AHL Manchester Monarchs

Monrachs report

Published on January 24, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


LAST WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS

Vs. Worcester (1/19): The Monarchs edged the Worcester IceCats, 2-0, at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Wednesday night. Left wing Dustin Brown and center Michael Cammalleri scored goals for the Monarchs. Goaltender Mathieu Garon (33 saves) earned his 20th win and fifth shutout (tied for league lead) of the season. Worcester goaltender Jason Bacashihua took the loss stopping 26 shots. Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Worcester was 0-for-5 on the power play.

At Binghamton (1/21): The Binghamton Senators scored three unanswered second period goals and skated past the Monarchs, 4-1, at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday night. Right wing Brad Smyth scored the lone goal for the Monarchs in the first period. It was all Binghamton in the second and third periods with goals from left wing Brandon Bochenski, center Jason Spezza, center Antoine Vermette and right wing Josh Langfeld. Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser (26 saves) took his fourth loss of the season. Senators goaltender Ray Emery earned the win by stopping 23 shots. Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Binghamton was 3-for-7 on the power play.

At Albany (1/22): The Monarchs received goals from six different players and beat the Albany River Rats, 6-2, at the Pepsi Arena on Saturday night. Left wing Dustin Brown, center Jeff Miles, right wing George Parros, left wing Petr Kanko, center Michael Cammalleri and center David Steckel all lit the lamp for the Monarchs. Left wings Dean McAmmond and Ahren Nittel scored for the River Rats. Goaltender Mathieu Garon (31 saves) earned the win for the Monarchs. Albany goaltender Ari Ahonen took the loss, stopping 24 shots. Manchester went 1-for-5 on the power play. Albany was 1-for-4 on the power play.

At Worcester (1/23): Sunday's game between the Monarchs and the Worcester IceCats (AHL #605), scheduled for 4:05 p.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., was postponed due to the inclement weather. No make-up date has been announced for the game.

MONARCHS INJURY REPORT
01/19/05: Tom Kostopoulos is week-to-week with an abdominal strain.
01/19/05: Yanick Lehoux is out a minimum of four months after undergoing knee surgery.
01/08/05: Scott Barney is out 16 weeks after undergoing hip surgery.
12/13/04: Greg Hogeboom is out 10-12 weeks after undergoing wrist surgery.
11/27/04: Ryan Flinn is out 6-8 weeks after undergoing Achilles tendon surgery.

NEWS & NOTES

Goaltender Mathieu Garon stopped 64 of the 66 shots he faced last week while posting two wins in two starts for the Monarchs, who lead the 28-team American Hockey League with a record of 31-8-3-1 and 66 points.

Garon, a 27-year-old native of Chandler, Quebec shares the league lead with five shutouts. Garon picked up his fifth shutout of the season on Wednesday night against the Worcester IceCats. He turned aside all 33 shots he faced while helping the Monarchs to a 2-0 victory. Garon followed his shutout victory against the IceCats with a 31-save 6-2 victory over the Albany River Rats on Saturday night.

Garon, originally selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the second-round (44th overall) in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft and acquired by the Los Angeles Kings in a trade last summer, has won four straight contests and is tied for second in the league with 21 overall wins.

With 21 wins, Garon has also tied his career best for AHL wins in a season. Garon collected 21 wins for the Quebec Citadelles during the 2001-02 campaign.

Garon has a goals -against average of 1.75 and a save-percentage of .942 over his last four games. His overall goals -against-average of 2.00 and overall save-percentage of .933 are fifth best in the league.

Along with Garon, goaltender Adam Hauser is also having an outstanding season for the Monarchs. The 24-year-old Hauser, originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the third-round (81st overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and signed by the Kings last summer, has 10 wins this season (10-4-0). Five of the wins have come by shutout.

Hauser's goals -against-average of 1.91 is third and his save-percentage of .934 is fourth in the circuit.

As a team, the Monarchs are second in the league with a goals -against-average of 2.09. Only the Hartford Wolf Pack, with a team goals -against-average of 1.95, ranks higher.

Center Michael Cammalleri leads the AHL with 28 goals. Cammalleri, selected by the Kings in the second-round (49th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, has five goals in his last six games.

Now with 53 career goals, Cammalleri is tied for third with center Yanick Lehoux on the Monarchs all-time goals scored list. He needs just 14 goals over the rest of the season to tie former Monarchs left wing Pavel Rosa (2002-04) for first place on the all-time list with 67 career goals.

Cammalleri is second in the league with 61 points (28-33=61) in 42 games. The 22-year-old has 120 points (53-67=120) in 96 career games with the Monarchs.

Cammalleri leads the league with 13 power play goals. He needs just one more power play goal to tie the Monarchs team record for power play goals in a season. Former Monarchs left wing Eric Healey (2001-03) collected 14 power play goals in 2002-03.

Right wing Brad Smyth appeared in his 500th AHL game on Wednesday night against the IceCats. Smyth, originally signed by the Florida Panthers as a free agent in 1993 and signed by the Kings to a two-year contract last summer, has 561 points (282-279=561) in 502 career AHL games with the Monarchs, the Binghamton Senators, the Wolf Pack, the Carolina Monarchs and the Springfield Falcons. His 561 career points are tied for 50th on the league's all-time scoring list.

Left wing Dustin Brown saw his seven-game scoring streak end on Friday night against the Senators. Brown, selected by the Kings in the first-round (13th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, had nine points (2-7=9) during the streak.

Brown (19-25=44) is one of three Monarchs to appear in all 43 games this season. Left wing Chris Schmidt (4-5=9; Plus-9) and defenseman Mike Weaver (1-13=14; Plus-20) are the other two.

Defenseman Joe Rullier, the Monarchs all-time games played (238 games played) and penalty minute leader (680 penalty minutes), is tied for third in the AHL with a plus-26 rating. Rullier's rating leads all AHL blueliners.

Rullier, selected by the Kings in the fifth-round (133rd overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, has 195 penalty minutes in 41 games this season. The 24-year-old Rullier has already surpassed his previous career high (186 penalty minutes) for penalty minutes in a season (2003-04). Rullier's 195 penalty minutes lead all AHL defensemen.

The Monarchs lead the league with a winning percentage of .767. The Monarchs also lead the AHL in goals (159), assists (283), points (442) and goals -per-game-average (3.70).

The Monarchs are tied with the Senators for the league lead with 54 power play goals.

EVENTS

Youth Hockey Practice - Defensemen Doug Nolan and Jason Holland will help out with the Squirt Minor & Major Jr. Monarchs hockey practice on Tuesday, January 25 from 5:00-6:20 p.m. at Tri-Town Ice Arena.

Right wing Dan Welch and defenseman Denis Grebeshkov will help out with the Lady Monarchs Under 12 A & B Girls hockey practice at Tri-Town Ice Arena on Tuesday, January 25 from 7:40-8:40 p.m.

Smyth on WGIR - Monarchs right wing Brad Smyth will appear on Sports Sound-Off with Pete Tarrier on WGIR 610 AM from 6:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25.

Promotions

80's Night With The Monarchs - Don't miss the totally awesome 80's Party following the Monarchs game against the Portland Pirates on Friday, January 28. Come party with the players in the Grand Ballroom at the Radisson Hotel. Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased by calling the Monarchs at (603) 626-7825. Fans must be 21 years of age or older to attend this radical party with the players.

Lehoux Photo Card Night - Every fan attending the Monarchs game against the Lowell Lock Monsters on Sunday, January 30 at 4:05 p.m. will receive an 8"x 10" player photo card of center Yanick Lehoux, courtesy of the NH Tobacco Prevention & Control Program.

2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic

The 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic will be held in Manchester on February 13-14, 2005. Manchester and the Verizon Wireless Arena will provide the stage for the best young hockey players in the world to showcase their talents.

Tickets for the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office, at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 603-868-7300 and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Tickets Prices: $49 for the Gold (lower) level

$39 for the Silver (upper) level

(The price includes one ticket to the AHL All-Star Skills Competition and one ticket to the AHL All-Star Game).

AHL All-Star Party Palooza

After the AHL All-Star Skills Competition, come celebrate with AHL players, guests and fans from around the league as the Monarchs host the AHL All-Star Party Palooza at The Center of NH - Radisson Hotel on Sunday, February 13 from 9:00 to 1:00 a.m.

Tickets for the Palooza, a fun-filled evening featuring three separately themed parties rolled into one, are on sale now and going quickly. The parties will include musical entertainment from Beatle Juice, The Fat City Band and Hot Like Fire. The Stanley Cup, the Calder Cup and memorabilia from the Hockey Hall of Fame will also be on display.

A $30 ticket gets you delicious food and complimentary Coors Light in the Reggae Room, the Jazz Room and the Beatles Room. Tickets can be purchased at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office, at all Ticketmaster outlets and at www.ticketmaster.com. Fans may also order tickets by phone by calling (603) 868-7300.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2005


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