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AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

April 6, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Lowell (4/1): In his professional debut, defenseman Thomas Hickey assisted on both regulation goals as the Manchester Monarchs edged the Lowell Devils, 3-2, in a shootout at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. Left wing Matt Moulson, center Marty Murray and center Justin Azevedo slipped the puck past Devils netminder Jeff Frazee in the shootout.  The only Monarchs player that Frazee denied was left wing Vladimir Dravecky.  Monarchs' goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 3-of-4 shooters in the shootout, defenseman Tyler Eckford, left wing Alexander Vasyunov and right wing Stephen Gionta.  Veteran center Pascal Rheaume was the only Devils player to score on Bernier in the shootout.  Moulson and right wing Kevin Westgarth scored in regulation for the Monarchs.  Defenseman Matthew Corrente and left wing Ryan Murphy tallied for the Devils in regulation.  Bernier (21-22-4) picked up his 21st win of the season stopping 27-of-29 shots in regulation and 3-of-4 in the shootout.  Frazee (26-20-5) picked up loss No. 20 with 28 saves in regulation and one save in the shootout.  Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play.  Lowell was 0-for-4 with the man advantage. 

Vs. Springfield (4/3): The Manchester Monarchs shutout the Springfield Falcons 3-0 as netminder Jonathan Bernier stopped all 25 shots he faced at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. Right wing Trevor Lewis, right wing Kevin Westgarth and left wing Matt Moulson scored for the Monarchs.  Bernier (22-22-4) stopped all 25 shots he faced for his fifth shutout of the season.  Falcons' netminder Devan Dubnyk (18-39-2) halted 31-of-34 Monarchs shots for his 39th loss of the season. Manchester went 1-for-6 with the extra attacker while Springfield was 0-for-8 with the man advantage. 

Vs. Worcester (4/4): The Manchester Monarchs lost to the Worcester Sharks in a close 3-2 game that came down to a penalty shot that was missed with six seconds left on the clock as 9,118 fans cheered on the home team at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. Monarchs' defensemen Thomas Hickey and Viatcheslav Voynov scored for the home team.  Right wing Ryan Vesce, right wing Dan DaSilva and defenseman Kyle McLaren tallied for Worcester.  Monarchs' goaltender Jonathan Bernier (22-23-4) stopped 33-of-36 shots for his 23rd loss of the season.  Sharks' netminder Thomas Greiss (28-23-2) earned his 28th win of the season by turning down 34 of Manchester's 36 shots. Manchester went 1-for-2 on the power play while Worcester was 0-for-4 with the man advantage. 

At Providence (4/5): In a back-and-forth game, the Manchester Monarchs ended up on the short end as the Providence Bruins took the game, 3-2, at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday evening. Right wing Trevor Lewis and center Marty Murray lit the lamp for the Monarchs. Right wing Mikko Lehtonen (2) and center Vladimir Sobotka scored for Providence. Monarchs' goaltender Daniel Taylor (7-3-2) took his third loss of the season stopping 30-of-33 shots. Bruins' netminder Kevin Nastiuk (1-2-0) earned his first win of the season with 26 saves. Manchester went 0-for-2 on the power play. Providence was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Hartford Wolf Pack (44-27-3-3, 94 points) leads the Atlantic Division and has clinched a playoff spot. The Providence Bruins (42-27-2-6, 92 points) are on the heels of Hartford in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Portland Pirates (37-30-3-7, 84 points) are in third place and the Worcester Sharks (40-34-1-2, 83 points) are in fourth, just three points ahead of the Manchester Monarchs (36-33-0-8, 80 points). The Lowell Devils (34-34-2-7, 77 points) trail the Monarchs by three points for sixth place. The Springfield Falcons sit in last place with 60 points (24-42-8-4).

The Monarchs are 3-5-0-2 in their last 10 games and are currently on a two-game losing streak.

The Monarchs are in 13th place in the AHL on the power play. The team is 60-for-348 with the man advantage for a 17.2-percent rating.

Manchester has stopped their opponent 322 times on 380 power play opportunities for an 84.7-percent rating this season, good for sixth place.

The Monarchs have a winning record on two days of the week, Wednesdays and Fridays. Manchester is 8-3-0-1 on Wednesdays and 12-8-0-4 on Fridays. The Monarchs are 8-15-0-0 on Saturday's and 4-6-0-2 on Sunday's this season.

When the Monarchs score first, they have gained a point in every game but six. Manchester is 24-6-0-5 in the 35 games where they have scored first.

Manchester is 21-4-0-3 when they have the lead following the first period. They are 25-3-0-3 when leading after two periods.

The Monarchs are undefeated when scoring four or more goals (15-0-0-0) and are 14-4-0-3 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. Manchester was 9-3-0-1 in February and 6-5-0-2 in March. After four games in April, the Monarchs are deadlocked at 2-2-0-0.

Center Marty Murray's (15-38=53) leads the Monarchs with 38 assists and 53 points.

Murray has four points (1-3=4) in his last three games.

Right wing Trevor Lewis (18-28=46) ranks second in overall scoring and is tied for first place with left wing Matt Moulson (18-24=42) in goal scoring on the team. His 28 assists are also ranked third on the Monarchs.

Lewis also leads the Monarchs with three shorthanded goals this season.

Moulson picked up his first shorthanded goal of the season and the third one of his career in Friday's 3-0 win over the Springfield Falcons.

Moulson's 42 points rank third on the Monarchs roster.

Moulson has five points (2-3=5) in his last four games.

Moulson moved into a tie for second overall in goal scoring with center Michael Cammalleri with 70 tallies over three seasons. He is also ranked seventh in assists with 81 and surpassed right wing Pavel Rosa (67-84=151) for fourth place all-time with 152 points.

Center Gabe Gauthier's (10-30=40) assists rank second on the Monarchs squad and his points are in fourth.

Gauthier is also ranked fourth on the Monarchs all-time assists list with 95 helpers over three seasons. He is also ranked ninth in goals scored with 47 tallies and is in seventh place with 142 points.

Reigning AHL Rookie of the Year right wing Teddy Purcell's (16-22=38) eight-game scoring streak (7-9=16), the longest scoring streak by a Monarchs player this season, came to an end when he was held off the scoreboard in the 5-2 loss to Providence on Friday, February 20. The longest scoring streak in Monarchs history is Cammalleri with 25 points (14-11=25) in 14 games from October 29, 2004 - November 27, 2004.

Purcell is the team's third leading goal scorer with 16 tallies on the season in 38 games played. He is also tied for fifth place with 38 points with left wing Scott Parse (14-24=38).

Purcell's four-points (2-2=4) on Saturday, February 14 made him the 20th player to tally four points in one game. The franchise record for the most points in a game is five points (0-5=5) by center Jared Aulin on December 21, 2002.

The second-year right wing was recalled to the Kings on February 23. In 36 games with Los Angeles this season, Purcell has 15 points (4-11=15) and four penalty minutes.

Parse's 24 assists are tied for fourth on the team with Moulson.

Center Justin Azevedo (12-22=34) picked up four points (1-3=4) in the Monarchs 7-2 win over Lowell on Saturday, February 21 to become the 21st player in Monarchs history to score four points in a game.

He currently ranks seventh on the Monarchs squad in points.

The rookie center holds a five-game assist streak (0-6=6) recorded from January 21 - 31, 2009, the longest assist streak for a Monarchs player this season.

Defenseman Joe Piskula leads the team with a plus/minus rating of plus-11.

Left wing Vladimir Dravecky is the only Monarchs player to appear in all 77 games thus far this season. The second year winger has 23 points (6-17=23) in those 77 games.

Defenseman Alec Martinez leads Monarchs blueliners with 23 points (8-15=23).

Right wing Kevin Westgarth (4-6=10) scored two goals in the Monarchs four games this week. He doubled his goals on the year with a goal in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over Lowell and Friday's 3-0 victory against Springfield.

Defenseman Davis Drewiske was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, March 20. In 13 games with the Kings this season, Drewiske has 14 penalty minutes. The rookie blueliner has 14 points (1-13=14) and 94 penalty minutes in 61 games with the Monarchs.

-More-

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES (CONTINUED)

Rookie defenseman Thomas Hickey has recorded four points (1-3=4) in his first four games this season. The 6-foot, 192-pound native of Calgary, Alberta, made his professional debut on Wednesday, April 1 when the Monarchs topped the Lowell Devils 3-2 in a shootout. Hickey collected two assists in his debut, the most points scored by a defenseman in their pro debut with the Monarchs. He scored his first goal on Friday, April 3 in the Monarchs 3-2 loss to Worcester.

Netminder Jonathan Bernier registered his fifth shutout of the season when he stopped all 25 shots he faced in Friday's 3-0 blanking of the Falcons. He currently has a record of 22-23-4 with a 2.40 goals-against-average and a .913 save-percentage in 51 games with the Monarchs this season.

On Wednesday, Bernier was named the Reebok X-Pulse/AHL Goaltender of the Month for March. Bernier appeared in 12 of the Monarchs' 13 games during the month, going 6-5-1 with a 1.97 goals-against-average, a .927 save percentage and two shutouts. Bernier began the month with five consecutive victories, allowing a total of six goals in those starts. He posted a 24-save shutout in a 1-0 overtime win vs. Hartford on Mar. 6, and was named the game's third star after stopping 27-of-29 shots in a 3-1 loss to Lowell on Mar. 13. Bernier helped keep the AHL's top offense at bay with 37 saves, allowing only two power-play goals, in a 3-2 shootout loss to Hershey on Mar. 22, and turned aside all 18 Lowell shots in a 3-0 victory on Mar. 24.

Bernier's six-game winning streak after stopping 152-of-159 shots in 365 minutes and 31 seconds of playing time to set a new season high winning streak came to an end when the Monarchs fell to the Devils on Friday, March 13. The longest winning streak by a goaltender this season prior to Bernier's six-game streak was when goaltender Daniel Taylor (7-2-2 record, a 2.36 goals-against-average and a .917 save-percentage) won five straight games from February 4-16. Taylor's five-game winning-streak came to an end on Friday, February 20 when he let in the season's three fastest goals, 58 seconds apart, in the first period against Providence. The fastest three goals scored in a game in the Monarchs franchise history were scored 57 seconds apart when the team was in Lowell on March 19, 2006.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

3-31-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) assigned defenseman Thomas Hickey to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3-27-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled center Brian Boyle from the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3-23-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) returned right wing Kevin Westgarth to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3-20-09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled defenseman Davis Drewiske from the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

MONARCHS IN THE COMMUNITY

4-6-09: The Monarchs coaching staff is holding a Coaches' Clinic for local youth hockey coaches at the Verizon Wireless Arena starting at 7 p.m. with an off-ice chalk talk session followed by on-ice instructions as the Monarchs coaches demonstrate drills with several players.

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