Phantoms Skate Past Monarchs, 4-2
March 11, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH â The Philadelphia Phantoms snapped the Manchester Monarchs two-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 9,916 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. The win was the second in a row for the Phantoms, who moved into first place in the American Hockey League's East Division with a record of 36-20-2-4 and 78 points.
The loss, coupled with a win by the Hartford Wolf Pack over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night, means that the Monarchs are in second place in the AHL's Atlantic Division for the first time since January 14. The Monarchs, with a record of 39-17-3-3 and 84 points, trail the Wolf Pack (41-19-2-2, 86 points) by two points in the standings. The Monarchs, who finished their season series against the Phantoms with a record of 0-2-0-0, have two games in hand on the Wolf Pack.
The Phantoms skated through a physical first period with a 1-0 lead. Rookie left wing Tony Voce had the only goal. His sharp-angled shot from the right corner slipped through the pads of goaltender Adam Hauser (20 shots, 17 saves) with the Phantoms on the power play at 16:42. Rookie center R.J. Umberger and veteran defenseman John Slaney assisted on Voce's 15th of the season.
The first period included three fights, with Phantoms left wing Todd Fedoruk squaring off against both Monarchs defenseman Tim Gleason (8:02) and Monarchs defenseman Joe Rullier (15:26). Monarchs right wing George Parros also closed the period with a bout against Phantoms left wing Josh Gratton at 18:53.
The Monarchs wasted no time in the middle period, tying the game just seven seconds in with a slap shot from Gleason. Rookie center David Steckel and rookie left wing Ryan Kinasewich shared assists on Gleason's eighth of the season, blasted home from the left circle.
The Monarchs fell behind again when they surrendered their league-leading 17th short-handed goal of the season to left wing and former Los Angeles King Jon Sim at 15:43. Umberger had the only assist on Sim's 26th of the season.
The Phantoms stretched their lead to 3-1 when defenseman Joni Pitkanen spun through the slot and fired a loose puck through the pads of Hauser at 4:23 of the third period. Center Ben Stafford and Fedoruk shared assists on Pitkanen's fifth of the season.
The Monarchs made it a 3-2 contest with the seventh goal of the season from left wing Jeff Giuliano, who backhanded a drop pass from right wing Dan Welch inside the left shoulder of Phantoms goaltender Antero Niittymaki (27 shots, 25 saves) at 11:48. Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov had the second assist on the play.
The Monarchs pressed hard for the equalizer for the remainder of the period, but Sim scored the last goal of the game into an empty net at 19:24. His team-leading 27th of the season was unassisted.
Niittymaki (24-17-4) took the win, his second straight. Hauser (15-9-0) took the loss.
The Monarchs finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play. The enter Saturday afternoon's match against the Springfield Falcons 0-for-26 on the power play over their last seven games. The Monarchs closeout their four-game homestand when they return to action against the Falcons at 2:05 p.m.
Ticket Availability: Single seats in the Gold level and 900 seats in the Silver level remain for Saturday's game against the Falcons.
Monarchs tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office. Individual tickets may also be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (603) 868-7300, or by visiting Ticketmaster on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.
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American Hockey League Stories from March 11, 2005
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