AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs, Sound Tigers Skate To 2-2 Draw

Published on April 2, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Monarchs and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers skated to a playoff-intense 2-2 tie at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. The game was played before the Monarchs 18th sellout crowd (9,916) of the season. With the draw, the Monarchs (38-24-7-5, 88 points) tightened their grip on second place in the Atlantic Division. With six games left in the regular season, they trail the division-leading Hartford Wolf Pack (40-20-12-2, 94 points) by six points and lead the third place Providence Bruins (34-26-10-4, 82 points) by six points.

The teams skated through a scoreless opening period, and then combined for four goals in a second period full of action. Right wing Jeff Hamilton, the AHL's goal-scoring leader, added to his impressive total with his 40th goal of the season, scored on a wrap-around 5:18 into the middle period. Left wing Luke Curtin and defenseman Brandon Smith assisted on the power play goal, Hamilton's 19th of the season. The goal was Hamilton's first against the Monarchs this season.

The Monarchs tied the game 2:34 later when center Jerred Smithson stripped the puck away from Smith and tucked his short-handed wrister inside the left post. Smithson's seventh goal of the season was unassisted.

The scoring continued as a nifty assist from Hamilton put the Sound Tigers back on top at 12:51. Hamilton's no-look pass from the boards hit Curtin in stride near the right circle. Curtin, appearing in just his fifth game after signing a professional tryout agreement with the Sound Tigers on March 24, did the rest, slicing his first goal of the season by goaltender Adam Hauser. Curtin also had a little help from defenseman Tomi Pettinen, who created traffic on the play by skating into the shooting lane just as Curtin pulled the trigger.

Just like earlier in the period, the Monarchs tied the game in short fashion with defenseman Bryan Muir's 13th goal of the season. Muir, the second-leading blue-line scorer in the AHL, collected his 49th point (13-36=49) with help from center Steve Kelly and left wing Chris Schmidt. Both had assists on the goal, scored just 48 seconds after Curtin's tally.

The Monarchs had a slight 12-11 shots on goal edge in the scoreless third period. They also had the only shot in overtime. For the game, the Monarchs outgunned the Sound Tigers, 29-24.

Hauser (20-13-7) extended his unbeaten streak to 14 games (9-0-3-2) with 22 saves. Goaltender Dieter Kochan (18-17-6), who started all four meetings against the Monarchs this season, finished with 27 stops.

The Monarchs finished with a 1-2-1-0 record in four meetings against the Sound Tigers this season.

The Monarchs return to action when they meet the Springfield Falcons at the Springfield Civic Center on Saturday, April 3 at 7:35 p.m. The Monarchs next home game is set for Sunday, April 4 at 4:05 p.m. They'll welcome the Portland Pirates to the Verizon Wireless Arena on that date. About 400 seats remain for Sunday's contest. For ticket information, visit the Monarchs on-line at www.monarchshockey.com.

NOTES: Mary Gaughan, a Monarchs season ticket holder from Merrimack, New Hampshire, won a brand new Suzuki Verona during the second intermission of Friday's game. The car, courtesy of Merrimack Suzuki, was the grand prize on Fan Appreciation Night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Monarchs Ticket Availability as of April 2

Sun. April 4 vs. Portland: 460 seats remain.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2004


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