AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Report

Published on April 16, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Portland (4/10): Left wings Jeff Giuliano and Petr Kanko each collected two points in the Manchester Monarchs 3-1 win over the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Tuesday night. Center Trevor Lewis is credited with the game-winner. Portland's lone goal came off the stick of right wing Joe Motzko. Monarchs goaltender Barry Brust earned the victory stopping 29 shots. Pirates netminder Gerald Coleman took the loss with 29 saves. Manchester went 1-for-8 on the power play. Portland was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Vs. Springfield (4/11): Right wing Tim Jackman and defenseman Jeff Likens led the the Manchester Monarchs past the Springfield Falcons 6-4 on Wednesday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Jackman and Likens both tallied twice and right wing Petr Kanko and defenseman Peter Harrold added to the Monarchs lead. Springfield fought back with two goals by both right wing Norm Milley and left wing David Spina. Monarchs goaltender Barry Brust stopped 21 shots for his second consecutive victory. Springfield netminder Jonathan Boutin was replaced by Kevin Beech after letting in three goals on 14 shots. Beech stopped 30 shots in the loss. Manchester went 2-for-5 on the power play. Springfield was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Springfield (4/13): Goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji stopped all 20 shots he faced for his first American Hockey League shutout as the Manchester Monarchs scored six power play goals to top the Springfield Falcons 7-0 at the MassMutual Center on Friday night. The Monarchs scored six power play goals from defenseman Doug Nolan, center Patrick O'Sullivan, center Trevor Lewis (2), forward Kevin Westgarth and right wing John Zeiler. Left wing Petr Kanko added the lone even strength goal. Along with his shutout, Fukufuji earned his first point, an assist. Manchester went 6-for-12 on the power play. Springfield was 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

Vs. Worcester (4/14): The Manchester Monarchs beat the Worcester Sharks 4-1, tying a franchise record with 51 wins on the season, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. Left wing Jamie McGinn tallied first for Worcester, followed by four unanswered Monarchs goals by center Marty Murray and defensemen T.J. Kemp, Joey Mormina and Oleg Tverdovsky. Monarchs netminder Barry Brust earned the win with 17 saves. Sharks goaltender Dimitri Patzold stopped 29 shots in the loss. Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Worcester was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

At Providence (4/15): The Manchester Monarchs fell to the Providence Bruins 1-0 in overtime to tie a franchise record of 110 points in one season at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday evening. Defenseman Jason Platt scored the lone goal of the game at 2:47 of overtime. Monarchs goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji collected 29 saves in his first loss of the season. Bruins netminder Jordan Sigalet stopped all 23 shots. Manchester went 0-for-7 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Monarchs (51-21-7-1) finished atop the Atlantic Division for the second time in team history with 110 points to clinch home ice advantage through the first rounds of the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs. This is the Monarchs sixth consecutive appearance in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Manchester's 51 wins and 110 points tied franchise records for wins and points in a season with the 2004-05 squad.

The Monarchs have sat atop the Atlantic Division for the last 44 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.

The Monarchs will face the Worcester Sharks in the Atlantic Division Semifinals 'Series A' of the 2007 Calder Cup playoffs starting Wednesday, April 18 at 7:05 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Manchester has a home record of 28-8-4-0 and a road record of 23-13-3-1.

The Monarchs home wins of 28 and road wins of 23 tie a franchise record for wins in each category.

Manhcester's 21 losses on the season ties a franchise record for the fewest losses in a season.

The Monarchs had 2,290 shot on goal this season, the fewest in franchise history.

The Monarchs power play is ranked fourth in the AHL with a 20.3-percent man advantage scoring percentage. Manchester has scored 85 goals on 419 opportunities so far this season with the man advantage.

Manchester's power play on the road is ranked first in the AHL with a 22.4-percent scoring rate. Manchester has scored 49 goals on 219 opportunities with the man advantage away from the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Monarchs 85 power play goals this season set a new franchise record.

Manchester's penalty kill is ranked eighth in the league after letting in 67 goals on 430 situations when the team has been down a man for an 84.4-percentage.

When scoring first in the game, the Monarchs are 38-5-3-1. When the opponent scores first, Manchester is 13-15-4-0. The Monarchs are undefeated in regulation at home when scoring the first goal, 21-0-2-0.

The Monarchs are undefeated when scoring a shorthanded goal, 8-0-0-0.

When Manchester is leading after the first period, their record is 32-1-2-1. When leading after the second period, the Monarchs are undefeated in regulation with a record of 38-0-1-1.

Manchester is undefeated when scoring five or more goals with a record of 15-0-0-0.

Rookie left wing Matt Moulson (25-32=57) leads the Monarchs with 25 goals and is tied for first place on the team with left wing Noah Clarke for points with 57.

Moulson leads the Monarchs with a plus/minus of plus-26, which is ranked fifth in the AHL.

Clarke has 24 goals, 33 assists and 57 points in 63 games.

Clarke's 24 goals are ranked second on the team.

Clarke leads the Monarchs all-time in goals (85), points (199) and power play goals (29). He is tied for the Monarchs all-time assist leader with center Steve Kelly with 114 assists each.

Center Marty Murray (14-41=55) is in third place on the Monarchs scoring list this season.

Murray's 41 assists lead the Monarchs.

Veteran Murray has 14 points (3-11=14) in his last eight games.

Center Gabe Gauthier (14-28=42) is in fourth place on the Monarchs squad.

Center Patrick O'Sullivan (18-21=39) is ranked fifth in scoring for the Monarchs with 39 points. He was on recall with the Kings from Thursday, January 25 until Monday, April 9. In 43 games with the Kings this season, O'Sullivan has 19 points (5-14=19) and 14 penalty minutes.

Defenseman T.J. Kemp is ranked fifth overall and leads Manchester's blueliners with 38 points (5-33=38).

Kemp is tied for 14th among AHL defensemen with 38 points.

Goaltender Jason LaBarbera is first in the league among minutes played with 3,619 minutes in 62 games, saves (1,862), wins (39) and save-percentage (.933). LaBarbera is ranked third among active goaltenders with a goals-against-average of 2.21.

The Monarchs No. 1 goaltender has set new all-time records for Manchester by collecting the most minutes played in a season (3618:11) and the most saves (1862) 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 39 victories in 62 games so far this season. LaBarbera also owns the record for the most losses in a season with 20.

LaBarbera appeared in his 60th game of the season on Wednesday, April 4 which surpasses his personal best of 59 games in the 2003-04 season with the Wolf Pack. He's up to 62 games on the season.

LaBarbera has played in 247 AHL games with the Monarchs and the Wolf Pack. He has a record of 131-75-20, a goals-against-average of 2.15 and a save-percentage of .928 in 13,800 minutes of work between the pipes and 6,356 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.

TRANSACTIONS

4-14-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed center Brian Boyle to an amateur tryout agreement.

4-10-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) recalled defenseman Eric Werner from the Reading Royals (ECHL).

4-9-07 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) assigned forwards Patrick O'Sullivan, Lauri Tukonen and John Zeiler to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

4-9-07 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) recalled defenseman Bryan Schmidt and goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji from the Reading Royals (ECHL).

INJURIES

4-7-07 - Goaltender Jason LaBarbera is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

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

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American Hockey League Stories from April 16, 2007


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