AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

Published on February 2, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Lowell (1/30): Goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped all 33 shots for his second shutout of the season and left wing Scott Parse tallied twice as the Manchester Monarchs blanked the Lowell Devils, 3-0, at the Tsongas Arena on Friday night. Along with Parse's two goals, right wing Trevor Lewis scored a shorthanded, empty net goal. Lewis and Parse are tied for the team's goal scoring lead with 11 tallies each. Bernier (11-14-3) ended his six game losing streak with his second shutout and 11th win of the season by stopping all 33 shots he faced. Devils' goaltender Dave Caruso (1-10-0) took his 10th loss of the season with 21 saves. Manchester went 0-for-3 on the power play. Lowell was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

Vs. Hartford (1/31): Right wing Pierre Parenteau scored a goal and picked up two assists as the Manchester Monarchs fell to the Hartford Wolf Pack, 4-3, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. The Monarchs picked up goals from center Marty Murray (2) and left wing Scott Parse. The Wolf Pack lit the lamp with tallies from right wing Dale Weise, defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti, center Tommy Pyatt and Parenteau. Monarchs' goaltender Jonathan Bernier (11-15-3) took his 15th loss of the season stopping 19-of-23 shots. Wolf Pack netminder Matt Zaba (9-6-0) earned his ninth win of the season with 33 saves. Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Hartford was 0-for-4 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

Manchester (19-23-0-5) is in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with 43 points after 47 games. The Providence Bruins (27-19-2-1) lead the Atlantic Division with 57 points.

The Monarchs picked up a 3-0 shutout against the Lowell Devils on Friday night after dropping their previous three contests. They are 3-7-0-0 in their last 10 games.

The Monarchs are in 21st place in the AHL on the power play. The team is 35-for-224 with the man advantage for a 15.6-percent rating.

Manchester has stopped their opponent 196 times on 235 power play opportunities for an 83.4-percent rating this season, good for 14th place.

The Monarchs have a winning record on two days of the week, Wednesdays and Fridays. Manchester is 4-2-0-1 on Wednesdays and 8-5-0-2 on Fridays.

The Monarchs are 4-12-0-0 on Saturday's this season.

When the Monarchs score first, they have gained a point in every game but four. Manchester is 14-4-0-4 in the 22 games where they have scored first.

Manchester is 12-3-0-3 when they have the lead following the first period. They are 13-2-0-2 when leading after two periods.

The Monarchs are undefeated when scoring four or more goals (8-0-0-0) and are 9-3-0-2 when tallying three goals in a game. Manchester is 10-4-0-2 when they tally three goals in a game.

After going 2-4-0-1 in the month of October, the Monarchs went 7-4-0-2 in November, 7-6-0-1 in December and 3-9-0-1 in the month of January.

Right wing Trevor Lewis (11-18=29) leads the Monarchs in points and ranks second in goals. He was recalled by the Kings on December 18 and made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, December 19 and scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings on December 20. Lewis had three points (1-2=3), zero penalty minutes and a zero plus/minus rating in five games with the Kings this season. Lewis was reassigned to Manchester on Tuesday, December 30.

Center Marty Murray (7-18=25) took over sole possession of second place on the team with two goals in Saturday's 4-3 loss to Hartford.

Murray's 18 assists are tied with center Gabe Gauthier (5-18=23) for the team lead in assists.

Gauthier is ranked sixth on the Monarchs all-time assists list with 83 helpers over three seasons. He is also ranked 10th in goals scored with 42 and ranked eighth with 125 points.

Gauthier is tied with left wing Scott Parse (12-11=23) for third place on the Monarchs roster.

Parse collected three goals and an assist in this week's two games to move him into a tie for third in scoring. He also ranks first in goal scoring and first in plus/minus category with a plus-8 rating.

Manchester's fifth leading scorer, reigning AHL Rookie of the Year right wing Teddy Purcell (9-13=22), returned from his recall with the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, January 18.

Purcell was recalled to the Kings on December 10. In 17 games with the Kings this season, Purcell registered seven points (1-6=7) and two penalty minutes.

Purcell was named to the Canadian AHL All-Star team. The 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications was held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, on January 25-26. Purcell participated in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic and was named the MVP of the All-Star Game after he scored three goals in regulation and the game-winning shootout tally for Team Canada.

In Sunday's 2009 AHL All-Star Skills, Purcell went 3-for-7 in the Charter Communications Accuracy Shooting event and also participated in the Bud Light Pass & Score and EA Sports NHL09 Breakaway Relay events as a member of Team Canada. In Monday's 2009 AHL All-Star Game, Purcell picked up five assists.

Center Justin Azevedo (5-12=17) assisted on both of Parse's tallies on Friday night and picked up another one on Saturday to move him into a two-way tie for sixth place on the Monarchs roster. Azevedo is tied with left wing Matt Moulson (7-10=17).

Azevedo has been plagued by injuries this season but when he has been in the lineup, he's averaged over a point per game.

The rookie center is currently on a five game assist streak (0-6=6), the longest assist streak for a Monarchs player this season. Azevedo has also scored in every game he's played in since his return from a high ankle sprain on January 9. He has nine points (1-8=9) in eight games. (Even though he has scored in all seven games since his return, Azevedo's streak is only good for the last four games because he was a healthy scratch on January 17. Streaks end when the player does not score in a game or does not play.)

Right wing David Meckler (10-6-16) and left wing Vladimir Dravecky (2-14=16) are tied for eighth place.

Goaltender Daniel Taylor returned to the Monarchs lineup after spending the first half of the season with the ECHL's Reading Royals. He began the season with the Royals and collected a 3-17-1 record, a 3.96 goals-against-average and a .881 save-percentage in 23 games. The 5-foot-11, 179-pound netminder was born in Plymouth, England, and split the 2007-08 season between Manchester, Los Angeles and Reading. He registered a 13-5-2 record, a 2.40 goals-against-average and a .921 save-percentage in 23 games with the Monarchs and was undefeated in five games with the Royals going 3-0-0 with a 2.63 goals-against-average and a .917 save-percentage last season. Taylor made his NHL debut with the Kings against the Dallas Stars on March 29, 2008. He stopped eight shots in 20 minutes of play and let in two goals in his lone NHL game.

Taylor earned his first win of the season in a Monarchs uniform on Saturday, January 17 by making 26 saves on 28 shots for a 3-2 win against Portland.

Netminder Jonathan Bernier was recalled by the Kings on Sunday, January 18. The rookie goaltender is 10-12-3 with a 2.79 goals-against-average and a .897 save-percentage in 25 games with the Monarchs this season. He returned to the Monarchs lineup on Thursday, January 22.

Bernier ended his franchise tying six-game losing streak on Friday with a 3-0 win over Lowell, his second shutout of the season. He stopped all 33 shots from the Devils.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

1-19-09: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed goaltender Jeff Jakaitis to a professional tryout agreement.

1-20-09: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released right wing Jon Rheault from his professional tryout agreement.

1-20-09: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released center Dusty Collins from his professional tryout agreement.

1-22-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) returned right wing Kevin Westgarth to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-22-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) returned goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-22-09: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released goaltender Jeff Jakaitis from his professional tryout agreement.

1-22-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled center Brad Richardson from his conditioning stint with the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

1-24-09: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released right wing Ryan Murphy from his professional tryout agreement.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2009


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