AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

March 19, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

@ St. John's (3/17): Forward Brian O'Neill's debut was a memorable one as he tallied his first professional goal that proved to be the game-winning tally as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the St. John's IceCaps, 3-1, at the Mile One Centre on Saturday night. Manchester also registered goals from right wings Trent Hunter and David Meckler. Right wing Kevin Clark scored the lone goal for the IceCaps. Monarchs netminder Martin Jones (15-15-2) earned his 15th victory of the season stopping 25-of-26 shots. IceCaps goaltender Eddie Pasquale (20-9-0) took his ninth loss of the season making 29 saves on 31 shots. Manchester went 0-for-2 on the power play. St. John's was also 0-for-2 with the man advantage.

@ St. John's (3/18): Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff and the Manchester Monarchs shutout the St. John's IceCaps, 3-0, to earn a weekend sweep at the Mile One Centre on Sunday afternoon. Manchester received goal from center Justin Azevedo, left wing Ray Kaunisto and center Andrei Loktionov. Zatkoff (18-14-1) held the IceCaps scoreless by earning his 18th victory and second shutout of the season stopping all 27 shots he faced. IceCaps netminder Eddie Pasquale (20-10-0) took his 10th loss of the season making 18 saves on 20 shots. Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. St. John's was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Manchester Monarchs (33-29-0-3) sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points. The St. John's IceCaps (38-18-5-2) are in first place in the division with 83 points. The Worcester Sharks (28-24-4-7) are in third place in the division with 67 points. The Portland Pirates (29-28-3-4) sit in fourth place in the division with 65 points. The Providence Bruins (28-30-3-4) are in fifth place in the division with 63 points.

Atlantic Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT

1 St. John's IceCaps 63 38 18 5 2 83 0.659

2 Manchester Monarchs 65 33 29 0 3 69 0.531

3 Worcester Sharks 63 28 24 4 7 67 0.532

4 Portland Pirates 64 29 28 3 4 65 0.508

5 Providence Bruins 65 28 30 3 4 63 0.485

It is a tight playoff race as the top eight teams from each conference will make the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Monarchs enter the week ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference with the Sharks sitting in eighth place with 67 points. The Syracuse Crunch (29-24-4-4) and the Springfield Falcons (30-29-3-3) are tied for ninth place with 66 points each.

The Monarchs have 11 games remaining in the regular season, including four home games.

The Monarchs penalty kill is 22-for-23 in their last seven games.

At the Verizon Wireless Arena this season, Manchester owns a 17-16-0-1 record.

This season, the Monarchs are 20-7-0-3 in games that have been decided by one goal.

Manchester is 21-12-0-2 against Atlantic Division teams this season.

Manchester is 20-4-0-3 in games when they have led after the first period and 20-0-0-1 when leading after the second period.

When scoring first this season, the Monarchs are 24-8-0-3.

Manchester's 1,161 penalty minutes rank tied for fourth place in the league this season. The team is averaging 17.9 penalty minutes a game which is ranked sixth in the league.

The Monarchs have been outshot in 40 of their 65 games and own a 21-17-0-2 record in those games.

Right wing Linden Vey (17-20=37) is tied with center Justin Azevedo (20-17=37) and right wing Brandon Kozun (17-20=37) for the team lead in points with 37 each.

Vey and Kozun are tied for second place on the team with 17 goals each.

Vey is tied for 15th in the AHL among rookie scorers.

Vey recorded 14 points (6-8=14) in 12 games in February to earn the Reebok/AHL Rookie Of The Month award.

Vey's four game-winning goals are second on the team and are tied for third among AHL rookie players.

Azevedo leads the Monarchs with 20 goals this season.

Azevedo has seven goals in six games for the month of March.

Azevedo set a Monarchs all-time record with four goals in a game on Saturday, March 10 in a 5-2 victory over the Pirates.

Azevedo is the third player in franchise history to record a five-point (4-1=5) game as he collected four goals and one assist in the Monarchs 5-2 win over Portland on Saturday, March 10.

Azevedo ranks fifth on the Monarchs all-time assist list (89) and is ranked sixth on the Monarchs all-time points list (153) and ranked in seventh place on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list with 64.

Kozun and Azevedo are also tied for 17th place in the AHL with five first goals of the game.

Kozun's six power play tallies lead the team.

Kozun is tied with Vey and defenseman David Kolomatis (4-20=24) for third place on the Monarchs with 20 assists each.

Center Marc-Andre Cliche (16-19=35) is ranked fourth on the Monarchs with 35 points.

Cliche is ranked fourth on the team with 16 goals.

Cliche's five game-winning goals lead the team and are tied for 10th most in the league.

Cliche is 6-for-7 in the shootout this season to lead all Monarchs players.

Cliche is fourth on the Monarchs all-time games played list with 275 games and is tied for ninth place on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list with 57 tallies.

Defenseman Patrick Mullen (8-25=33) is in fifth place on the Monarchs with 33 points.

Mullen leads all Monarchs defensemen with eight goals, 25 assists and 33 points this season.

Mullen's 25 assists rank first on the team.

Left wing Dwight King (11-18=29) is ranked sixth on the Monarchs with 29 points.

King was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, February 10 and made his season debut against the New York Islanders on Saturday, February 11.

King scored his first NHL goal in a 4-2 victory against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, February 12.

King has recorded eight points (4-6=10) in 23 career NHL contests with his first career multi-point game (1-1=2) coming on Sunday, February 12.

King is tied with defenseman Jake Muzzin (5-18=23) for seventh on the Monarchs with 18 assists each.

With a goal and an assist in the Monarchs victory over the Bruins on Sunday, February 26, Muzzin set a career-high with his 19th point on the season. Muzzin now has a career best 23 points this season.

Defenseman Thomas Hickey (3-21=24) is tied with Kolomatis for seventh place on the Monarchs with 24 points each.

Hickey is second on the team with 21 assists this season.

Hickey is tied with Kolomatis for second place amongst Monarchs defensemen with 24 points each.

Hickey leads the Monarchs with a plus/minus rating of plus-15.

Right wing Jordan Nolan (9-13=22) is tied with center Robbie Czarnik (8-14=22) for 10th on the Monarchs with 22 points each.

Nolan's 119 penalty minutes rank third on the Monarchs.

Nolan was recalled by the Kings on Friday, February 10.

Nolan made his NHL debut against the Islanders on Saturday, February 11.

Nolan scored his first professional goal in a 4-2 victory against the Stars on Sunday, February 12. The tally was also the game-winning goal.

Nolan has four points (2-2=4) and 21 penalty minutes in 16 games with the Kings this season.

Czarnik is in second place on the Monarchs with a plus-8 rating.

Center Andrei Loktionov (4-14=18) is tied with right wing Stefan Legein (11-7=18) for 12th on the Monarchs with 18 points each.

Loktionov is currently on a three-game point streak (1-2=3).

Loktionov returned to Manchester on Friday, February 24. Loktionov recorded seven points (3-4=7) and two penalty minutes in 39 games with Kings this season.

In 59 career games with the Kings, Loktionov has 14 points (7-7=14) and four penalty minutes.

Defenseman Andrew Campbell (2-15=17) is in 14th place on the Monarchs with 17 points.

Campbell ranks second on the Monarchs all-time games played list with 287 games and is one of two players (Hickey) to appear in all 65 games for the Monarchs this season.

Left wing Richard Clune (5-7=12) is tied with right wing David Meckler (7-5=12) for 16th on the team with 12 points.

Clune is currently on a three-game point streak (1-2=3)

Clune leads the team and is in third place in the AHL with 213 penalty minutes.

Meckler returned to the Monarchs line-up for the first time since December 18 on Saturday, March 17 and recorded his seventh goal of the season in the 3-1 victory over the IceCaps.

Right wing Trent Hunter (3-3=6) has six points in nine games with the Monarchs.

Hunter is currently on a four-game points streak (2-2=4).

Defenseman Slava Voynov (2-2=4) returned to Manchester on Friday, February 10. Voynov was originally recalled to the Kings on November 15. In 44 games with Los Angeles this season, Voynov has 16 points (6-10=16) and 10 penalty minutes.

Voynov was recalled by the Kings on Friday, February 24.

Right wing Justin Johnson (1-2=3) is ranked second on the team and is in sixth place in the league with 172 penalty minutes.

Goaltender Martin Jones owns a 15-15-2 record, a 2.67 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage in 35 games for the Monarchs.

Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff has registered a record of 18-14-1, a 2.55 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage in 38 games.

Zatkoff recorded his second shutout in his last three starts with 27 saves in a 3-0 victory over the IceCaps on Sunday, March 18.

Zatkoff's 3-1 shootout record is ranked 11th in the AHL.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS

Operation Appreciation - Join the Monarchs for Operation Appreciation as they recognize our nation's armed forces, police and EMT personnel at 7:00 p.m. when the Monarchs host the Portland Pirates at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday, March 24.

Go Green Night - Don't miss the Monarchs first ever carbon neutral game as the Monarchs Go Green against the Worcester Sharks at 3:00 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday, March 25.



American Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2012


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