ECHL Reading Royals

Royal Review

Published on December 16, 2002 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Games This Week:
Friday, December 20, Saint John at Manchester, 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, December 21, Manchester at Saint John, 7:05 p.m.

Sher-Wood Player Of The Week Nomination: Jerred Smithson

Jerred Smithson stretched his personal point streak to three games with one goal and two assists vs. the Lowell Lock Monsters on Sunday, December 15 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. All three of his points were scored in the third period as the Monarchs turned a one-goal game into a comfortable 5-1 win. Smithson's totals on Sunday also included no penalty minutes, three shots on goal and a plus-2 rating. Normally thought of as a defensive forward, Smithson lately has become an efficient scorer for the Monarchs. The native of Vernon, British Columbia totaled one goal, four assists and five points in three Monarchs games last week. He also registered a plus-4 in the three games. Since returning from an injury that kept him out of the lineup for nine straight games, Smithson has one goal, nine assists, 10 points and a plus-9 rating for the Monarchs in his last 11 games.

Week 10 Totals:
Dec. 15 vs. Lowell: 1-2-3, 0 PIM, 3 Shots, Plus-2
Dec. 13 vs. Manitoba: 0-1-1, 2 PIM, 0 Shots, Plus-1
Dec. 11 vs. Manitoba: 0-1-1, 0 PIM, 0 Shots, Plus-1
Totals: 1-4-5, 2 PIM, 3 Shots, Plus-4

Monarchs Notables: Last Result: 5-1 win vs. Lowell, December 15
Record: 17-5-3-3, 40 points

Next Game: December 20 vs. Saint John Flames
Goalie Travis Scott improved his road record to 6-0-1 by allowing the Lock Monsters just one goal on Sunday...Scott, who is unbeaten in his last four starts overall (3-0-1), has allowed just 13 goals in seven road appearances this season while posting a 1.81 goals against average and a .940 save percentage...Scott has allowed just one goal to the opposition in each of his last three starts (12/15/02 at Lowell; 12/11/02 at Manitoba; 12/7/02 vs. Providence)...Including Sunday's win over the Lock Monsters, the Monarchs have gained at least a point in nine straight road games while posting a 4-0-2-3 record...The Monarchs have only one regulation road loss this season, posting a 9-1-2-3 record in 15 road games...Scott Barney broke a 13-game goal drought with a pair of scores against the Lock Monsters on Sunday...Four of Barney's six goals this season have been game-winners...Six times this season the Monarchs have scored four goals in one period...Four of the four-goal periods have come against the Lowell Lock Monsters (3rd period vs. Lowell, 12/15/02; 1st period vs. Lowell, 11/24/02; 1st period vs. Lowell, 11/20/02; 3rd period vs. Lowell, 10/12/02)...When allowing one goal this season, the Monarchs are 9-0-1-0...When scoring four goals or more this season, the Monarchs are 12-0-0-0...When scoring first, the Monarchs are 10-0-1-1...The Monarchs record in one-goal games is 8-0-0-3...Since allowing a second period power play goal to Lowell's Jeff Heerema on Sunday, December 8, the Monarchs have killed off 19 straight power plays...In the last six games, the Monarchs have killed off 39 of the 40 power plays they've faced (97.5 percent)...For the month of December (8 games), the Monarchs have killed off 44 of the 47 power plays they've faced (93.6 percent).

Kings Notables: Last result: 2-1 loss at Phoenix, December 15 Record: 13-10-4-3, 33 points Next game: December 17 vs. St. Louis

Joe Corvo, who was leading the AHL in defenseman scoring with eight goals, 18 assists and 26 points, made his NHL debut with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday vs. Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins...His NHL debut snapped a streak of 111 consecutive games played for the Manchester Monarchs...Until Friday, Corvo was the only Monarchs player to suit up for every game in franchise history...Prior to Sunday's loss in Phoenix, the Kings placed Steve Heinze on injured reserve with post-concussion symptoms...Heinze, 32, suffered the injury in Saturday's 3-2 overtime victory...He is scoreless in five games with the Kings this season...Rookie Jared Aulin filled the Heinze roster spot when he was recalled by the Kings on Sunday...The Kings are 2-7-2 in their last 11 visits to Phoenix.

Week 10 Transactions:
12/15/02: Delete Jared Aulin (C) recalled by Los Angeles (NHL)
12/13/02: Delete Joe Corvo (D) recalled by Los Angeles (NHL)
12/11/02: Add Chris Aldous (D) signed to an AHL contract
12/9/02 Delete Dan Riva (C) assigned to Reading (ECHL)

Week 10 Recap:

Sunday, December 15, Manchester 5, Lowell 1: Lowell, MA - The Manchester Monarchs turned a tight divisional game into a comfortable 5-1 win over the Lowell Lock Monsters on Sunday afternoon with four third period goals at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA. Two third period goals from Scott Barney, and one each from Kip Brennan and Jerred Smithson, powered the Monarchs to their ninth road victory of the season (9-1-2-3) while extending the Lock Monsters winless streak to 14 games (0-12-2-0).

The Monarchs scored three of the four third period goals in a span of three minutes and 25 seconds. Barney, who had gone without a goal in each of his previous 13 games, started the Monarchs scoring flurry with his fifth goal at 1:25. He added his sixth goal 1:32 later. Smithson and Chris Schmidt assisted on both scores. Smithson collected his third point of the period with his first goal at 12:32. The Monarchs were able to pull away in the third period even though they started the final frame with just 15 healthy skaters. Derek Bekar was injured in the second period and didn't return, defenseman Joe Rullier was a scratch after testing an injury in warm-ups, and Jared Aulin was unavailable for the game after being recalled by the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) early Sunday morning.

Netminder Travis Scott extended his road record to 6-0-1 with another solid effort for the Monarchs. Jeff Heerema scored the only goal allowed by Scott with 1:37 left to play. Scott finished with 25 saves while pushing his overall unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1).

The Monarchs took advantage of a first period power play opportunity to score their first goal. Defenseman Tomas Zizka collected his eighth goal, and his fourth on the power play, at 2:03. Eric Healey and Steve Kelly assisted on the Monarchs first man-advantage marker in three games. The Monarchs were awarded the power play after Lock Monsters defenseman Sean Curry was called for tripping at 32 seconds. The Monarchs also survived their own penalty minute trouble a little bit later on in the period, killing off a 5-on-3 Lock Monsters advantage that lasted for 1:44.

Sunday's game also featured the goaltending play of Damian Rhodes, who appeared in his first American Hockey League game in a decade. Rhodes, who has 99 career NHL wins, was added to the Lock Monsters roster on Saturday after being loaned to the club by the Atlanta Thrashers. Prior to Sunday's action, Rhodes' last appearance in the AHL was with the St. John's Maple Leafs during the 1992-93 season. The veteran netminder posted 27 saves in Sunday's defeat.

Friday, December 13, Manitoba 4, Manchester 3 (OT): Winnipeg, Manitoba - Fedor Federov's goal with 2:45 left in overtime gave the Manitoba Moose a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Manchester Monarchs on Friday at the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Federov's goal ended the Monarchs three-game winning streak and allowed the hometown Moose to gain a split in the brief two-game series. Richard Seeley's first point in 19 games, and his first goal of the season, couldn't have come at a better time for the Manchester Monarchs. Seeley's goal allowed the Monarchs to tie the Moose with 5:20 left to play. Dane Jackson and Jerred Smithson assisted on the score.

Brian Chapman, who earlier in the week was named captain of the of the Canadian American Hockey League All-Stars, had given the Moose a 3-2 lead with his first goal, scored with 15:25 left to go in the third.

Rookie Jared Aulin extended his modest scoring streak to three games with a pair of second period points. The Calgary, Alberta, 20-year-old assisted on Ryan Flinn's first goal at 13:04, then scored his seventh goal just 10 seconds later to give the Monarchs their first lead at 2-1.

Ryan Ready's short-handed goal at 3:29 broke the ice for the Moose after each team failed to score in the first period. Jason King's 10th goal, scored with just 31 seconds left in the middle period, enabled the Moose to tie the game at 2-2.

The Monarchs were without the services of their two top scorers for Friday's game. Steve Kelly (11g, 15a) was serving a one-game suspension, and defenseman Joe Corvo was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) earlier in the day. Corvo, a 25-year-old blue-liner from Oak Park, IL, was recalled after the Kings placed defenseman Aaron Miller on the injured reserve list (retroactive to December 12) with a fractured left foot Wednesday, December 11, Manchester 2, Manitoba 1: Winnipeg, Manitoba - Travis Scott improved his road record to 5-0-1 on the season and the Manchester Monarchs edged the Manitoba Moose 2-1 on Wednesday at the Winnipeg Arena in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Scott was at his best with the game on the line, totaling 10 saves in each of the last two periods. He finished with 28 total saves while improving his overall record to 7-3-1. Scott kept the Moose at bay with his superb net play, allowing Derek Bekar to net the game-winning goal with 6:18 to play. The goal, assisted by both Pavel Rosa and Jared Aulin, was Bekar's fourth of the season.

In a scoreless second period, the Moose outshot the Monarchs 10-4. The Monarchs were also assessed four of the five penalties whistled in the period, including a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct to Steve Kelly for spearing at 19:55.

The Monarchs successfully killed off the major to Kelly and a delay of game penalty assessed to Scott seconds after the Kelly penalty was taken off the board. For the game, the Monarchs withstood nine Moose power plays without yielding a power play goal.

Steve Kariya's 9th goal gave the Moose a 1-0 first period lead. Kariya's goal was scored short-handed with the assistance of Jaroslav Obsut and Nolan Baumgartner at 12:30.

Joe Corvo, who opened play Wednesday as the top-scoring defenseman in the American Hockey League, added to his league-leading total with his eighth goal at 17:10. Corvo sliced a shot past goaltender Alex Auld after receiving a face-off pass from Jerred Smithson.

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