AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly

Published on March 3, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Lowell (2/26): Right wing Benoit Mondou recorded three goals and an assist while defenseman Olivier Magnan matched the four point effort by notching a quartet of assists as the Lowell Devils overcame the Manchester Monarchs en route to a 7-3 victory at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Tuesday night. Monarchs center Gabe Gauthier, center Matt Ryan and left wing Petr Kanko scored for the Monarchs. Defenseman Olli Malmivaara (2), Mondou (3), left wing Mike Pandolfo and center Petr Vrana tallied for Lowell. Monarchs goaltender Daniel Taylor took the loss with 19 saves. Devils netminder Dave Caruso earned the win 35 saves. Manchester went 1-for-7 on the power play. Lowell was 5-for-9 with the man advantage.

At Worcester (2/29): Center Tom Cavanagh scored the decisive goal as the Manchester Monarchs fell to the Worcester Sharks 2-1 at the DCU Center on Friday night. Monarchs defenseman Jeff Likens collected the only tally for Manchester, his first of the season. Defenseman Derek Joslin scored the Sharks first goal of the night. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick took the loss stopping 15-of-17 shots on net. Netminder Thomas Greiss earned the win for Worcester with 28 saves. Manchester went 1-for-4 on the power play. Worcester was 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

At Hartford (3/1): Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 37-of-38 shots to lift the Manchester Monarchs over the Hartford Wolf Pack 2-1 at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday night. Monarchs center Brady Murray and left wing Matt Moulson registered goals in the win. The lone Wolf Pack goal came off the stick of left wing Dane Byers. Quick earned his second win of the season with 37 saves. Wolf Pack netminder David LeNeveu took the loss with 30 saves. Manchester went 0-for-3 on the power play. Hartford was 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

Vs. Springfield (3/2): Center Gabe Gauthier led the Manchester Monarchs with two goals and an assist as the home team topped the Springfield Falcons 5-2 on Sunday evening at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Center Matt Ryan, left wing Matt Moulson and center Brady Murray added on to Gauthier's two goals for the game total of five for Manchester. The Falcons had tallies from left wings Rob Schremp and Viacheslav Trukhno. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick earned his second consecutive win with 22 saves on 24 shots. Falcons netminder Jeff Deslauriers took the loss with 33 saves on the night. Manchester went 2-for-7 on the power play. Springfield was 1-for-11 with the man advantage.

MONARCHS NEWS & NOTES

The Monarchs (27-26-4-4, 62 points) continue to battle with the Springfield Falcons (27-25-5-5, 64 points) for fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Following Sunday's big 5-2 win over the Falcons, Manchester is only two points behind Springfield with a game in hand.

The Monarchs have a home record of 13-14-1-3 and a road record of 14-12-3-1.

The Monarchs power play remains atop the AHL with a 23.8-percentage and the penalty kill is in 29th place with 77.2-percent.

The Monarchs have the best home power play record as they have scored 39 goals on 144 opportunities at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They are ranked sixth on the road with a power play record of 28 goals on 137 opportunities.

Manchester has scored at least one power play goal in 18 of their 27 wins this season.

32 of the 61 Monarchs games thus far this season have been determined by one goal. The Monarchs are 15-9-4-4 in one goal games, 4-8-0-0 in two goal games, 2-6-0-0 in three goal games and 6-3-0-0 in four goal games.

Manchester is 17-4-0-1 when leading after the first period and 16-1-1-1 when leading after the second period.

When scoring first in the game, the Monarchs are 19-6-2-2.

The best day of the week for the Monarchs to play is on Saturday. The team is 11-7-2-2 in 22 Saturday games this season. Manchester is 4-3-1-0 in Sunday games, 2-1-0-0 on Mondays and 1-1-0-0 on Tuesday. On Wednesdays, the Monarchs have a record of 1-5-0-0. In the lone Thursday game this season, the Monarchs lost in overtime. Manchester is 8-9-0-2 on Fridays thus far this season.

The Monarchs are 5-4 in shootouts this season.

Right wing Teddy Purcell (16-44=60) leads the Monarchs with 60 points in 50 games. He was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Friday, February 15 and scored his first NHL goal later that night in the Kings 6-3 win over the Calgary Flames. In 10 games with the Kings this season, Purcell has one goal and two assists for three points and a plus/minus rating of plus-2.

Purcell was named the MVP of the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok after he scored three goals and the decisive game-winning shootout tally for the Canadian All-Stars.

Purcell has scored at least one point in 37-of-50 games with the Monarchs this season.

Purcell's 60 points are also ranked sixth in the AHL for overall scoring and is ranked first among rookies.

His 44 assists are ranked fifth in the AHL in that category and also rank first among rookies.

Purcell's 28 assists on the power play place him in third place in the AHL with Monarchs and ranks first among AHL rookies.

Center Gabe Gauthier (23-33=56) is ranked second on the Monarchs squad with 56 points in 55 games.

Gauthier went 4-for-4 in the accuracy shooting event as he represented PlanetUSA at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok. Gauthier is only the second person in AHL history to go 4-for-4 in the event. Former Providence Bruins' Andy Hilbert went 4-for-4 in the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic held in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Gauthier's 33 assists are ranked third on the Monarchs squad.

Gauthier has scored at least one point in 35-of-55 games this season.

Gauthier's 56 points ties him in ninth place in the AHL.

19 of Gauthier's 33 assists this season have come on the power play, which ties him for 10th place in the AHL for power play assists.

Gauthier's 15 power play goals are ranked third in the AHL among power play tallies.

Center Brian Boyle is ranked third on the Monarchs squad this season and ranked second among AHL rookies with 47 points (22-25=47). He was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, February 2. In his debut, he collected a goal and an assist in the Kings 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils. In eight games with the Kings since his debut, Boyle has four goals and an assist for five points and a plus-4 rating. Boyle was assigned to Manchester on Sunday, February 17.

Boyle also ranks first among AHL rookies with 181 shots on goal this season.

Boyle's 12 power play goals are tied for sixth overall and tied for first among rookies.

Boyle's 22 goals lead AHL rookies.

Defenseman Peter Harrold leads Monarchs blueliners, is ranked fourth on the team and is in second place in the AHL among defensemen with 43 points (7-36=43) in 49 games. Harrold was recalled by the Kings on Tuesday, February 19. He scored his first NHL goal in the Kings 6-5 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, February 23. Harrold has two points (1-1=2) in nine games with the Kings this season.

29 of Harrold's 36 assists have come on the power play, which ranks second in the league.

Left wing Matt Moulson rounds out the Monarchs top five scorers with 40 points (22-18=40) in 40 games this season. The second year left wing has played in 22 games with the Kings this season and recorded nine points (5-4=9) and a plus/minus rating of plus-2.

Right wing Kevin Westgarth is tied for 26th place in the AHL in penalty minutes with 152 in 32 games. Westgarth is also ranked fourth among rookies in penalty minutes. He has 20 major penalties that also ranks first among rookies.

Left wing Paul Crosty is ranked ninth in the AHL with 182 penalty minutes in 38 games.

In 30 games between the pipes, goaltender Erik Ersberg has a record of 10-13-2, a 2.92 goals-against-average and a .897 save-percentage. He was recalled by the Kings on Wednesday, February 20 and served as the backup goaltender in the Kings 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, February 21.

Ersberg made his NHL debut in the Kings 6-5 overtime loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday, February 23. The rookie goaltender replaced netminder Dan Cloutier in the second period of Saturday's game when the score was in favor of Chicago 5-1. The Kings battled back and tied the game with 13 seconds left in regulation. In 31 minutes and 14 seconds of playing time, Ersberg stopped 18-of-19 shots in his first overtime loss in the NHL. He currently has a 1.94 goals-against-average and a .947 save-percentage with the Kings.

Netminder Daniel Taylor is 3-3-2 in his last eight games for the Monarchs. In 19 games this season, Taylor has a record of 10-5-2, 2.57 goals-against-average and a .916 save-percentage.

Taylor earned his first professional shutout by stopping all 30 shots by the Milwaukee Admirals in the Monarchs 1-0 win on Friday, January 18 and his second shutout on Wednesday, January 23 with 35 saves in the Monarchs 2-0 win over the Worcester Sharks. His third consecutive shutout came on Friday, January 25 when the Monarchs topped the Lowell Devils 4-0 and Taylor stopped all 32 shots he faced.

Taylor's shutout streak ended when center Jason King of the Portland Pirates scored at the four-minute mark in the first period of the game on Friday February 1 to bring his total streak time to 189 minutes and 36 seconds.

Taylor did not allow an even strength goal from January 13 until the game on February 2. He shut down the opponent when playing 5-on-5 hockey for a total of 336 minutes and 31 seconds. During that time, Taylor allowed four power play goals.

Netminder Jonathan Quick was recalled by the Monarchs on February 27 from the ECHL's Reading Royals. In six games with the Monarchs, Quick has a record of 3-3-0, 2.18 goals-against-average and a .922 save-percentage.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

2-27-08 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled defenseman Jon Klemm from the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

2-27-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) recalled goaltender Jonathan Quick from the Reading Royals (ECHL).

2-27-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released goaltender Rick Laurendeau from his PTO.

2-26-08 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) assigned right wing Teddy Purcell to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

2-26-08 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) traded goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin to the Anaheim Ducks (NHL).

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

Defenseman Drew Bagnall is week-to-week with an upper body injury.

MONARCHS IN THE COMMUNITY

Read Across America - Monarchs players will be visiting schools throughout New Hampshire, Monday through Friday, this week to read Z Is For Zamboni to the students as part of the National Education Association's Read Across America program. All around the nation, reading celebrations big and small are putting the joy of reading front and center.

Monday, March 3 - Epsom School from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 4 - Raymond School from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, March 5 - Mt. St. Mary School from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 6 - Wilson Street School from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Winning With Wellness - Members of the Monarchs will speak to students at Peter Woodbury School in Bedford on Wednesday, March 5 at 1 p.m. about the importance of living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The school program, Winning With Wellness, is part of the Monarchs Care Foundations partnership with Hannaford.

Papa Gino's - Two members of the Monarchs will be at Papa Gino's on DW Highway greeting fans and signing autographs from 5-6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5.

At Your Service Dinner - You are invited to join the Manchester Monarchs at the teams' annual At Your Service Dinner! Be a part of the fun and excitement on Monday, March 10 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.! The annual dinner turns the normally rugged hockey team into an accomplished wait staff eager to fulfill special requests...all for charitable tips. The event also includes a silent auction featuring personalized pottery, Build-A-Bears and gift baskets, all created by the players. Other fabulous items will include jerseys, trips, electronics and memorabilia. Proceeds benefit the Monarchs Care Foundation, Manchester Boys and Girls Club, and Child Health Services.

MONARCHS PROMOTIONS

"Mullet Night: Redneck Edition" - It's back! "Mullet Night: Redneck Edition" on Friday, March 7 when the Monarchs host the Hershey Bears will be filled with Redneck activities, music, on-ice entertainment as well as the distribution of 3,500 mullet trucker hats and Redneck teeth, courtesy of Sanel Auto Parts! So dust off your old mullet wigs, throw on your best hunting gear and join us for another unforgettable Mullet Night with the Monarchs. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

Fans Choice Promotion - The results are in and the first 3,500 fans will receive a Jeff Giuliano bobblehead when the Monarchs host the Providence Bruins on Saturday, March 8 at 7:05 p.m., courtesy of St. Mary's Bank! Also, enjoy the anthem singer, media timeouts and first intermission that you selected!



American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2008


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