AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly

March 24, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

At Springfield (3/19): Left wing Rob Schremp scored while on a 5-on-3 power play for the Springfield Falcons in their 4-3 win over the Manchester Monarchs at the MassMutual Center on Wednesday night. Left wing Matt Moulson, defenseman Patrik Hersley and center Brian Boyle collected goals for the Monarchs. Left wing Viacheslav Trukhno, right wing Stephen Werner and center Tim Sestito added to Schremp's goal for the four tallies for Springfield. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick took the loss, stopping 26-of-30 shots faced. Falcons netminder Jeff Deslauriers earned the win, denying 39-of-42 shots. Manchester went 3-for-11 on the power play. Springfield was 3-for-9 on the man advantage.

At Portland (3/22): Two tallies from center Brian Boyle, center Trevor Lewis and right wing Teddy Purcell powered the Manchester Monarchs past the Portland Pirates 7-3 at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night. Defenseman Troy Milam added to the Monarchs scoring prowess with his 12th goal of the season. The three tallies from the Pirates came off the sticks of center Tyler Bouck, center Jason King and defenseman Brian Salcido. Monarchs goaltender Daniel Taylor stopped 22-of-25 shots for his 12th win of the season. Pirates netminder Mike McKenna took the loss by stopping 18-of-24 shots before being replaced by goaltender Gerald Coleman in the third period who made five saves. Manchester went 1-for-3 on the power play. Portland was 2-for-6 on the man advantage.

Vs. Springfield (3/23): Center David Meckler ignited the Manchester Monarchs with two goals and an assist in his team's 4-2 Easter win over the Springfield Falcons to move them into the fourth and final playoff position in the Atlantic Division at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Sunday evening. Center Trevor Lewis and defenseman Jeff Likens each added a goal to the scoreboard for Manchester. Left wings Viacheslav Trukhno and Stephane Goulet lit the lamp for Springfield. Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Quick earned the win with 38 saves. Falcons netminder Jeff Deslauriers took the loss stopping 34 shots. Manchester went 2-for-6 on the power play. Springfield was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.

The Monarchs (32-29-5-4, 73 points) moved past the Springfield Falcons (31-30-5-5, 72 points) for fourth place in the Atlantic Division with their 4-2 win over Springfield on Sunday afternoon. This is the first time the Monarchs have been in fourth place since January 26 when they shared the position with the Falcons.

The Monarchs have a home record of 15-16-2-3 and a road record of 17-13-3-1.

The Monarchs power play remains atop the AHL with a 23.8-percentage and the penalty kill is in 29th place with 78.1-percent.

The Monarchs have the best home power play record as they have scored 44 goals on 170 opportunities at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They are ranked fourth on the road with a power play record of 33 goals on 154 opportunities.

Manchester has scored at least one power play goal in 22 of their 32 wins this season.

36 of the 70 Monarchs games thus far this season have been determined by one goal. The Monarchs are 16-11-5-4 in one goal games, 7-8-0-0 in two goal games, 2-7-0-0 in three goal games and 7-3-0-0 in four goal games.

Manchester is 19-4-2-1 when leading after the first period and 21-2-1-1 when leading after the second period.

When scoring first in the game, the Monarchs are 24-7-3-2.

The best day of the week for the Monarchs to play is on Saturday. The team is 13-8-2-2 in 25 Saturday games this season. Manchester is 6-3-1-0 in Sunday games, 2-1-0-0 on Mondays and 1-1-0-0 on Tuesday. On Wednesdays, the Monarchs have a record of 2-6-0-0. In the lone Thursday game this season, the Monarchs lost in overtime. Manchester is 8-10-1-2 on Fridays thus far this season.

The Monarchs are 5-4 in shootouts this season.

Right wing Teddy Purcell (20-52=72) leads the Monarchs with 72 points in 59 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 44-of-59 games with the Monarchs this season.

Purcell's 72 points are ranked fourth in the AHL for overall scoring and is ranked first among rookies.

His 52 assists are ranked fourth in the AHL in that category and also rank first among rookies.

Purcell's 32 assists on the power play place him for second place in the AHL and ranks first among AHL rookies.

Center Gabe Gauthier (23-37=60) is ranked second on the Monarchs squad with 60 points in 61 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 37 assists are ranked second on the Monarchs squad.

Gauthier has scored at least one point in 39-of-61 games this season.

Gauthier's 60 points ties him in 13th place in the AHL.

22 of Gauthier's 37 assists this season have come on the power play, which ties him for ninth 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 55 points (26-29=55). 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 215 shots on goal this season.

Boyle's 14 power play goals are tied for fourth overall and ranked first among rookies.

Boyle's 26 goals lead AHL rookies.

Left wing Matt Moulson is fourth on the Monarchs squad with 47 points (25-22=47) in 49 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.

Defenseman Peter Harrold leads Monarchs blueliners, is ranked fifth on the team and is tied for fifth 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 five points (2-3=5) and a plus-2 in 19 games with the Kings this season.

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

Right wing Kevin Westgarth is ranked for 23rd in the AHL in penalty minutes with 167 in 59 games. Westgarth is also ranked third among rookies in penalty minutes. He has 21 major penalties that also tied for first among rookies.

Left wing Paul Crosty is ranked 10th in the AHL with 198 penalty minutes in 45 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 collected his first win and shutout in the Kings 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, March 6. The rookie goaltender stopped 40 shots from the Senators through 60 minutes of play for the victory. Ersberg has played in nine games with the Kings this season and collected a record of 4-3-2, a 2.33 goals-against-average and a .929 save-percentage.

Netminder Daniel Taylor has played in 22 games this season and registered a record of 12-5-2, 2.52 goals-against-average and a .917 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 13 games with the Monarchs, Quick has a record of 6-7-0, 2.53 goals-against-average and a .914 save-percentage.

MONARCHS TRANSACTIONS

3-21-08 - The Los Angeles Kings (NHL) recalled right wing John Zeiler from the Manchester Monarchs (AHL).

3-21-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) recalled center Scott Parse from the Reading Royals (ECHL).

3-19-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) signed defenseman Josh Kidd to an amateur tryout agreement.

3-17-08 - The Manchester Monarchs (AHL) released defenseman Paul Baier from his amateur tryout agreement.

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT

Center Gabe Gauthier is week-to-week with a lower body injury.



American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2008


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