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AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Report

April 2, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Portland (3/28): Goaltender David McKee stopped 17 shots in his second AHL game for his first professional shutout as the Manchester Monarchs dropped a 3-0 decision to the Portland Pirates at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday night. Defenseman Sean Blanchard tallied twice and right wing Joe Motzko netted his 25th goal of the season for the Pirates. Monarchs netminder Jason LaBarbera took the loss with 21 saves. Manchester went 0-for-3 on the power play. Portland was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

At Albany (3/30): Left wing Matt Moulson scored his first career hat trick as the Manchester Monarchs beat the Albany River Rats 5-1 at the Times Union Center on Friday night. Center Shay Stephenson and left wing Lauri Tukonen added to Moulson's hat trick. Left wing Cody McLeod collected the lone River Rats goal. Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera earned the victory with 35 saves. River Rats netminder Tyler Weiman took the loss with 12 saves on 17 shots through close to two periods of play. Weiman was replaced by goaltender Justin Peters at 36:53 of the second period. Peters stopped all seven shots he faced between the pipes. Manchester went 1-for-3 on the power play. Albany was 0-for-8 with the man advantage.

At Hartford (3/31): The Manchester Monarchs scored three goals in the third period but their comeback fell short as the Hartford Wolf Pack skated away with a 5-4 win at the Hartford Civic Center on Saturday night. Left wing Dane Byers collected a hat trick for the Wolf Pack and right wing Hugh Jessiman and left wing Nygel Dawes added to the scoreboard. The Monarchs came back with goals from defenseman Peter Harrold, center Gabe Gauthier, left wing Noah Clarke and right wing Tim Jackman. Monarchs goaltender Barry Brust took the loss with 30 saves before being replaced by netminder Jason LaBarbera who stopped all 11 shots he faced in the third period. Wolf Pack netminder Al Montoya stopped 24 shots. Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Hartford was 2-for-9 with the man advantage.

Vs. Hartford (4/1): The Manchester Monarchs clinched a spot in the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive season with a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday evening. Center Shay Stephenson, center Matt Ryan, right wing Tim Jackman and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky tallied for Manchester. Center Brandon Dubinsky and left wing Nigel Dawes were the goal scorers for Hartford. Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera stopped 33-of-35 shots for the win. Wolf Pack netminder Al Montoya took the loss with 29 saves. Manchester went 2-for-6 on the power play. Hartford was 1-for-8 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Monarchs (44-21-6-1) became the first team in the Atlantic Division to clinch a berth in the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday, April 1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. This is the Monarchs sixth consecutive appearance in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Manchester has 95 points with eight games remaining on their schedule.

To secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Monarchs magic number is four. Any combination of the Monarchs gaining four points or the Worcester Sharks losing four points would give Manchester home-ice for the 2007 Calder Cup Atlantic Division Semi-Finals.

The Monarchs have sat atop the Atlantic Division for the last 39 games as they took over first place on December 27. The largest lead Manchester has had over their division rivals is 13 points, last achieved on February 13.

Manchester has a home record of 24-8-4-0 and a road record of 20-13-2-1.

The Monarchs power play is ranked fourth in the AHL after 72 games with a 19.6-percent man advantage scoring percentage. Manchester has scored 71 goals on 362 opportunities so far this season with the man advantage.

The Monarchs power play on the road is ranked first in the AHL with a 21.7-percent scoring rate. Manchester has scored 40 goals on 184 opportunities in 36 games with the man advantage away from the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Manchester's penalty kill is ranked ninth in the league after letting in 63 goals on 397 situations when the team has been down a man for an 84.1-percentage.

When scoring first in the game, the Monarchs are 33-5-3-1. When the opponent scores first, Manchester is 11-15-3-0. The Monarchs are undefeated in regulation at home when scoring the first goal, 19-0-2-0.

The Monarchs are undefeated when scoring a shorthanded goal, 7-0-0-0.

When Manchester is leading after the first period, their record is 27-1-2-1. When leading after the second period, the Monarchs are undefeated in regulation with a record of 32-0-1-1.

Manchester is undefeated when scoring five or more goals with a record of 11-0-0-0.

Left wing Noah Clarke returned to the Monarchs lineup on Saturday, March 31 after spending 13 games with the Los Angeles Kings and recording two points (2-0=2). Clarke's 51 points (22-29=51) in Manchester lead the team.

In two games since his return, Clarke has a goal and two assists.

Clarke's 22 goals are second on the team.

Clarke leads the Monarchs all-time in goals (83), points (193) and power play goals (27) and he is ranked second in assists with 110. He needs only four assists to tie for the Monarchs all-time assist leader category with center Steve Kelly.

Rookie left wing Matt Moulson (23-27=50) leads the Monarchs with 23 goals and ranks second with 50 points (23-27=50).

Moulson leads the Monarchs with a plus/minus of plus-20, which ties for 10th in the AHL.

Moulson scored his first career hat trick in Friday's 5-1 win over the Albany River Rats.

Center Marty Murray (11-35=46) is in third place on the Monarchs scoring list this season.

Murray's 35 assists lead the Monarchs.

In the last three games, Murray has five assists.

Center Gabe Gauthier (14-25=39) has moved into fourth place on the Monarchs squad.

Gauthier was recalled by the Kings on Saturday, March 10 and made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, March 11. He returned to the Monarchs on Thursday, March 22 and collected seven points in the seven games since returning to Manchester.

Center Patrick O'Sullivan (17-17=34) is ranked fifth in scoring for the Monarchs with 34 points. He has been on recall with the Kings since Thursday, January 25. In 41 games with the Kings this season, O'Sullivan has 19 points (5-14=19) and 14 penalty minutes.

Defenseman T.J. Kemp is tied with O'Sullivan for fourth overall and leads Manchester's blueliners with 34 points (4-30=34).

Kemp is tied for 17th place among AHL defensemen with 34 points.

Kemp has been sidelined with a concussion since March 7.

Goaltender Jason LaBarbera is first in the league among minutes played with 3,442 minutes in 59 games, saves (1,767) and save-percentage (.933). His 36 wins are tied with netminder Corey Crawford of Norfolk for first in the league. LaBarbera is ranked first among active goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.20.

The Monarchs No. 1 goaltender has set new all-time records for Manchester by collecting the most minutes played in a season (3441:38) and the most saves (1767) in a season. LaBarbera surpassed goaltender Mathieu Garon (2004-05) for the most wins in a season when he collected his 33rd victory on Wednesday, March 7, a 4-1 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack. LaBarbera also surpassed Garon in appearances during one season by playing in his 53rd game on Friday, March 9 against the Hershey Bears. He has 36 victories in 59 games so far this season.

LaBarbera appeared in his 59th game of the season on Sunday, April 1 which ties his personal best of 59 games in the 2003-04 season with the Wolf Pack.

LaBarbera has played in 244 AHL games with the Monarchs and the Wolf Pack. He has a record of 128-75-20, a goals-against-average of 2.15 and a save-percentage of .928 in 13,623 minutes of work between the pipes and 6,261 saves in the AHL.

LaBarbera collected his seventh shutout of the season on Friday, February 23 versus the Providence Bruins stopping all 41 shots he faced. His 28 AHL career shutouts with the Monarchs and Wolf Pack lead all active goaltenders and is ranked sixth all-time in the AHL.

Right wing John Zeiler is also on recall with the Kings. Zeiler has one goal and two assists for three points and 18 penalty minutes in 20 games with the Kings this season.

TRANSACTIONS

3-31-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) reassigned left wing Noah Clarke to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3-28-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) reassigned defenseman Eric Werner to the Reading Royals (ECHL).

3-28-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed defenseman Jeff Likens to an amateur tryout agreement.

3-26-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) reassigned left wing Dany Roussin to the Reading Royals (ECHL).

INJURIES

1-11-07 - Left wing Jeff Giuliano is week-to-week after undergoing abdominal surgery.

3-7-07 - Defenseman T.J. Kemp is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

3-7-07 - Defenseman Joey Mormina is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

1-19-07 - Right wing Ryan Murphy is month-to-month after undergoing shoulder surgery.

COMMUNITY NEWS

4-2-07 - Defensemen Richard Petiot and Doug Nolan, center Matt Ryan, goaltender Barry Brust and forward Kevin Westgarth will be at Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse in Bedford signing autographs from 6-7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2.

4-5-07 - Two Monarchs players will be collecting food donations for the Monarchs Put Hunger On Ice food drive at St. Mary's Bank on McGregor Street from 4-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 5.

PROMOTIONS

4-6-07 - LA Kings Night - The Monarchs will honor their heritage and the Kings by donning the silver and black jerseys their parent club wore from 1988-98. Upon entrance to the Verizon Wireless Arena, every fan will receive a raffle ticket at the door. A total of 18 fans will win a Kings team-issued throwback jersey with their raffle ticket. The Monarchs will also hold a silent auction with 10 jerseys. Proceeds from the silent auction will go to the Monarchs Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Monarchs. The team is also offering a Hollywood Pack where you get the star treatment and save $25 by purchasing this special ticket package including four Silver Level tickets and four movie passes to Cinemagic Stadium Theatres for just $65. See monarchshockey.com for more details.

4-7-07 - LaBarbera For MVP - The Manchester Monarchs, have formed a "Jason LaBarbera for MVP" campaign committee and are urging all Monarchs fans to unite in their support of Jason LaBarbera for the American Hockey League's Most Valuable Player Award. The committee asks every resident of Monarchs Country to sign our online petition and join us at the MVP Rally on April 7 to demonstrate their support of LaBarbera for MVP when the Monarchs play the Portland Pirates. Visit monarchshockey.com for complete MVP Rally details.

4-7-07 - Put Hunger On Ice - The Monarchs are teaming up with the NH Food Bank to host a food drive at the game on Saturday, April 7! Urgently needed items include tuna fish, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, soup, cereal, pasta and rice. In addition, St. Mary's Bank will donate $100 to the New Hampshire Food Bank for every Monarchs goal scored at the Verizon Wireless Arena this season. Help the Monarchs put hunger on ice!



American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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