AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Win; Losing Streak Ends

Published on January 17, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Manchester Monarchs rallied in the third period to end a three-game losing streak and top the Portland Pirates, 3-2, in front of 5,698 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Saturday night.

Manchester (18-19-0-5, 41 points) is in sixth place in the Atlantic Division. Portland (22-16-1-2, 47 points) is tied for second place in the Atlantic Division.

The Monarchs took their third period lead back at 16:25 of the final frame. Center David Meckler broke out of the neutral zone with a breakaway; nobody between him and the net but goaltender Jhonas Enroth. Meckler fired a wrist shot from the hash marks that Enroth stopped square in his chest. The rebound landed to the netminder's right and Meckler picked it up and snuck it past Enroth's blocker. Left wing Scott Parse was credited with springing Meckler for the game-winner.

Following a scoreless opening period, left wing Aaron Slattengren picked up his fifth goal of the season at 7:13 of the second stanza. Right wing Kyle Rank carried the puck down the right wing and cut in toward the net. At point blank range, he fired a shot on goaltender Daniel Taylor. The initial shot was saved but Slattengren was trailing and took a hack at the puck that Taylor thought he had covered. The biscuit rolled over the goal line for the first tally of the contest. Left wing Derek Whitmore picked up an assist on the goal.

Monarchs' right wing Trevor Lewis was awarded a penalty shot at 19:59 of the second period after Enroth threw his stick trying to stop the puck. Lewis was denied the goal as Enroth kicked out his left pad to stop the shot.

At 4:55 of the third period, center Dusty Collins evened the game at 1-1 with his fourth tally of the season. Defenseman Davis Drewiske threw the puck toward the net. Taking a weird path, the puck ended up bouncing off the top of the net and landing on the left doorstep for Collins to flip in past Enroth.

Right wing Ryan Murphy put the Monarchs on top at 8:59 of the final frame with his fifth goal of the season. Left wing Paul Crosty sent the puck behind the Pirates net for center Brad Richardson. Down from Los Angeles on a conditioning stint, Richardson collected the disc behind the cage and chipped it out front for a quick one-timer by Murphy for the goal.

Right wing Mike Mancari kept the Pirates in the game with his 16th goal of the season at 14:04 of the season. Left wing Tim Kennedy won the face-off in the left circle of the Monarchs zone back to defenseman Cliff Loya. The puck was then sent to Mancari inside the left point. The center wound up and ripped a slap shot into the back of the net for a 2-2 tie.

Taylor (1-0-0) earned his first win of the season with 24 saves on 26 shots. Enroth (15-9-2) took his ninth loss of the season with 32 saves.

Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Portland also went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Manchester continues their five game road trip with game two at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza with a 7:05 p.m. contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGAM AM 1250 and at www.manchestermonarchs.com. Watch the games live on AHL Live for just $6 per game. Log onto www.manchestermonarchs.com and click on the link to AHL Live five minutes prior to each Monarchs game to watch the game live.

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



American Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2009


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