Monarchs Regain Atlantic Division Throne
December 9, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - Veteran right wing Brad Smyth led the Manchester Monarchs back into first place as they beat the Portland Pirates 3-1 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in front of a crowd of 7,291 fans on Friday night. Manchester (16-4-1-3, 36 points) took sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division and Portland (16-7-2-0, 34 points) dropped to second place in the Atlantic Division.
The Monarchs got off to an early start with goals from Smyth and center Connor James. Smyth batted in a saucer pass from left wing Noah Clarke as they skated in 2-on-1 on Portland's goaltender Nathan Marsters. Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov started off the play in the neutral with a pass over to Clarke. Smyth scored his ninth of the season on the power play at 6:18 of the first period.
James added his seventh of the season to give the Monarchs a 2-0 lead at 8:51 of the first period. Off the face-off, Smyth slid the puck to the point and defenseman Richard Seeley sent a shot in towards Marsters. James was able to get some wood on the puck and slipped it over Marsters.
The Pirates cut the Monarchs lead in half with a power play goal at 7:18 of the middle frame. Center Ryan Getzlaf, deep in the far corner, sent a pass out in front to center Igor Pohanka. Pohanka wound up and sent a slap shot past Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser for his fourth of the season. Right wing Corey Perry assisted on the goal to make it a 2-1 game.
Right wing Konstantin Pushkarev solidified the win at 10:32 of the third period with his eighth goal of the season. Defenseman Joey Mormina shot the puck off the boards over to a sprinting Pushkarev. With a Pirates' defenseman on his back and nobody between him and Marsters, Pushkarev kicked the puck around the diving goaltender and shot it in the open net for the Monarchs 3-1 victory over the Pirates.
Hauser (11-3-2) earned his 11th win of the season stopping 34 shots. Marsters (9-4-0) took his fourth loss of the season with 26 saves.
Manchester went 1-for-6 on the power play. Portland was 1-for-7 with the man advantage.
Returning to the MassMutual Center for the third time this season, the Monarchs will play the Springfield Falcons at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, December 10.
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!
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American Hockey League Stories from December 9, 2005
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- Monsters defeat the weather and the Bruins, 3-2 - Albany Devils
- Schaefer Leads Barons to 5-2 Win at Toronto - Cleveland Barons
- DesLauriers Helps Dogs Down Crunch - Hamilton Bulldogs
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- Rivermen announce December community appearances - Peoria Rivermen
- Canadiens recall Murray - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Beech, Finley Recalled - Milwaukee Admirals
- Law nets four points, Voloshenko scores two PPG - Houston Aeros
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- AHL Quick Hits for December 9th - AHL
- Bears in Southern Tier Tonight to Face Senators - Hershey Bears
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