AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

February 28, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK ‚¬â„¢S HIGHLIGHTS

At Springfield (2/22): Goaltender Martin Jones earned his fourth shutout of the season and left wing Ray Kaunisto recorded his first multi-goal game as the Manchester Monarchs blanked the Springfield Falcons, 5-0, at the MassMutual Center on Tuesday night. Defenseman David Kolomatis, right wing Brandon Kozun and center Oscar Moller joined Kaunisto on the scoreboard. Jones (21-7-1) picked up his fourth shutout and won his 21st game of the season, stopping all 16 shots on goal. Falcons netminder Gustaf Wesslau (12-12-1) took his 12th loss of the season with 15 saves on 19 shots before being replaced by netminder David LeNeveu (13-13-2) who stopped 12-of-13 shots in the third period. Manchester was 1-for-2 on the power play. Springfield was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Vs. Bridgeport (2/25): Center Justin Azevedo potted two goals for the Manchester Monarchs as they edged out the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by a 4-3 score at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday evening. Left wing Bud Holloway and right wing John Zeiler scored goals along side Azevedo for the Monarchs. Center Jeremy Colliton, right wing Rhett Rakhshani and defenseman Jon Landry lit the lamp for the Sound Tigers. Monarchs netminder Martin Jones (22-7-1) picked up his 22nd win of the season, stopping 25-of-28 shots on goal. Sound Tigers goaltender Mikko Koskinen (7-16-1) took his 16th regulation loss of the season with 29 saves on 33 shots on goal. Manchester was 1-for-2 on the power play. Bridgeport was 0-for-1 with the man advantage.

At Bridgeport (2/26): Left wing Bud Holloway and right wing Brandon Kozun each scored two power play goals apiece as the Manchester Monarchs collected a 5-0 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard Saturday evening. Along with Holloway and Kozun, center Justin Azevedo scored for the Monarchs. Manchester ‚¬â„¢s goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (14-12-4) earned his 14th win and first shutout of the season, halting all 26 shots on goal. Sound Tigers netminder Mikko Koskinen (7-17-1) took his 17th loss of the season, stopping 26-of-31 shots on net. Manchester went 4-for-10 on the power play. Bridgeport was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

At Worcester (2/27): With three goals against in the second period, the Manchester Monarchs fell to the Worcester Sharks, 5-2, at the DCU Center on Sunday evening. Center Corey Elkins scored both goals for the Monarchs. Left wing Jamie McGinn, left wing T.J. Trevelyan, defenseman Nick Schaus and forward Tommy Wingels found the back of the net for the Sharks. Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones (22-8-1) took his eighth loss of the season, stopping 30-of-35 shots on goal. Sharks netminder Tyson Sexsmith (1-0-1) earned his first win of the season with 25 saves on 27 shots on goal. Manchester was 0-for-6 on the power play. Worcester was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (37-19-2-5, 81 points) have a six point lead over the Portland Pirates (34-17-5-2, 75 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division but the Pirates have played five less games than the Monarchs thus far this season. The Worcester Sharks (27-21-3-8, 65 points), Connecticut Whale (28-24-2-6, 64 points) and the Springfield Falcons (30-27-1-3, 64 points) are fighting for third place in the Division, with only one point separating the third, fourth and fifth place teams. The Providence Bruins (26-30-3-2, 57 points) sit in sixth place with 57 points and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (21-32-3-4, 49 points) bring up the rear with 49 points.

Manchester ‚¬â„¢s power play is ranked 11th in the AHL as they have scored 58 goals on 303 opportunities for a 19.1% conversion rate. On the penalty kill, the Monarchs are ranked sixth in the league as they have given up 41 goals when they have been down a man. They have been shorthanded 275 times this season and have an 85.1% penalty kill rating.

Manchester ‚¬â„¢s home power play unit ranks sixth overall out of 30 AHL teams, scoring 35 goals with the man advantage in 157 opportunities for a 22.3% conversion rate.

Left wing Bud Holloway (22-27=49) leads the Monarchs in points with 49 to his credit.

Holloway has recorded five points (3-2=5) in his last four games, including three points (2-1=3) in Saturday ‚¬â„¢s game against the Sound Tigers.

Holloway recorded both the first goal and the game-winning goal during Saturday ‚¬â„¢s 5-0 blanking of the Sound Tigers.

Holloway ‚¬â„¢s 22 goals lead the Monarchs in that category.

Left wing Dwight King (20-22=42) places second on the Monarchs in points with 42.

King ‚¬â„¢s eight game point streak was snapped Sunday at Worcester. Prior to his Sunday match-up, King recorded 11 points (6-5=11) in those eight games beginning on February 12 against the Sound Tigers.

King ranks second on the Monarchs in goal scoring with 20 tallies.

Center Oscar Moller (16-25=41) is tied for third place on the Monarchs with center Justin Azevedo (16-25=41). Each player has 41 points.

Moller collected the game-winning goal during Tuesday ‚¬â„¢s 5-0 shutout of the Springfield Falcons.

This season, Moller has eclipsed his previous career-high of 15 goals, as he has accumulated 16 markers during the 2010-11 campaign.

Overall, Moller has five game-winning goals this season which ties him with right wing Brandon Kozun (19-19=38) for seventh place in the AHL.

Azevedo ‚¬â„¢s game-winning goal on Friday night against Bridgeport gives him six winners on the season and ties him for third place in the AHL.

Azevedo 11 points (3-8=11) in his last seven games including two three-point games against Bridgeport on Friday and Saturday night.

Defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (12-28=40) has recorded 40 points this season, placing him fifth on the Monarchs squad.

Voynov ‚¬â„¢s 40 points place him fourth overall in the AHL among blueliners in points.

Voynov ‚¬â„¢s 12 goals are tied for the league lead among defensemen and his six power play goals place him in a tie for fifth in the league among blueliners.

Voynov is also second overall on the Monarchs with a plus-15 rating.

Kozun is ranked sixth on the Monarchs with 38 points and is in the midst of a six-game point streak that started on February 20 against Bridgeport. During that span, the winger has four goals and five assists for nine points (4-5=9).

Kozun ‚¬â„¢s 19 goals are ranked third on the team in scoring.

Dating back to February 11 against Portland, Kozun has recorded 15 points (8-7=15) over the last 10 games.

Center Corey Elkins (16-19=35) collected two goals against Worcester on Sunday, giving him 35 points on the season. Elkins is ranked seventh on the Monarchs in points.

Elkins is tied with Moller and Azevedo for fourth place on the Monarchs with 16 goals each.

Centers Marc-Andre Cliche (14-17=31) and Andrei Loktionov (8-23=31) are tied for eighth place on the Monarchs in scoring with 31 points.

Cliche, with 14 goals, has already eclipsed his previous career-highs of 11 goals, set in both the 2007-08 and the 2009-10 Monarchs seasons.

Loktionov, recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on January 20, returned to the Monarchs line-up on Sunday, February 20.

Loktionov recorded seven points (4-3=7) and two penalty minutes in 19 games with the Kings this season.

Loktionov leads the team with a plus-16 rating.

Left wing Richard Clune (8-14=22) is ranked third in the AHL with 214 penalty minutes.

Goaltender Martin Jones has played in 34 games with the Monarchs and has collected a record of 22-8-1 with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.

Jones earned his fourth shutout of the season on Tuesday by stopping all 16 shots from Springfield in the team ‚¬â„¢s 5-0 win.

Netminder Jeff Zatkoff has a record of 14-12-4 with a 2.93 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage in 33 games this season.

Zatkoff picked up his first shutout of the season on Saturday when he stopped all 26 shots he faced from Bridgeport.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

2/20/11: The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) returned center Andrei Loktionov to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

2/7/11: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released goaltender Kris Tebbs from his professional tryout agreement.

2/5/11: The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed goaltender Kris Tebbs to a professional tryout agreement.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS

St. Mary ‚¬â„¢s Bank Player Appearance - Join center Corey Elkins, center Justin Azevedo and left wing Bud Holloway at St. Mary ‚¬â„¢s Bank on Saturday, March 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.! The Monarchs will be located at the St. Mary ‚¬â„¢s Bank location on Elm Street in Manchester, just south of the Verizon Wireless Arena!

Manchester Subaru Player Appearance - Six different Monarchs players will be making an appearance at Manchester Subaru, located on 762 Second Street in Manchester! From 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., center Andrei Loktionov, defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov, center Oscar Moller, goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, left wing Richard Clune and center Marc-Andre Cliche will sign autographs and mingle with fans.

Sunday Funday ‚¬" Children ages 12 and under will receive Monarchs custom Silly Bandz when they join the team for their game against the Charlotte Checkers at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m.



American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2011


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