Wolf Pack Dominate Monarchs To Take Over Second Place
Published on January 7, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - Four unanswered goals flip the Atlantic Division standings as the Hartford Wolf Pack over-powered the Manchester Monarchs 5-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in front of 9,002 fans on Saturday night.
Manchester (21-10-1-3, 46 points) drops to third place in the Atlantic Division. Hartford (20-9-2-5, 47 points) moves into second place in the Atlantic Division.
Right wing Brad Smyth extended his scoring streak to six games with his 16th goal of the season at 3:39 of the first period. With two Wolf Pack players in the penalty box, left wing Fedor Fedorov and right wing Colby Genoway each for hooking, the Monarchs set up the power play. Smyth collected the puck behind the net with a pass from center Yanick Lehoux. Smyth shot the puck at the net from behind the end red line and then collected his own rebound that he shoveled past Hartford goaltender Al Montoya. Defenseman Mark Ardelan also assisted on the 5-on-3 power play goal to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
The Wolf Pack responded with a power play goal of their own at 6:54 of the first period and there was no turning back. Seconds after Montoya denied former University of Michigan teammate, left wing Jeff Tambellini, on a breakaway, he sent the puck up the ice to center Jeff Taffe who fed it over to left wing Chad Wiseman in the Monarchs zone. Wiseman sent the puck to center Jarkko Immonen, positioned at the top of the right face-off circle, who wound up and shot the puck through traffic and into the back of the net for his 12th goal of the season.
Referee Francois St. Laurent signified a delayed penalty on the Monarchs and Montoya skated to the bench. With the extra attacker on the ice, Genoway skated the puck across the blue line and into the offensive zone. Genoway fed the puck to defenseman Daniel Girardi who sent a cross-ice pass to defenseman Ivan Baranka waiting at the doorstep of Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser. Baranka sent a point-blank shot five-hole on Hauser for his third of the season at 19:49 of the first period.
The Wolf Pack made it 3-1 with their second power play goal at 14:15 of the second period. Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev sat in the penalty box for tripping while Hartford cycled the puck. Left wing Nigel Dawes sent the puck down low to left wing Alexandre Giroux who one-timed a pass to streaking defenseman Joe Rullier in the center of the zone. Rullier sent a bomb into the lower right corner of the net for his fourth of the season and first goal against his former team.
While playing 4-on-4 hockey, center Dwight Helminen chipped in the rebound of Dawes' shot past Hauser for his 18th tally of the season at 19:41 of the middle frame. Dawes earned his second assist of the night and Rullier collected his second-of-three points on the evening.
Hartford extended the lead to 5-1 with a 2-on-1 breakaway goal at 5:06 of the final frame. Giroux and Rullier skated toward Hauser with only one Monarchs defenseman between them. Giroux sent a slapper from the right face-off circle that rang off the rear post of the net to signify his 14th goal of the season. Center Lee Falardeau also assisted on the insurance goal.
Hauser (14-8-2) took his eighth loss of the season stopping 33 shots in his 100th career AHL game. Montoya (11-3-0) collected his 11th win of the season with 17 saves.
Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Hartford was 2-for-7 with the man advantage.
The Springfield Falcons fly into Manchester on Sunday, January 8 for a 4:05 p.m. face-off with the Monarchs.
Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network (WGIR-AM 610, Manchester; WGIN-AM 930, Rochester; WGIP-AM 1540, Exeter) and at www.monarchshockey.com. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto www.monarchshockey.com and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to the each Monarchs game to watch the game live!
American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2006
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- Stars Manhandle Chicago Wolves - Iowa Chops
- Wolf Pack Dominate Monarchs To Take Over Second Place - Manchester Monarchs
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