Monarchs Start Weekend with 5-2 Win over Bruins
March 20, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
PROVIDENCE, RI - Zach O'Brien's go-ahead goal in the second period proved the game winner as the Monarchs topped Providence on Friday night at the Dunkin Donuts Center, 5-2.
The Monarchs (39-15-6-2) improved to 6-4-1-0 against the Bruins (34-20-7-2) this season. Providence had not lost in regulation at home since Jan. 11 against Portland, snapping a streak of 13 straight games earning at least one point at the Dunkin Donuts Center.
J.F. Berube made 21 saves on 23 shots to earn his AHL-leading 30th win of the season. He became the first Manchester goalie to win 30 games in a season since Jonathan Bernier went 30-21-6 in 2009-10.
Andrew Cherniwchan gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 10:33 in the first period, but the Monarchs tied the score less than a minute later when Josh Gratton tipped home a Scott Sabourin shot at 11:02. The goal was Gratton's fifth of the season and first since Feb. 28 at POR.
Manchester took a 2-1 lead at 17:48 in the first when Kevin Gravel scored from the point. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Seth Griffith's 12th goal of the season tied the score at 2-2 just 1:36 into the second period.
The Monarchs regained the lead when O'Brien scored off a feed from David Van der Gulik at 3:54 in the second.
Michael Mersch scored on a loose rebound to give the Monarchs a 4-2 lead at 9:30 in the third. The power-play goal was his fifth tally on the man advantage this season.
Andrew Crescenzi added an empty-net goal at 19:03 in the third to make it 5-2.
The Monarchs will host St. John's tomorrow night at 7 p.m. and close out the weekend with a 3 p.m. game on Sunday against the Pirates at the Verizon Wireless Arena in the VIP Cup.
Notes:
Sean Backman (assist) has at least one point in four of his last five games beginning on Mar. 8 (5 goals, assist). Kevin Gravel's goal was his first since Dec. 20 vs. PRO. Three of his five goals this season have come against the Bruins. The Monarchs improved to 30-0-0-1 this season when leading after two periods. Providence pulled Malcolm Subban in favor of Jeremy Smith after MCH's third goal.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2015
- Rampage Slip Past Barons 4-3 in Overtime - San Antonio Rampage
- Rampage KO Barons in OT, 4-3 - Oklahoma City Barons
- 3-1 Win Pushes Griffins' Point Streak to 19 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Koekkoek captures overtime winner vs. Pens - Syracuse Crunch
- IceHogs Host 16th Annual Jersey Auction Game this Sunday - Rockford IceHogs
- Three Unanswered Goals Lift Binghamton Past Norfolk - Binghamton Senators
- Admirals Finish Roadtrip with Loss - Milwaukee Admirals
- Sharks Best IceCaps 3-1 - Worcester Sharks
- Pirates Fall 3-2 to Bears in OT - Portland Pirates
- Wolf Pack Completes Sweep of Lehigh Valley - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Penguins Force OT, Fall to Crunch - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Burakovsky, Bears Best Pirates in Overtime - Hershey Bears
- Monsters Upended in OT by Toronto, 2-1 - Cleveland Monsters
- Admirals Surrender Two-Goal Lead to Senators in 4-3 Loss - Norfolk Admirals
- Comets Take Down Amerks with Four Unanswered Goals - Utica Comets
- Falcons Drop 3-1 Decision to Sound Tigers - Springfield Falcons
- Jeffrey's three point night paces Bridgeport - Bridgeport Islanders
- Comets Rally for 4-2 Win over Amerks - Rochester Americans
- Bardreau Debuts with Goal But Phantoms Fall at Hartford - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- IceCaps Nipped by Sharks - St. John's IceCaps
- P-Bruins' Home Point Streak Snapped in Loss to Monarchs - Providence Bruins
- Florida Panthers Reassign Sam Brittain to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Monarchs Start Weekend with 5-2 Win over Bruins - Manchester Monarchs
- Columbus Blue Jackets Assign Ryan Craig to Springfield Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- Jacob Doty Reassigned to Wolves - Chicago Wolves
- Syracuse Crunch at Your Service Benefit Dinner April 8 - Syracuse Crunch
- Sabres Recall Grigorenko from Rochester - Rochester Americans
- Coyotes Recall Hodgman from Portland - Portland Pirates
- Cedar Park Center Introduces New Executive Chef - Texas Stars
- Predators Recall Arvidsson from Admirals - Milwaukee Admirals
- March 28 Is Military Night at the Aud - Utica Comets
- Comets Announce Roster Moves - Utica Comets
- Albany Devils Sign Max Novak to ATO - Albany Devils
- Lightning Reassign Mike Angelidis to Syracuse - Syracuse Crunch
- IceCaps Sign Pair of Defencemen to ATOs - St. John's IceCaps
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.
