Monarchs Salute in a Special Way
March 24, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff earned his second consecutive shutout as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the Portland Pirates, 5-0, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night.
Manchester (34-30-0-3) is in second place in the Atlantic Division with 71 points. Portland (30-29-3-4) is tied with the Worcester Sharks (28-25-4-7) and the Providence Bruins (30-30-3-4) for third place in the Atlantic Division with 67 points each.
"I thought our guys came out with a real determined effort," said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. "(Jeff) Zatkoff was stellar in net and we had some timely goals. Those shorthanders really made a difference for us tonight."
Right wing Stefan Legein opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally for the Monarchs at 8:12 of the first period. Legein stole the puck on the Monarchs blueline and skated in on a breakaway on Pirates goaltender Peter Mannino. Legein deked before wristing a shot past Mannino on the glove side for his 12th goal of the season.
The Monarchs opened up a 2-0 lead with their second shorthanded goal of the game as center Justin Azevedo recorded his 22nd tally of the season at 10:14 of the second period. Center Andrei Loktionov was able to hit the puck free in the Monarchs zone where Azevedo chased after it. Azevedo skated down the left wing and deked across the front of the net before shooting the puck past the left pad of Mannino.
Defenseman Patrick Mullen stretched the Monarchs lead to 3-0 on the power play at 7:02 of the third period. Monarchs defenseman Nick Deslauriers made an initial shot from the center point. Deslauriers' shot deflected off of left wing Ray Kaunisto and then a Pirates defender in front of the net. Mullen grabbed the loose and backhanded it in for his ninth goal of the season.
Manchester took a 4-0 lead just 26 seconds later when Loktionov tallied his fifth goal of the season. Defenseman Jake Muzzin was able to get the puck loose and pass to Loktionov in the neutral zone. Loktionov then raced down the right wing and beat a Pirates defender one-on-one. The center flipped a backhander high on the glove side for the goal.
The Monarchs finished off the Pirates when left wing David Meckler put in a rebound at 12:36 of the third period. Defenseman Thomas Hickey skated the puck from the left point to the center of the Pirates zone before firing a slap shot on net. Hickey's blast was deflected in front of the net where left wing Richard Clune swatted at the loose puck before Meckler grabbed it and shot it into the net for his eighth goal of the season.
Zatkoff (19-14-1) earned his 19th victory and third shutout of the season stopping all 27 shots. Mannino (7-8-1) took his eighth loss of the season making 22 saves on 27 shots.
Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play. Portland was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
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