AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

Published on February 22, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Lowell (2/19): Goaltender Mike McKenna stopped all 27 shots as the Lowell Devils blanked the Manchester Monarchs,

5-0, at the Tsongas Arena on Friday night. Left wing Alexander Vasyunov, right wing Stephen Gionta, defenseman Cory Murphy, defenseman Matt Taormina and center Ben Walter scored for the Devils. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (23-15-5) took his 15th loss of the season, stopping 31 out of 36 shots. McKenna (17-10-3) earned his 17th win of the season, stopping all 27 shots he faced from the Monarchs for his third shutout of the season. Manchester was 0-for-4 on the power play. Lowell went 3-for-7 with the man advantage.

Vs. Providence (2/20): Goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped all 40 shots for his league leading eighth shutout of the season as the Manchester Monarchs blanked the Providence Bruins 4-0 at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday night. Center Marc-Andre Cliche, right wing Kevin Westgarth, left wing Richard Clune and left wing Dwight King lit the lamp for the Monarchs. Bernier (24-15-5) earned his 24th win of the season, stopping all 40 shots he faced from the Bruins for his eighth shutout of the season. Bruins netminder Kevin Regan (6-7-0) took his seventh loss of the season, stopping 31-of-35 shots. Manchester was 1-for-2 on the power play. Providence went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2/21): Left wing Tim Wallace scored the game-winning goal as the Manchester Monarchs fell to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 4-2, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday afternoon. Monarchs center Justin Azevedo tallied twice. Left wing Luca Caputi, forward Eric Tangradi, left wing Tim Wallace and center Mark Letestu scored for the Penguins. Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (8-7-0) took the loss, his seventh dropped decision of the season, stopping 20-of-24 shots. Penguins netminder John Curry (19-16-1) recorded his team-leading 19th victory of the season, halting 25-of-27 shots on goal. Both Manchester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were 1-for-5 with the man advantage.

NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (32-20-2-5, 71 points) dropped down to third place in the Atlantic Division with 71 points. The Worcester Sharks (35-17-2-2, 74 points) lead the Atlantic Division with 74 points with the Portland Pirates (32-16-5-3) close behind with 72 points.

The Atlantic Division standings are tight with the top four teams only separated by seven points.

The Monarchs are 19-8-0-2 at the Verizon Wireless Arena this season.

Manchester is 4-6-0-0 in their last 10 games.

The Monarchs penalty kill is ranked second in the AHL. They have given up 32 goals in 249 attempts when their opponent has had the man advantage.

Their power play is ranked seventh in the league with 44 goals on 227 opportunities with the man advantage.

Manchester has been outshot by their opponent in 44-of-59 games thus far this season.

The Monarchs are 17-1-0-0 when scoring the first goal on home ice.

Left wing Bud Holloway (15-24=39) leads the Monarchs in both assists (24) and points (39).

Holloway is tied for seventh in the AHL with five game-winning-goals this season.

Center Corey Elkins (17-19=36) ranks second on Manchester's roster with 36 points.

Center Gabe Gauthier (8-20=28), currently out with a lower body injury, ranks second on the squad with 20 assists and sits in third place with 28 points.

Defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (8-16$) leads Monarchs blueliners and ranks fourth overall on the team with 24 points. He has been held off the scoreboard in his last 15 games.

Defenseman Drew Bagnall (2-8=10) and right wing Scott Parse (3-10=13), who joined the Monarchs from the Los Angeles Kings for the NHL's Olympic break, are tied for the team lead in the plus/minus category with plus-11.

Parse joined the Monarchs for their 2-0 win over Syracuse on Saturday, February 13 but is ineligible to play again until Wednesday, February 24.

Center Justin Azevedo (8-9=17) has recorded 11 points (6-5=11) in 11 games since returning from a lower body injury that he suffered on November 18.

Right wing Kevin Westgarth's career-high 21 points (10-11=21) have moved him into a tie for fifth place on the Monarchs roster with center Marc-Andre Cliche

Cliche recorded his team leading third shorthanded goal of the season in Saturday's 4-0 blanking of the Providence Bruins. His three shorthanded goals are also tied for third in the AHL.

Goaltender Jonathan Bernier has a record of 24-15-5 in 45 games of the season. His 24 wins are tied for third in the AHL.

Bernier's eight shutouts lead the AHL.

Bernier is ranked third in the league with a 2.01 goals-against-average and is ranked first with a.939 save percentage.

Netminder Jeff Zatkoff has played in 16 games for the Monarchs this season, recording an 8-7-0 record, a 2.71 goals-against-average, a.922 save percentage and two shutouts.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

2/18/10: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released defenseman Johann Kroll from his professional tryout agreement.

2/16/10: The Los Angeles Kings loaned left wing Richard Clune to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

2/12/10: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) loaned right wing Scott Parse to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

2/6/10: Center Gabe Gauthier is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

12/29/10: Center Shawn Bates is week-to-week with a lower body injury.

11/25/09: Center Andrei Loktionov is month-to-month with an upper body injury.

11/23/09: Defenseman Thomas Hickey is month-to-month with an upper 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 February 22, 2010


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