ECHL Reading Royals

Royal Review

Published on December 30, 2002 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Sher-Wood Player Of The Week Nomination: Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson collected one goal, one assist and two points in three weekend games. The Monarchs captain had a goal on three shots, two penalty minutes, and an even rating in the Monarchs 5-4 win vs. the Lowell Lock Monsters on Friday, December 27. Jackson finished with an even rating and one shot in the Monarchs 1-0 loss to the Saint John Flames on Saturday, December 28. He also recorded one assist, three shots and a plus-1 rating vs. the Providence Bruins in a 3-2 Monarchs loss on Sunday, December 29.

Jackson Week 12 Totals:
Dec. 27 vs. Lowell: 1-0-1, 2 PIM, 3 Shots, Even
Dec. 28 vs. Saint John: 0-0-0, 0 PIM, 1 Shot, Even
Dec. 29 vs. Providence: 0-1-1, 0 PIM, 3 Shots, Plus-1
Totals: 1-1-2, 2 PIM, 7 Shots, Plus-1

Monarchs Notables: Last Result: 3-2 loss vs. Providence, December 29
Record: 20-7-3-3, 46 points

Next Game: December 31 vs. Lowell Lock Monsters The Monarchs have lost consecutive games for just the second time this season...The Monarchs last lost consecutive games on November 10 and November 15 vs. the Portland Pirates and the Saint John Flames...The Monarchs loss in Providence on Sunday was just their second road regulation loss this season...The Monarchs only other road loss came vs. the Portland Pirates on November 10...The Bruins snapped the Monarchs 11-game streak without a road regulation loss...The Monarchs were 6-0-2-3 during the streak...Goaltender Travis Scott took the loss on Sunday, his first road loss this season...Scott was 7-0-1 on the road with a 2.05 goals against average and a .934 save percentage prior to the setback at Providence...The loss also snapped Scott's personal six-game winning streak and seven-game unbeaten streak...Each of the Monarchs losses this past weekend were by one goal...The Monarchs began weekend play with a 10-0-0-3 record in one-goal games...The Monarchs lead the AHL in attendance with an average of 8,574 fans per contest...The Monarchs hosted their fifth sell-out of the season (9,893) on Saturday vs. the Saint John Flames...Sell-out crowds are also expected for the Monarchs games vs. the Lowell Lock Monsters on Tuesday, December 31 and the Hershey Bears on Sunday, January 5...Seven players who began the 2002-03 season in Manchester skated for the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, December 29 vs. the Colorado Avalanche...The list of players included: Michael Cammalleri, Kip Brennan, Joseph Corvo, Jerred Smithson, Steve Kelly, Jared Aulin, and Derek Armstrong... The Monarchs victory on Friday vs. Lowell was their 20th of the season, and it came in game #31...The Monarchs needed 42 games to win their 20th game last year...The Monarchs 20th win last season was a 3-2 overtime triumph over the Quebec Citadelles on January 20, 2002...The Monarchs penalty kill has allowed the opposition just six power play goals on 72 chances in December (13 games) for a kill rate of 91.7 percent...The Monarchs successfully killed off 29 straight power plays from Sunday, December 8 through Friday, December 21...The Monarchs ended a season-long scoreless streak with Pavel Rosa's power play goal vs. the Bruins on Sunday...It was the Monarchs first goal in 95 minutes and 57 seconds.

Kings Notables: Last result: 6-1 loss at Colorado, December 29 Record: 16-13-4-3, 39 points Next game: December 30 vs. Chicago The Kings lost for the second time in as many meetings against the Colorado Avalanche...Colorado beat Los Angeles 4-1 on October 17 when Peter Forsberg scored two goals...Forsberg inflicted even more damage on Sunday with three goals...Forsberg recorded his first hat trick since March 3, 1999...Milan Hejduk has six goals and nine assists during his 11-game point streak...The Avalanche were 3-for-5 on the power play...Los Angeles finished 1-for-3 with the extra skater...The Kings are 6-3-1 against Pacific Division foes during the 2002-03 season...Jason Allison and Adam Deadmarsh, the Kings top two scoring threats, are still sidelined with injuries...Allison has a sore right knee after missing 15 games with a sprained ligament on the same knee...Deadmarsh is out with post-concussion syndrome.

Week 12 Transactions:

12/29/02 Add Brandon Dietrich (RW) and Chris Bogas (D) recalled by Manchester from Reading (ECHL)
12/28/02 Add Jeff Giuliano (RW) and Brian McCullough (LW) recalled by Manchester from Reading (ECHL)
12/28/02 Delete Jared Aulin (C) and Steve Kelly (C) recalled by Los Angeles (NHL)
12/27/02 Delete Jerred Smithson (C) recalled by Los Angeles (NHL)

Week 12 Recap:

Sunday, December 29, Providence 3, Manchester 2:

Providence, RI - Even with a depleted lineup because of injuries and call-ups, the Manchester Monarchs were able to stretch the Providence Bruins to the limit before losing 3-2 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, RI, on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins, who last lost at Manchester on November 23, increased their unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1-0) while handing the Monarchs their second straight setback. With the win, the Bruins (20-9-6-2) took sole possession of first place in the North Division with 48 points. The Monarchs (20-7-3-3) trail the Bruins by two points in the standings and have four games in hand.

With seven Monarchs regulars playing for the Los Angeles Kings, the Monarchs parent club, on Sunday afternoon, the Monarchs were forced to rely on the services of six recently recalled players from the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League. Dan Riva, one of the recent recalls, scored a short-handed goal with 6:56 left in the third period to make it a one-goal game.

The Monarchs applied continuous pressure in the final minute after pulling goaltender Travis Scott. They were also aided by a late power play opportunity.

But despite five quality shots in the waning seconds, they were unable to register the game-tying goal. Providence goaltender Tim Thomas secured the win with four challenging saves in the last 37 seconds of regulation. Pavel Rosa's bid to tie the game clanked off the Providence post with less than 30 seconds to play.

Rookie Martin Samuelsson was the difference-maker in the second period as the Bruins opened a 3-1 lead. Samuelsson, who tallied his first career hat trick in a 4-3 Providence win over the Portland Pirates on Saturday night, had one goal and one assist in the period. The young Swede outraced defenseman Mike Pudlick to nullify an icing call in the Monarchs zone midway through the period, and his hustle resulted in Lee Goren's 13th goal moments later. Samuelsson set up the wide-open Goren at 9:04 to make it 2-0 Bruins. Samuelsson's deflection of defenseman Rich Brennan's blue line shot on a Bruins power play slipped by Scott at 17:48 to make it 3-1.

The Monarchs ended a 95 minute, 57 second scoreless streak with Rosa's power play goal at 13:56 of the same period. Rosa's goal was the first scored by the Monarchs since defenseman Chris Aldous scored with 2:01 left in the third period against the Lowell Lock Monsters on Friday, December 27. The Monarchs were shutout by the Saint John Flames 1-0 on Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Defensemen Jason Holland and Tomas Zizka assisted on Rosa's ninth goal.

Shaone Morrisonn and Goren, both assigned to Providence Sunday morning after dressing in the Boston Bruins 1-0 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night, combined to score the Baby B's first goal. Morrisonn, cutting down the slot, scored his third after Goren located him from behind the Monarchs net at 5:04.

Saturday, December 28, Saint John 1, Manchester 0:

Manchester, NH - Robert Dome's tally just over four minutes into the second period was enough to lift the Saint John Flames (10-18-2-1) to a 1-0 victory over the Manchester Monarchs (20-6-3-3) on Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena before a sellout crowd of 9,893.

Jason Morgan picked up the puck at the blue line on the scoring play, brought it into the zone, then passed it out front to Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew's shot was stopped by Manchester netminder Cristobal Huet, but the rebound came right out to Dome who was planted in the slot.

Huet was otherwise flawless for the Monarchs, turning away 37 shots while Levente Szuper made 18 stops for the Flames. The regulation loss was the first in 11 games for the Monarchs and it snapped a four-game Monarchs winning streak. Earlier in the day, Manchester sent two of its forwards to the injury-plagued Los Angeles Kings. Centers Steve Kelly and Jared Aulin joined fellow center Jerred Smithson, who was recalled Friday night. As a result, Manchester called up Nashua native Jeff Giuliano, a left wing, and left wing Brian McCullough from the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Friday, December 27, Manchester 5, Lowell 4:

Lowell, MA - Three third period goals allowed the Manchester Monarchs to escape the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA, with their winning streak intact. The Monarchs extend their mastery over their archrivals, the Lowell Lock Monsters, to six games with the 5-4 win. The Monarchs victory was also their fourth straight overall.

Two goals separated by just 59 seconds enabled the Monarchs to battle back from a two-goal third period deficit. Yanick Lehoux scored his sixth goal against the Lock Monsters at 5:33. Tomas Zizka and Mat Snesrud were credited with assists on Lehoux's eighth goal overall. Eric Healey's second goal of the game, the fifth in his last two contests, tied the game moments later. Healey smartly deposited a Pavel Rosa feed into the Lock Monsters net at 6:32 to make it 4-4. Healey's 13th goal set the stage for defenseman Chris Aldous, who celebrated wildly after scoring the game-winner with just 2:01 left to play. Steve Kelly earned his third assist of the night on the play as he set up Aldous for the left point blast. A Monarchs defensive miscue led to the Lock Monsters third goal. Nearly five minutes into the second period, rookie d-man Snesrud had his pocket picked at center ice by Jeff Daw. Daw then darted across the Monarchs blue line and uncorked a blistering shot that cleanly beat goaltender Travis Scott. Daw also was a contributor on the Lock Monsters fourth goal, recorded at 2:37 of the third period on the power play by Tomas Kurka.

Craig MacDonald's goal late in the first period put the Lock Monsters even with the Monarchs at 2-2. MacDonald's fifth goal clipped the cross bar and deflected past Scott at 19:42. The Monarchs secured their first lead at 5:13 of the period as Healey finished Jared Aulin's set up with his 12th goal. Kelly also assisted. Kelly, who leads the Monarchs in points (32) and penalty minutes (81), was in the penalty box for high-sticking when the Lock Monsters potted their first goal. Ryan Bayda extended his scoring streak to nine games by redirecting a shot past Scott at 2:24. Dane Jackson's third goal less than two minutes later tied the game at 1-1. Dan Riva and Aldous shared assists on the play.

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