percentage.

Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev returned to the Monarchs from the Kings on Sunday, January 21. While in Los Angeles, Pushkarev collected three points (1-2=3) and four penalty minutes in eight games.

Goaltender Barry Brust joined the Monarchs in Houston on Friday, January 19 from Los Angeles. Brust has played in 11 NHL games this season, collecting a record of 2-4-1, a 3.70 goals-against-average and a .878 save-percentage with the Kings.

The Kings loaned center Marty Murray to the Monarchs on Friday, January 19. In the two games that Murray has played with Manchester, he has scored two regulation goals and the two shootout goals that beat the San Antonio Rampage on Sunday, January 21.

Murray has 250 AHL points (82-168=250) over parts of six seasons with the Saint John Flames, the Philadelphia Phantoms and the Monarchs.

TRANSACTIONS

1-21-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) loaned right wing Konstantin Pushkarev to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-20-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) traded goaltender Ryan Munce to the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) for a fourth round draft pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

1-19-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) loaned goaltender Barry Brust to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-19-07 - Defenseman Mike Weaver returned to the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) following his two week conditioning assignment with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-18-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) loaned center Marty Murray to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-17-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed defenseman Paul Crosty to a professional tryout agreement.

INJURIES

1-11-06 - Left wing Jeff Giuliano is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

12-31-06 - Defenseman Brendan Buckley is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

1-19-07 - Right wing Ryan Murphy is week-to-week with an upper body injury.

PROMOTIONS

1-26-07 - The Monarchs two millionth fan will be in attendance and will receive numerous prizes including a pair of 2007-08 season tickets, a team autographed stick, a meet-and-greet with their favorite Monarchs player, a $100 gift certificate for the Monarchs Pro Shop and much more!

1-27-07 - The first 5,000 fans will get a Monarchs T-shirt, courtesy of St. Mary's Bank, when the Albany River Rats come into town for a 7:35 pm matchup! Don't miss the annual Great Baby Race, presented by Tiny Totland and WZID-FM. A total of 10 babies will race at center ice with the top three taking home prizes, courtesy of Tiny Totland!

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American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2007


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