AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Report

Published on April 2, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

@ Portland (3/28): The Manchester Monarchs could not recover from a fast start as they lost to netminder Peter Mannino and the Portland Pirates, 4-1, at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Wednesday night. Left wing Ray Kaunisto scored the lone goal for the Monarchs. Right wing Ashton Rome, defenseman Nick Ross and right wing Brett MacLean (two) registered goals for the Pirates. Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (20-15-1) took his 15th loss of the season stopping 16-of-20 shots. Monarchs netminder Martin Jones (15-16-2) relieved Zatkoff at the beginning of the third period and turned aside all nine shots faced. Mannino (8-8-1) earned his eighth victory of the season making 33 saves on 34 shots. Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Portland was 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

vs. Worcester (3/31): Defenseman Patrick Mullen scored two goals to help the Manchester Monarchs defeat the Worcester Sharks, 4-0, at the DCU Center on Saturday night. The Monarchs also scored goals from center Justin Azevedo and defenseman David Kolomatis. Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones (16-16-2) earned first shutout and his 16th victory of the season stopping 28-of-28 shots. Sateri (12-17-0) took his 17th loss of the season making 18 saves on 22 shots. Sharks netminder Thomas Heemskrek (0-0-0) relieved Sateri following the Monarchs fourth goal and made 13 saves on 13 shots. Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play. Worcester was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

vs. Bridgeport (4/1): Center Rhett Rakhshani's overtime blast gave the Manchester Monarchs their first overtime defeat of the season as they fell to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 3-2, at Webster Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon. Right wing Trent Hunter and defenseman Jake Muzzin scored for the Monarchs. The Sound Tigers also tallied goals from defenseman Matt Donovan and left wing John Persson. Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff (20-16-1) took his first overtime loss of the season making 35 saves on 38 shots. Sound Tigers netminder Kevin Poulin (22-17-4) earned his 22nd victory of the season stopping 33-of-35 shots. Manchester went 1-for-3 on the power play. Bridgeport went 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES The Manchester Monarchs (36-31-1-3) sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 76 points. The St. John's IceCaps (40-21-5-3) are in first place in the division with 88 points. The Portland Pirates (32-29-4-5) sit in third place in the division with 73 points. The Providence Bruins (32-32-3-4) are in fourth place in the division with 71 points. The Worcester Sharks (28-30-4-7) rank fifth in the division with 67 points.

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 in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. The Syracuse Crunch (33-27-5-5) are ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference with 76 points. The Pirates (32-29-4-5) sit in ninth place in the conference with 73 points. The Adirondack Phantoms (34-32-2-2) and the Springfield Falcons (33-32-3-3) are in 10th and 11th place in the Eastern Conference, respectively, with 72 points each.

The Monarchs have five games remaining in the regular season, including the next three contests coming on the road.

Manchester's 4-0 victory over the Sharks on Saturday, March 31 was Head Coach Mark Morris and Assistant Coach Scott Pellerin's 250th career professional coaching victory. All 250 victories have come behind the bench of the Monarchs.

At the Verizon Wireless Arena this season, Manchester owns a 19-16-0-1 record.

This season, the Monarchs are 20-7-1-3 in games that have been decided by one goal.

Manchester is 24-14-0-2 against Atlantic Division teams this season.

Manchester is 23-4-0-3 in games when they have led after the first period and 23-0-0-1 when leading after the second period.

When scoring first this season, the Monarchs are 27-8-0-3.

Manchester's 1,268 penalty minutes rank fifth in the league this season. The team is averaging 17.9 penalty minutes a game which is also ranked tied for fifth in the league.

The Monarchs have been outshot in 41 of their 71 games and own a 21-17-1-2 record in those games.

Center Justin Azevedo (25-21F) leads the team with 46 points.

Azevedo leads the Monarchs with 25 goals this season.

Azevedo had a four-game goal streak snapped in 4-1 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday, March 28.

Azevedo has registered 12 goals and five assists for 17 points in 11 games for the month of March.

Azevedo leads the team with seven first goals which is tied for fourth most in the league.

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 (93) and is ranked fifth on the Monarchs all-time points list (162) and ranks fifth on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list with 69.

Right wing Brandon Kozun (19-22=41) ranks second on the Monarchs with 41 points.

Kozun is second on the team with six first goals of the game which is tied for 11th most in the league.

Kozun's six power play tallies lead the team.

Right wing Linden Vey (17-22=39) is third on the Monarchs with 39 points.

Vey ranks third on the team with 17 goals.

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

Center Marc-Andre Cliche (16-22=38) is ranked fourth on the team in both points with 38 and goals with 16.

Cliche is tied with defenseman Thomas Hickey (3-22=25), Kozun and Vey for second on the Monarchs with 22 assists each.

Cliche's five game-winning goals lead the team.

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

Defenseman Patrick Mullen (11-26=37) is in fifth place on the Monarchs with 37 points.

Mullen leads all Monarchs defensemen with 11 goals, 26 assists and 37 points this season.

Mullen's 26 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 12 points (4-8=12) in 30 career NHL contests.

Defenseman Jake Muzzin (6-21') is ranked sixth on the Monarchs with 27 points.

Muzzin tallied a goal in the third period of the Monarchs 3-2 overtime loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday April 1. It was Muzzin's first goal since Sunday, February 26, a 4-3 victory over the Bruins.

Muzzin is ranked second amongst Monarchs defenseman with 27 points.

Defenseman David Kolomatis (5-20=25) is tied with Hickey for eighth on the Monarchs in scoring with 25 points each.

Hickey is tied for third amongst Monarchs defensemen with 25 points.

Hickey leads the Monarchs with a plus/minus rating of plus-17.

Right wing Jordan Nolan (9-13=22) is tied with right wing Stefan Legein (13-9=22) and 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 23 games with the Kings this season.

Legein tallied his fourth shorthanded goal of the season in a 5-0 victory over the Pirates on Saturday, March 24.

Legein's four shorthanded goals are tied for third most in the league.

Center Andrei Loktionov (5-15=20) is tied with left wing Ray Kaunisto (6-14=20) for 13th on the Monarchs with 20 points each.

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.

Kaunisto had a four-game point streak (1-3=4) end on Sunday April, 1 in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sound Tigers.

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

Campbell ranks second on the Monarchs all-time games played list with 292 games and is one of two players (Hickey) to appear in all 71 games for the Monarchs this season.

Right wing David Meckler (9-5=14) ranks 16th on the team with 14 points.

Meckler holds the franchise record with 336 games played.

Left wing Richard Clune (5-8=13) is ranked 17th on the Monarchs with 13 points.

Clune leads the team and is tied for the league lead with 237 penalty minutes.

Right wing Trent Hunter (4-5=9) has nine points in 15 games with the Monarchs.

Defenseman Slava Voynov (2-2=4) returned to Manchester on Friday, February 10. Voynov was originally recalled to the Kings on November 15. In 51 games with Los Angeles this season, Voynov has 19 points (7-12=19) and 12 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 187 penalty minutes.

Goaltender Martin Jones owns a 16-16-2 record, a 2.61 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage in 38 games for the Monarchs.

Jones recorded his first shutout of the season making saves on all 28 shots faced in a 4-0 victory over the Sharks on Saturday, March 31.

Monarchs netminder Jeff Zatkoff has registered a record of 20-16-1, a 2.52 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage in 42 games.

Zatkoff recorded three shutouts in the month of March.

Zatkoff had a shutout streak snapped at 158:04 minutes when left wing John McCarthy scored at 10:57 of the second period in the Monarchs 5-1 victory over the Sharks on Sunday, March 25. The shutout streak spanned parts of four games between March 11 to March 25.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS

Faith and Family Day - The Faith and Family Day is back for the second season on Saturday, April 14 when the Monarchs host the Hershey Bears at the Verizon Wireless Arena at 3:00 p.m. There will be a post-game concert at center ice featuring the band Disciple.

Fan Appreciation/Shirt Off Our Back - The Monarchs will be celebrating the best fans in the American Hockey League on Fan Appreciation Day when they host the St. John's IceCaps at the Verizon Wireless Arena at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 15. The first 2,000 fans will receive a Rich Clune Bobblehead, courtesy of Northeast Delta Dental, along with other great giveaways throughout the game. Fans can stay post-game for the annual awarding of the Shirt Off Our Back's presentation.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2012


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central