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NEWS STORIES 2003-2004 Regular Season October

10/31/03    Manchester Union Leader

 

October 29, 2003    Chouinard toughs it out in goal
By BRUCE BOUDREAU
Special to The Manchester Union Leader

I LEARNED A LOT about the character and toughness of Mathieu Chouinard over the weekend.

Chouinard, signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Kings over the summer, was having a strong game in net against the Lowell Lock Monsters on Friday when he injured his groin late in the first period.

Despite the injury, Chouinard didn’t want to be taken out of the game, and, after a brief consultation with athletic trainer Chris Kingsley, he was cleared to continue.

Chouinard battled his way through the rest of the game and made some fabulous saves. His solid 33-save performance led us to a 6-3 victory over the Lock Monsters.

He certainly didn’t have any idea at the time, but we would call upon Chouinard again the following night to make another gutsy appearance for us in Hartford.

The original plan for Saturday had Chouinard backing up goaltender Milan Hnilicka. Chouinard would then give way on Sunday in Providence to goaltender Adam Hauser, who was to join the Monarchs after completing a road trip with the Reading Royals, our ECHL affiliate based in Reading, Pa. But the original plan quickly unraveled in the second period of Saturday’s game.

Hnilicka, sidelined for two weeks with his own groin injury, started Saturday’s game and had a brilliant first period. He stopped 15 of 16 shots he faced. Without him, the score could have been much different than 1-0 Wolf Pack.

Hnilicka, however, re-injured himself while stretching in the crease seconds before the start of the second period. We pulled him shortly after the injury and reluctantly replaced him with Chouinard simply because we had no other options.

The Wolf Pack, sensing an opportunity to blow open the game, applied all sorts of pressure. But Chouinard toughed it out and kept the game close. It wasn’t until Paul Healey’s goal with less than three minutes remaining in the third period that the Wolf Pack nailed down a 2-0 victory.

Realizing our need for not one but two healthy goaltenders in time for Sunday’s contest, Monarchs director of hockey operations Hubie McDonough was on the phone trying to coordinate a flight for goaltender Matt Underhill while our Saturday game was still in progress.

Thanks to McDonough’s work, Underhill left Florence, S.C., on Sunday morning and arrived in Providence about 90 minutes before game time. Like Hauser, Underhill had played for his ECHL team, the Florence Pride, the night before.

Fortunately, this odd goaltending story had a happy ending, as Hauser earned his first AHL win in our 3-0 win over the Bruins with Underhill serving as the backup.

How long will we be without the services of Chouinard and Hnilicka? We don’t know for sure. Hauser and Underhill could be our goaltenders for a while. We rested Hnilicka for two weeks, only to see him re-injure his groin in his first game back. Chouinard missed two months of action last season because of a similar injury.

One thing we don’t want to see is recurring injuries. That’s why we’ll give both Chouinard and Hnilicka as long as they need to get healthy again. In the meantime, we have plenty of confidence in both Hauser and Underhill.

We hope to continue to grow as a hockey team through another productive week of practice that will once again include plenty of work on special teams. We’ll do our best to keep the momentum we established last weekend when we host the Lock Monsters on Saturday and the Norfolk Admirals on and Sunday at Verizon Wireless Arena.

 

10/27/03   Hauser gets shutout in Monarchs' win
Union Leader Sports

 

Sunday Game Update from Providence ...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/26/03

FINAL  MONARCHS BEAT Providence  Manchester 3  Providence 0
Hauser started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
7:08  The Monarchs score a goal by Muir   assist Lehoux & Clarke
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  9       Providence  6

2nd period . . .  over 
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  16       Providence  13

3rd period . . .  over
9:03  The Monarchs score a power play goal by Muir   assist Lehoux & Rosa
15:45  The Monarchs score a goal by Lehoux   assist Barney & Clarke
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  40       Providence  27

Bright-side of This Game:  1. 2 goals scored by Muir.  2. HAUSER Hot in Monarchs' goal and gets his first AHL WIN &  AHL SHUTOUT !   3.  Lehoux grabs a goal & 2 assists !

Negative-side of this game:   nothing to mention!

 

 

Saturday Game Update from Hartford ...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/25/03

  MONARCHS Lose To Hartford  Manchester 0  Hartford 2
Hnilicka started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
16:05  Hartford scores a goal by Gernander
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  4       Hartford  16

2nd period . . .  over 
5:20  Monarchs take Hnilicka out and put Chouinard in goal
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  12       Hartford  25

3rd period . . .  over
17:15  Hartford scores a goal by Paul Healey
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  18       Hartford  33

10/25/03  Monarchs break out the scoring
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Sports

Friday Game Update from Lowell ...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/24/03

FINAL ...  MONARCHS CRUSH Lowell!  Manchester 6 Lowell 3
Chouinard started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
12:28  The Monarchs score a goal by Welch   assist Giuliano & Grebeshkov
18:28  The Monarchs score a power play goal by Seeley   assist Rosa & Tripp
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  11       Lowell  13

2nd period . . .  over 
2:33  Lowell scores a goal by Brendl
14:41  Lowell scores a power play goal by Rourke
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  20       Lowell  23

3rd period . . .  over
1:08  The Monarchs score a goal by Tripp   assist Grebeshkov
2:19  The Monarchs score a power play goal by Welch   assist Hayward
4:48  Lowell scores a power play goal by Dome
6:59  The Monarchs score a power play goal by Barney   assist Lehoux & Clarke
13:07  The Monarchs score a goal by Tripp   assist Smithson
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  28       Lowell  36

CONGRATULATIONS MONARCHS !!!!!!

Bright-side of This Game:  1. 2 goals each scored by Tripp & Welch.  2. The Monarchs gained their composure in the 3rd period to pull off the win over an undefeated team.

Negative-side of this game:   1. The Monarchs Power play still needs some recharging  2. The Monarchs still let the Body Snatchers take over their team when they're winning.

10/25/03  Plenty of shots, scarcity of goals
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Sports

LOWELL, Mass. — The Manchester Monarchs are certainly taking their best shot at getting back into the win column.

There has been no shortage of shots.

Forwards John Tripp, Pavel Rosa and defenseman Bryan Muir are the top-three shooters in the league. Tripp, who the Monarchs hope will replace the scoring lost when last year’s leading scorer, Eric Healey, signed with Atlanta this season, leads the AHL with 33 shots on goal.

Entering last night’s game with the Lock Monsters though, Tripp had not scored since opening night — a five-game scoreless streak.

Rosa has taken 29 shots and Muir has 26 shots. Muir’s 2-4-6 is second among AHL defensemen and he leads the Monarchs in scoring. Rosa’s three-game goal streak ranks second in the league behind the four-game streak of Wilkes-Barre’s Tomas Survoy.

KINGS CLIPS: Center Mike Cammalleri, who is out with a knee strain and still up with the Kings, is now skating and participating in full-contact drills.

Last night right wing Ziggy Palffy (cervical strain) and defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky (neck strain) were both injured in a loss to Buffalo.

Former Monarch Adam Mair hit Palffy, knocking him out of the contest. No word last night on whether or not any Monarchs would be called to Los Angeles as reinforcements.

Cristobal Huet made 30 saves in the loss last night — his second start of the season. He is 1-1 in starts.

Russian defenseman Maxim Kuznetsov received a visa from Canada Thursday. He will take his family to Ottawa where he could wait up to 10 days for a U.S visa. The Los Angeles Times reports that Kuznetsov will practice with the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario Hockey League while waiting to rejoin the Kings in L.A.

MONSTER MINUTES: Left wing Josh Green was a second round (30th) pick of the L.A. Kings in 1996. He played 27 games with the Kings in 1998-99. He has also played with Edmonton, Washington and both the Islanders and the Rangers.

Center Jason Morgan is the other former King on the Lock Monsters. Morgan was chosen by the Kings in 1995 (fifth round, 118th). He played 14 games with the Kings from 1996-98.

POWER OUTAGE: At this point last season the Monarchs were 15-for-47 (31.91 percent) on the power play. Entering last night’s game they were 1-for-28.

DUBIOUS LEAGUE LEADER: The Monarchs lead the Atlantic Division in penalty minutes with 101.

10/24/03   Boudreau looking for a power play
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

10/23/03   Young Monarchs fans still have faith in team
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

 

reaction 10/22/03   Kelly loss compounds problems
By BRUCE BOUDREAU
Special to The Union Leader

THE AMERICAN Hockey League made its final decision on the Steve Kelly suspension yesterday.

Instead of reducing the suspension from three games, like I had hoped they would, they actually added a game, meaning Kelly will miss a total of four games, including all three games this weekend.

Kelly was suspended after receiving an abuse of an official penalty following Saturday’s overtime loss at Portland, Maine.

Saturday’s game was an intense one between two teams off to a slow start and struggling offensively.

Kelly, clearly upset with the way the game had been called by the referee, tried to confront him seconds after Portland scored the game-winning goal. On his way to the referee, he was restrained by one of the linesmen. Kelly, determined to voice his displeasure, pushed the linesman away. His four-game suspension came as a result of that push.

The Portland game was damaging in more ways than one. During the overtime session, Chris Schmidt dove in front of a shot while protecting the Monarchs net. The impact of that shot broke his foot. As a result, Schmidt is expected to miss four weeks of play.

No Kelly and no Schmidt this weekend means we will be facing some of the best teams in our division without two of our best players.

Yesterday’s practice was more business than normal. Today will be more of the same as we work harder than ever to improve as a hockey team.

All of the players will be in for individual meetings with the coaches, starting at 9 this morning. The meeting will allow us to get a feel for what the players are thinking and feeling. Although it’s still early, we want to make sure that the players are on the same page with the coaching staff.

All of the players will return to Verizon Wireless Arena for a video session at noon.

The players will also take part in tonight’s open practice at JFK Coliseum in Manchester, scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. I think the players are looking forward to the practice. The site of hundreds of kids watching you play the game you love has to make you feel good.

In my mind, we don’t have to tweak our work ethic to be successful, we just need to tweak our systems. This year’s team isn’t as explosive offensively as last year’s team. Because of this, we need to limit the opposition to one or two goals a game by tightening up defensively and getting more consistent play between the pipes.

We also need to limit our penalties. We lead the Atlantic Division with 101 penalty minutes after six games and we’ve only been in two fights. Needless penalties have haunted our team over the last two weeks.

Speaking of penalties, it’s hard to believe that we’ve gone 0-for-25 on the power play over our last five games. Players like Pavel Rosa, Yanick Lehoux, John Tripp and Bryan Muir have the talent to get the job done on the power play. I believe they will.

We’ll be on the road for three games this weekend against teams in our division that have yet to experience a regulation loss. Our schedule includes a game at Lowell against the Lock Monsters on Friday at 7 p.m. After that, we’ll hit the road for a 7:05 p.m. Saturday game in Hartford against the Wolf Pack, and then close the weekend with a 4:05 p.m. Sunday match-up with the Providence Bruins.

reaction 10/22/03   League extends Kelly Penalty
Four games: AHL lengthens center's original three-game suspension
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

 

latest 10/21/03   MANCHESTER, NH – The American Hockey League ruled today that Manchester Monarchs center Steve Kelly must serve a four-game suspension for physically abusing an official. The league upped Kelly’s original suspension from three games to four games after reviewing his actions in the Monarchs game against the Portland Pirates on Saturday, October 18.

earlier 10/21/03   Team wants review of Kelly suspension
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

Falcons & Pirates & Bears OH MY !
Falcons & Pirates & Bears OH MY !
Falcons & Pirates & Bears OH MY !
SUNDAY's RESULT ... WE LOST AGAIN!

Sunday Game Update from Manchester...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/19/03

Final ...  MONARCHS Lose to the Bears!  Manchester 3  Hershey 5
Underhill started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
0:11  Hershey scores a goal by Perrin ( not a typo ... 11 seconds ! )
14:04  The Monarchs score a goal by Clarke
16:55  Hershey scores a goal by Stephens
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  12      Hershey  13

2nd period . . .  over
5:30  Hershey scores a power play goal by Brule
7:06  Hershey scores a goal by Perrin
Monarchs take Underhill out and put Chouinard in goal
14:34  The Monarchs score a goal by Muir
total shots on goal    Monarchs  24      Hershey   22

3rd period . . .   over
11:43  The Monarchs score a goal by Rosa
19:41  Hershey scores a goal by  Brigley (open net)
total shots on goal    Monarchs  37       Hershey   26

Bright-side of This Game:  1. Another goal scored by Rosa.  2. Choiunard coming into goal to replace Underhill.  3. Monarchs didn't get as many penalties.

Negative-side of this game:   1. Consistent Goal Tending this year looks like it is going to be a BIG problem. ( Don't we miss Scott and Huet now? ) 2. The Monarchs are skating like a bunch of individual skaters that hustle.  But, there does not appear to be a team effort that weaves them together.  3. No one ( forwards) seems to want to set themselves up in front of the opposition's net waiting for that centering pass and scoring chance. ( I don't think the opposition is going to shoot the puck in for the Monarchs after they dig it out of the corners.  I might be wrong.) 4.  Not having Kelly on the ice definitely didn't help.   5. The unfortunate non-signing of key players from last year is obviously being felt this year and boy does it hurt !  Welcome to the world of the AHL !

Saturday Game Update from Portland ...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/18/03

 Final ...  MONARCHS LOSE to the Pirates!  Manchester 1 Portland 2
Chouinard started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
7:02  The Monarchs score a goal by Rosa
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  15       Portland  7

2nd period . . .  over 
10:36  Portland scores a power play goal by Whitfield
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  28       Portland  18

3rd period . . .  over 
7:02  The Monarchs score a goal by Rosa
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  42       Portland  23

OT period . . .  over 
1:58  Portland scores a power play goal by Mink
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  43       Portland  28

Bright-side of This Game:  1. goal scored by Rosa. 

Negative-side of this game:   1. Still TOO MANY Monarchs Penalties.  2. Monarchs still lacking & desperately in need of some leadership in the ranks.

 

Friday Game Update from Springfield...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
10/17/03

Final ...  MONARCHS Lose to the FALCONS!  Manchester 3  Springfield 4
Chouinard started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
15:53  Springfield scores a power play goal by McCarthy
18:10  Springfield scores a power play goal by P. Ferraro
18:31  Springfield scores a goal by Shuchuk
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  10       Springfield  9

2nd period . . .  over
  Monarchs take Chouinard out and put Mat Underhill in goal
0:15  The Monarchs score a goal by Smithson
6:53  The Monarchs score a goal by Flinn
total shots on goal    Monarchs  22      Springfield   12

3rd period . . .   over
7:02  The Monarchs score a goal by Rosa
7:33  Springfield scores a goal by  Taff
total shots on goal    Monarchs  34       Springfield   22

Bright-side of This Game:  1. goals scored by Smithson, Flinn & Rosa.  2. Underhill coming into goal to replace Choiunard.

Negative-side of this game:   1. Still TOO MANY Monarchs Penalties.  2. Chouinard in goal was very disappointing tonight.  3. Goal Tending this year so far shows to be weak.  4. Monarchs still lacking leadership.

10/17/03  1st victory provides measure of relief
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer For The Union Leader

10/15/03  Monarchs 3  -  Portland 1

10/16/03  Monarchs follow Sox lead
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer For The Union Leader

10/16/03  Chouinard has L.A. goal
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

THE HOLLYWOOD hills are painted on the back of 23-year-old Mathieu Chouinard’s custom-made hockey mask as a reminder.

He hopes Los Angeles is his ultimate NHL destination. Chouinard took the first step last night in his first start for the Manchester Monarchs. The first-round pick (15th overall) of the Ottawa Senators in the 2000 NHL draft out of the Quebec League, Chouinard was a bright prospect. But, somewhere along his short three-year pro road, he was forgotten. He has not played a minute in the NHL and entering last night had just 29 AHL games under his belt.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Chouinard,” said Monarchs coach Bruce Boudreau. “He’s got a great pedigree, a number one draft choice. His numbers last year in his few games were very good.”

Chouinard, who signed as a free agent during the summer with the LA Kings, played 15 games last season with the Peoria (Ill.) Rivermen of the ECHL and then four games with the Binghamton Senators. His goals against was under 2.15 with a 14-2 record.

A groin injury to Monarchs number one goalie Milan Hnilicka sustained Saturday will be reevaluated today. Hnilicka feels he is ready to skate. The Monarchs staff kept him off the morning skate yesterday.

Back in Manchester last night was former Cornell goalie, Matt Underhill.

“I was disappointed when I got sent down and now I’m certainly happy to come back,” said Underhill, who was sent to the Florence (S.C.) Pride of the East Coast League after Monarchs camp ended two weeks ago. “I’m looking for a break for sure. It’s a different life. You never know. You’re always at the beck and call of others.”

ICE CHIPS:

The call-up of Pirates defenseman Jean-Francois Fortin by the Washington Capitals on Tuesday opened up a spot in the Pirates lineup for former Monarchs defenseman Mike Pudlick. He started last night.

The veteran-filled Pirates (two veterans over the AHL limit of 6) had to surprisingly scratch NHL veteran Scott Pellerin last night.

Miss New Hampshire Candice Glickman provided a beautiful rendition of the national anthem.

Gooooooo Candice !

10/15/03  Improvement is in the wings for Monarchs
By BRUCE BOUDREAU
Special to The Union Leader

Opening weekend at Verizon Wireless Arena certainly didn’t go as planned.

We take a lot of pride out of winning at home and in front of our fans. As disappointed as they were last weekend, we are even more so.

I had a couple of reporters in my office yesterday morning. They asked me what was the difference in both games last weekend.

All things being equal, our special teams have to play better if we are to be a successful hockey team.

We converted only one of eight power-play chances on the weekend, and even more disturbing, we allowed three power-play goals to the opposition in 14 opportunities. That’s too many goals and too many short-handed situations.

Our team finished with the fifth-fewest minors in the AHL last year, averaging only five power plays against per game. Compare that to this past weekend when we averaged seven minor penalties per game. That means our best players spent four more minutes on the ice killing penalties both nights.

There were some positives to be taken from last weekend. I think our fans are really going to like right wing John Tripp. He had eight shots and both of our goals on Friday night against the Worcester IceCats. He also dished out a lot of hits and was a physical presence on Saturday night against the Lowell Lock Monsters.

Rookie defenseman Denis Grebeshkov has all of the tools to be a great player at the next level. He skates well, competes hard, and he’s an excellent passer. Sure, he made a few mistakes in both games. Rookies do that in our league. But he will learn from those mistakes and he will get better.

Overall, that was probably the theme from the weekend. We made mistakes, but most of the mistakes are correctable.

We had a long video session after yesterday’s practice. We came out of the session knowing that we were unsuccessful on Friday and Saturday night because of correctable mistakes — not because of a lack of talent.

I learned a bit more about our team last weekend, and I like the cards that we’ve been dealt.

Goaltender Milan Hnilicka is a battler. He tweaked his groin in Saturday’s game but still played deep into the third period. Although he’ll miss tonight’s game, he hopes to be back and ready to play this weekend. He felt badly about the way things turned out on Friday and Saturday night. He wants to get back quickly and show the people of Manchester that he’s a quality goalie. I have full confidence in him.

In the meantime, yesterday we signed goaltender Matt Underhill, who last week was the final cut out of training camp. I love Underhill’s work ethic. That’s why he’s here. Even though he wasn’t in Reading, Pa., with our ECHL affiliate, we promised him a shot if things changed and we kept our promise.

Underhill will back up goalie Mathieu Chouinard when we host the Portland Pirates tonight at the Verizon Wireless Arena (7:05 p.m.). He’s the guy that’s been here throughout training camp and he deserves a shot.

In closing, it would be easy to say that we lost last weekend because the Los Angeles Kings, our parent club, have eight players on the injured reserve list and many of their players would be here in Manchester if the Kings were healthier. But that’s not fair to our players or to our fans. We’ve got a good club that badly wants to win. I can’t guarantee a win tonight against the Pirates, but I can guarantee full effort.

10/15/03  Expect Sparks: Monarchs and Pirates Tonight
By Kevin Provencher
Union Leader Sports Staff Writer

  10/11/03  Lowell 4  -  Monarchs 2

I was feeling pretty good into the second period of last night's game with the Monarchs leading 2-0.  Actually I felt that the Monarchs should have at least scored 3 more times in the first period but only failed to because of the great goal tending of Lowell's Goal tender, Desrochers.  And then it happened .....
"The Attack of the Monarchs Body Snatcher" showed up again and put a completely different Monarchs Team on the ice and within minutes, they managed to blow their 2 goal lead and LOSE THE GAME ?  What Gives Boys ??????  I know you guys are capable of better but I say again, "WHAT GIVES ?"

Bright-side of This Game:  1. Kelly continues to Hustle on the ice and his efforts got a goal and an assist last night.  2. Welch's skating tenacity paid off with him scoring a Short Handed Goal.

Negative-side of this game:   1. Monarchs are showing us again that they can't maintain an Offensive momentum.  2. A second period Defensive turnover in their own end cost them a goal, cost them their (Monarchs) momentum & cost them the game.

10/10/03  Worcester 3  -  Monarchs 2

10/11/03   Third-period goal lifts Worcester past Manchester
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

If at first you don’t succeed, try again tonight.

For the second straight season the Manchester Monarchs frustratingly dropped their home opener. Finally capitalizing on three straight Monarchs minor penalties in the last 9:54, the Worcester Ice Cats stole away with a 3-2 spoiler last night in the sold out Verizon Wireless Arena.

Christian Backman, a Swedish defenseman and first round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 1998 in his second Ice Cats season, ripped home a one-timer during a 5-on-3 power play with 5:30 to go to win it. The Monarchs had pressed the self-destruct button with an interference penalty from rookie Noah Clarke, a hooking penalty from rookie defenseman Denis Grebeshkov and a slash by veteran forward Steve Kelly - all in a 3:48-span starting with 9:54 to play.

Monarchs newcomer John Tripp had a pair of goals, while Kelly and former UNH defenseman Bryan Muir each assisted on the tallies.

Tonight at 7:35 the Monarchs host their arch rivals, the Lowell Lock Monsters. The Lock Monsters will likely have NHL veteran Arturs Irbe in goal behind a beefed-up lineup since they now sport a dual NHL affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Calgary Flames.

Worcester held a 2-1 lead after two periods. Both goals snuck past NHL-caliber goaltender Milan Hnilicka, who finished with 25 strong saves. Hnilicka’s counterpart, Reinhard Divis was equally as good with 23 stops.

Team captain Jeff Panzer put the Ice Cats in the lead for the second time in the second period on a second effort shovel of his own rebound at the backdoor with 2:38 to go before the intermission. Tripp had tied it 1-1 at 13:46 with his first goal as a Monarch, a beautiful one-timer from the right circle finishing his own give-and-go with Bryan Muir. Marc Brown’s power play tally, a deflection off a Monarchs defenseman from the right point midway through the second period, had broken the scoreless ice in the gritty defensive game.

In the scoreless opening period, each team had golden opportunities thwarted. At 9:51 the Monarchs Kelly was potentially staring Divis in the facein a short breakaway. But instead he was nearly decapitated attempting to streak between the high sticks of Worcester’s Aris Brimanis and Christian Backman. The Monarchs failed to score on the ensuing power play. Then it was Hnilicka’s turn to earn his first standing ovation with a stacked-pad snuffing of Blake Evans’ short-handed breakaway.

Yesterday morning the Kings called up Manchester’s all-star defenseman Tomas Zizka. He met the parent club for last night’s game in Pittsburgh, but the Monarchs showed no signs of weakness at the blue line until they were overwhelmed in the short-handed spree at the end. Worcester was 2-for-7 on the man advantage.

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