AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

Published on November 23, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Norfolk (11/18): The Manchester Monarchs came away with one point in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Norfolk Admirals at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday night. The Monarchs could not muster a goal in the shootout as Admirals netminder Riku Helenius denied Monarchs center Oscar Moller, center Andrei Loktionov, right wing Brandon Segal and left wing Bud Holloway. Manchester's goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 2-of-4 shooters as left wing Juraj Simek and center Blair Jones found the back of the net in the shootout. Moller scored the lone goal for the Monarchs in regulation. Left wing Justin Keller tallied the lone regulation goal for the Admirals. Bernier (7-4-2) took his second shootout loss of the season with 34 saves on 35 shots and two saves in the shootout. Helenius (4-2-0) earned his fourth win of the season with 21 saves and stopped all four shots in the shootout. Manchester went 0-for-3 on the power play. Norfolk went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

Vs. Albany (11/20): Left wing Bud Holloway jammed in the game-winner halfway through the third period to extinguish the Albany River Rats in a 2-1 victory for the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. Center Gabe Gauthier scored the first goal of the game for the Monarchs. Right wing Steven Goertzen tallied the lone goal for the River Rats. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (8-4-2) earned his eighth win of the season with 33 saves on 34 shots. River Rats netminder Mike Murphy (3-4-0) took his fourth loss of the season with 36 saves on 38 shots. Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play. Albany was 0-for-8 with the man advantage.

At Lowell (11/21): With five goals scored on the power play, special teams played a factor in the Manchester Monarchs 5-3 loss to the Lowell Devils on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Arena. Monarchs center Andrei Loktionov scored the first goal of the game and center Oscar Moller tallied twice in the second period. The Devils picked up goals from right wing Stephen Gionta, center Michael Swift, right wing Vladimir Zharkov, center Ben Walter and right wing Nathan Perkovich. Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (4-2-0) took his second loss of the season with 27 saves. Devils netminder Jeff Frazee (4-4-0) earned his fourth win of the season stopping 17 shots. Manchester went 2-for-5 on the power play. Lowell was 3-for-8 with the man advantage.

At Providence (11/22): Three unanswered goals in the third period dropped the Manchester Monarchs to a 5-4 loss to the Providence Bruins at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Sunday evening. Right wing Brandon Segal, left wing Bud Holloway, center Corey Elkins and defenseman Joe Piskula lit the lamp for the Monarchs. The Bruins collected goals from center Jamie Arniel, defenseman Adam McQuaid (2), right wing Kirk MacDonald and defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (8-5-2) took his fifth loss of the season with 36 saves. Bruins netminder Dany Sabourin (9-6-0) earned his ninth win of the season stopping 21 shots. Manchester went 3-for-5 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (12-6-1-2) are tied with the Lowell Devils (12-6-3-0) for first place in the Atlantic Division with 27 points and both teams are tied with the Hershey Bears (13-5-0-1, 27 points) for third overall in the AHL behind the Texas Stars (14-4-2-2, 32 points) and the Rochester Americans (14-2-1-0, 29 points).

The Monarchs are 8-1-0-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena this season with their only regulation loss coming at the hands of the Hershey Bears on Saturday, November 7. Manchester won their first six home games this season.

Manchester lost their first back-to-back games this season, dropping a 5-3 decision to Lowell on Saturday and then a 5-4 game to the Providence Bruins on Sunday.

The Monarchs penalty kill ranks third in the AHL. They have given up nine goals when their opponent has been on the power play in 99 attempts.

Manchester has been outshot by their opponent 17-of-21 games thus far this season. The four games that the Monarchs led in the shots category was a 2-0 shutout by the Hartford Wolf Pack on November 13 at the XL Center, their 6-1 victory over the Springfield Falcons on October 18 at the Verizon Wireless Arena, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Wolf Pack on Sunday, November 1 in Hartford and a 2-1 win over the Albany River Rats in Manchester on Friday, November 20.

During Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Bruins, the two fastest combined goals of the season were scored 21 seconds apart. Monarchs center Corey Elkins scored at 10:38 of the first period and then Bruins center Jamie Arniel scored at 10:59.

Rookie center Andrei Loktionov leads the Monarchs in assists with 11 and points with 17 (6-11=17).

Loktionov ended his 11-game goal scoring drought with his sixth tally of the season on Saturday.

Loktionov's 17 points are also tied for third among the AHL's rookies.

Center Oscar Moller moved into second place on the Monarchs roster with 16 points (8-8=16). His eight tallies also lead Manchester.

Moller's three game-winning goals are tied for second place in the AHL.

Moller is also tied with right wing Scott Parse, who is up with the Los Angeles Kings, for the team lead in the plus/minus category with a plus-8.

Right wing Brandon Segal (6-8=14) is ranked third on the Monarchs roster.

Left wing Bud Holloway (6-4=10) is currently ranked fifth on the Monarchs squad and is on a four-game scoring streak (2-2=4).

Defenseman Joe Piskula scored his second goal of the season and his first shorthanded goal of his career in Sunday's loss to the Bruins.

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier has a record of 8-5-2 in 15 games of the season. His eight wins are tied for sixth place in the AHL.

Bernier is ranked fifth in the league with a 1.78 goals-against-average and is ranked second with a .948 save percentage.

In six games with the Monarchs, netminder Jeff Zatkoff is ranked 11th in the AHL with a 2.15 goals-against-average and a .939 save percentage which is good for third place in the AHL.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS

It's Peanut Butter - Jelly Time! - The Monarchs Care Foundation is teaming up with Autofair for Peanut Butter - Jelly Time to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank. Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unopened plastic jar of peanut butter and/or jelly to the Monarchs game on Friday, November 27 when the team host's the Springfield Falcons. Together we can put hunger on ice!

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

11/19/09: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) assigned defenseman Alec Martinez to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

11/18/09: Center Justin Azevedo is month-to-month with a lower body injury.

11/18/09: Right wing Richard Clune is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

11/11/09: Right wing Trevor Lewis is month-to-month with an upper body injury.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 23, 2009


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