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NEWS STORIES 2003-2004 Regular Season November

11/30/03  Monarchs trounce Providence, 7-0
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

Not even the 733 NHL games of experience of the ever-crafty Ted Donato could bail out these bad news bears. A frustrated Donato rabbit punched rookie Clarke twice midway through the third period and was sent away to the penalty box with a loud round of boos. Providence returns to Manchester next Saturday night completing a string of three Monarchs home games in the week.

11/30/03  Sam Ftorek debuts with Monarchs
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

INJURY UPDATES: Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov could return as soon as next week from a right wrist injury. Starting goalie Milan Hnilicka, who had a slight break on the ring finger of his catching hand, may start today in Worcester (4:05 p.m.). He was the backup to Adam Hauser last night. Goalie Mathieu Chouinard is resting, recovering from the flu . All-purpose forward Chris Schmidt will be out at least another two weeks with a broken foot.

11/29/03  Monarchs take a hit as Lowell glides to win
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

The Lock Monsters evened the 12-game series with the Monarchs at 2-2.

11/29/03  Manchester needs more warm bodies
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

KING REPORT
Laperriere Out; Pirnes Hurt Too
By Lisa Dillman, Times Staff Writer

11/28/03  Monarchs regroup after ho-hum loss
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

THERE IS LITTLE TIME to regroup for the Manchester Monarchs after their emotionless loss in a first-place battle at Hartford on Wednesday.

Today at 2 p.m. the Monarchs meet their arch-rival, the Lock Monsters, in Lowell. Tomorrow night the Providence Bruins come to Manchester for a 7:35 p.m. game hoping to take a share of the Monarchs’ second-place standing in the Atlantic Division. Sunday the Monarchs are at fourth-place Worcester Ice Cats at 4:05 p.m. and Wednesday the Hartford Wolf Pack is back in Manchester for what the Monarchs hope is another first-place divisional tilt.

Monarchs coach Bruce Boudreau has his doubts after the Monarchs failed to come back in a scoreless third period during their 4-2 loss Saturday night in the Hartford Civic Center. The Monarchs were beaten by a pair of rookies and another player who scored his first career goal.

“Those are the things that (expletive) you off,” said Boudreau. “You allow guys that have never scored to beat you. Surprises me. For me it was the possibility of an exciting game.

“There was no energy in the tank. No matter what you were saying or doing, they just weren’t getting it. It’s unfortunate. It was a golden opportunity because I didn’t think Hartford was on top of their game,” Boudreau said.

Quite possibly the Monarchs were deflated after learning that second-leading scorer Steve Kelly was not making the trip to Hartford but instead was boarding a jet for Los Angeles. And starting goalie Milan Hnilicka is injured (broken ring finger on his catching hand) again.

“Some guys are gone and these are opportunities for guys who are second-line players to be first line players. Or to be the go-to guys,” said Boudreau. “Now who’s the go-to guy with Steve Kelly gone?”

Good question.

The only players Boudreau would single out in Hartford for creditable games were leading scorer Pavel Rosa, who scored both Manchester goals, and Scott Barney, who was around the puck all night.

“For us to be a successful team we can’t get caught up in thinking that we’re in first place,” said Boudreau. “We’re only three wins over .500. It’s a difference between a rut and a groove. We’ve got to get back to grinding out games where we’re allowing one goal a game. When we allow one goal per game we have success.

“We have three games this weekend against three very tough opponents and if we’re not ready to play we’ll be 10-11. We’ve got to come back and show what we’re made of and bounce back,” he said.

MONARCHS MINUTES: Steve Kelly eclipsed 250 points in his career just prior to his callup by the Kings. Kelly has 113 points in 118 career Monarchs games. He would not have to clear waivers to return to Manchester if he stays with the Kings for fewer than 30 days or plays in fewer than 15 games. Now here’s a sharp shooter. Noah Clarke needed just three shots to net his first career hat trick last Sunday. He was pointless Wednesday night, however . All-time Monarchs games-played leader, captain Richard Seeley, played in his 150th game Wednesday against Hartford. Scott Barney continues to lead the league with seven game-winning goals. In the last three games, 7 of 13 Monarchs goals have come in the third period.

SELLOUT-O-METER: Fewer than 500 seats remain for this Saturday’s big game against third-place Providence, 7:35 p.m.; 2,150 left for next Wednesday against first-place Hartford, 7:05 p.m.; 2,050 seats left for Friday, Dec. 5 against Lowell, 7:35 p.m.; Less than 1,000 seats for Saturday, Dec. 6 with Providence, 7:35 p.m.

HOME COOKIN’: Not only do the Monarchs lead the AHL in attendance averaging 8,590 fans per game, but they also lead the Eastern Conference in home-ice victories with 7 after 11 home games.

PROMOTION TO THE MAX: The first 5,000 fans through the doors this Saturday night for the Providence game receive Maximillian the Lion mini-bobble head dolls.

 

11/27/03  Good Article on Adam Hauser from the AHL website .....

AHL Prospect Profile - Adam Hauser
Written by Tony Lee
SportsTicker Staff Writer

 

In four years as a standout goalie for the University of Minnesota, Adam Hauser had to fight to prove himself in the face of consistent criticism. Now in his second year as a pro, the Minnesota native continues to battle the odds at each new level.

By all indications, and with a history of on-ice success, the struggle has only made him stronger.

The 23-year-old began this season undefeated (3-0-1) in four games with the Reading Royals of the ECHL before getting a call-up to the Manchester Monarchs, for whom he has gone 5-1-1 with the league's second-best goals-against average (1.54) through November 25.

A groin injury to Mathieu Chouinard on October 25 opened the door for Hauser to earn significant time in Manchester, and he was more than ready to fill the gap.

"It's just one of those things where they had two goalies up here in Manchester," Hauser said. "And I was just hoping that any hard work that I can put in day-to-day in Reading would help me. I thought if I end up getting the call to Manchester then I have to continue that up here."

Hauser did not miss a beat upon moving north. The 6-2, 194-pounder posted a shutout in each of his first two starts with the Monarchs and extended his scoreless streak to 160:38 before allowing a goal in a 1-1 tie against the Worcester IceCats on November 7. Since, Manchester has been victorious in three of Hauser's four starts.

"It's all about wins and losses," Hauser said. "You have a new guy in, you have goalies go down with injury, so everybody had to buckle down and we did. We started winning games and it felt good."

Siding with the victors is nothing new to Hauser, who backstopped the Golden Gophers to a national crown in 2002, denying 42 shots in a 4-3 overtime thriller vs. the University of Maine in the finals. With a stand-out performance to culminate a record-setting career in Minnesota, Hauser had earned the title of a national championship goalie at a school rich in hockey tradition. As sweet as the label seemed, however, it was difficult for him to forget the media and a number of fans that panned him for four years.

"As a 19 or 20-year-old it's sometimes hard to handle the media situation in a big city like Minneapolis," Hauser said of Gopher hockey being like religion in those parts. "No matter where you go, you're always going to have people who doubt you."

A third-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in the 1999 draft, Hauser has faced his share of doubters since turning pro at a position where competition is cutthroat.

Edmonton released Hauser in the summer of 2002, whereby he earned a tryout with the Boston Bruins, only to be released again. He would get his pro start with the Jackson Bandits, where he proceeded to lead the ECHL with five shutouts and finish with a goals-against average of 2.46, good for third in the league.

A second shot with the Bruins yielded one start in net for Providence in early April, giving Hauser a taste of the AHL before he endured a third release.

A two-time member of the All-Academic team of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Hauser signed a two-way deal with Manchester and Reading in the off-season, preparing for another move and his third organization in two years.

Despite the steady change of scenery for him and his wife Cindy, Hauser maintains that such tests will only make him stronger, much like those four years at Minnesota.

"The hardest part is bouncing around like that," he said. "I think in the end all these types of adversity, they're going to help me."

One man who would not mind seeing Hauser stick around for awhile is Monarchs' coach Bruce Boudreau, who has the 2003 ECHL All-Star to thank in part for the club owning 23 standing points and sitting tied atop the Atlantic Division.

"He's making quite a bid for himself," Boudreau said, hinting at the winning percentage the coach feels is always the most important statistic.

"He's won wherever he's gone," Boudreau added. "He won in Jackson. He won in Reading. He won at the University of Minnesota. Now he's winning here. There's something to be said for winning goalies. People like goalies that win."

After posting a record of 23-6-4 during the championship run for the Gophers, Hauser has gone 28-10-6 as a pro with a remarkable 24-4-6 run since December 7 of last year.

A key component to Hauser's game, perhaps advanced by playing in the pressure-packed games of the NCAA Frozen Four, is his ability to come through in the clutch, a trend not lost on Boudreau.

"He's let in a couple of soft goals but when we needed him to make the big save at the right time, he's made the big save," Boudreau said. "Being clutch is something you can't teach goalies. Adam is of that vein. It's a very good quality and we hope he continues to do it."

Boudreau went as far as comparing Hauser to Hall of Fame netminder Gerry Cheevers, who was known to have a knack for keeping his club in a spot to win, even on off nights.

Faced with negativity in college and moving from club to club in his short time as a pro has certainly humbled Hauser. He readily admits that he has had to curb his ego and just look to improve, mostly on building his strength around the net and sharpening his focus.

Hauser uses some of the game's top goaltenders as inspiration for an advanced mental make-up.

"I look at the NHL and a lot of the best goalies aren't the young guys," he said, quickly naming Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Dominic Hasek as veterans he admires. "They have experience and they've been around and held on through the bad times."

Despite a great deal of success, Hauser considers some of the bad times to be in the past. Regardless of where the organization places him when all are healthy, he has a proven track record with the ability to win at each level.

For Boudreau, who has been involved in the professional game for 30 years, the formula is simple.

"We see a future for him," he said. "As long as he keeps putting up the wins he'll get chances to play."

 

11/27/03  The battle for first place isn't at issue for Monarchs, yet
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

11/26/03   Time to get busy
By BRUCE BOUDREAU
Special to The Union Leader

Bruce Boudreau is head coach of the Manchester Monarchs. Behind the Bench appears Wednesdays during the AHL season.

11/24/03  Monarchs move into first with win over Falcons
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

The Monarchs were up 1-0 just 5:53 into the contest. John Tripp, waiting in the left wing face-off circle, one-timed Jeff Giuliano’s pass frombelow the goal line.

11/23/03  Monarchs outscore Springfield, 6-3
Special to the Union Leader Sunday News

Shots on goal—Manchester 9-7-11—27 Springfield 18-9-6—33.
Power-play Opportunities—Manchester 0 of 2; Springfield 1 of 3.
Goalie saves—Manchester, Hauser 5-1-1 (33 shots-30 saves); Springfield, LeNeveu 3-4-1 (26-20).

11/21/03  Lots to love about a Feb. 14 all-star game
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

JUSTICE IS SERVED: The AHL overturned Ryan Flinn’s high sticking match penalty from last Friday against Hartford and rescinded any suspension that would have gone with it. The AHL then slapped Hartford’s Richard Scott with a two-game suspension for high sticking Flinn on the play.

 

 

11/19/03  Manchester Union Leader article

 

11/19/03  AHL All-Stars coming to Manchester in 2005
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

MANCHESTER - The best and brightest of the American Hockey League will shine when Manchester hosts the 2005 All-Star Game.

The game, which has sold out in advance every season since its inception in 1994, will be played on Monday, Feb. 14, 2005, and includes a night of skills competition on Sunday, Feb. 13. Every team in the league is guaranteed one player in the game, which pits the best young pros from Canada against a combined team of Americans and Europeans.

League president Dave Andrews made the announcement yesterday in the Verizon Wireless Arena.

“Basically it’s a two-day celebration of our sport,” said Andrews. “A celebration of our top players and a celebration of the graduates of our league who have gone on to be members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.”

Monarchs president Jeff Eisenberg said the All-Star Game ticket package will first be offered to Monarchs season-ticket holders. Details are still being worked out.

“It’s truly an exciting day,” said Eisenberg after Andrews revealed that Manchester was the unanimous choice of the league’s Board of Governors.

The event will be lucrative for the city. The game will fill at least 1,000 hotel rooms for the weekend. The Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn, a neighbor to the Verizon Wireless Arena on Elm Street, will serve as the AHL headquarters. It will also host the popular Hall of Fame luncheon, where 1,000 fans met the All-Stars at last year’s event in Portland, Maine.

“It’s a great day for the city and I want to thank the American Hockey League for having confidence in our city. You made a great decision,” said Manchester Mayor Bob Baines. “It’s a city that has a lot of confidence in itself right now.

“We are becoming a destination city and this is one more indication that that dream and that goal is being realized. So we’re looking forward to this event coming to our great city and rolling out the welcome mat to all who will be coming,” Baines said.

Manchester is the biggest draw in the AHL with a per-game average of 8,986 crowding through the turnstiles so far this season. Arena manager Tim Bechert termed the Monarchs’ success “wild” and predicted the All-Star Game will generate “incredible excitement.” The Verizon Wireless Arena is recognized as one of the top grossing and busiest arenas of its size in the country.

“It was only two years ago, actually Sunday, Nov. 16, 2001, that we played our first game in this building and it’s pretty amazing that here we are today to announce such a prestigious event,” said Eisenberg.

“I’m really excited about it. It’s going to give us an opportunity to show the world what a great market this is, what a great city we have. We’re going to have a lot of fun,” added Eisenberg.

Some 91 percent of AHL all-stars over the past 10 years have continued on to play in the NHL. While the AHL All-Star Game is held on the same weekend as the NHL All-Star Game, there is a possibility the AHL contest could land on network television if the NHL players go through with a threatened strike. In the meantime, though, Andrews said the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic may make a return to ESPN.

Manchester Monarchs President Jeff Eisenberg, right, speaks yesterday after Manchester was announced as host city of the American Hockey League 2005 All-Star Classic game. Listening to the announcement are, from left, Monarchs player Jon Tripp, Major Bob Baines and AHL President and CEO Davis Andrews. (photo by Mark Bolton/Union Leader)

 

Manchester Monarchs player John Tripp speaks during the announcement that Manchester will be the host city for the 2005 AHL All-Star Classic as Monarchs president Jeff Eisenberg looks on yesterday at Verizon Wireless Arena. (photo by Mark Bolton/Union Leader)

 

 

Say Bye Bye To Mike Cammalleri !
11/17/03  11/16/03   LA Times reports .....

To increase their options up front, the Kings are expected to recall forward Michael Cammalleri from their Manchester (N.H.) minor league affiliate today. Cammalleri was sent down Nov. 7 after going scoreless in two games with the Kings. He had four goals in five games with Manchester.

WHY?     As if the Kings needed more bad injury news, center Derek Armstrong, tied for the team lead with six goals, broke a finger on his left hand near the end of the game and is listed as week to week.  Armstrong, listed as week to week, will see a hand specialist today.
HOW?   Armstrong was going to the net in the final seconds of Saturday's game against the St. Louis Blues when he was hit in the hand by Palffy's slap shot.  "It's disappointing but you have to take the good with the bad," he said. "It's bad times right now but there's good times ahead too."

Good Luck in LA Mike, We'll miss you here in Manchester ! ..... Joe Z.

 

11/16/03  Monarchs Lose in OT to Falcons 4-3
The Monarchs "Bodysnatchers" showed up again on Saturday and left a Monarchs Team that blew a 3 - 0 lead,
(NOT Hauser's fault either!)

and
More REFEREE BLUNDERING again this weekend at the Verizon, examples...

On Friday against the Wolf Pack - Flinn and Richard Scott are about to "duke it out" when SCOTT swings his stick at Flinn's HEAD.  Flinn and SCOTT get the same high sticking penalties??????  Ref St. Laurent really missed the mark on that bogus blunder!

On Saturday against the Falcons - Rullier is down on the ice in the Monarchs crease injured for a number of seconds adequate enough for the ref to notice and blow the whistle to stop play to check on Rullier, but instead does nothing, and Springfield's Westrum still plays the puck and scores their first EASY goal.  The play should have been whistled stopped by the Ref Dwyer seconds before that goal but wasn't!  Want to borrow my Bi-Focal Glasses, REF?

Rullier STILL on the ice in the crease, but now a puck is in the net!
Hey Ref...Springfield thanks you ! 
Geee, maybe the ref didn't see Rullier laying in the crease because his jersey blended in with the color of the crease's blue ice?????  Yaaaah Right!

These were JUST 2 examples of the Ref Blundering this weekend in Manchester, OR----- Is THIS an intentional 'ZEBRA' BLACK BALL RETALIATION ATTACK against the Monarchs because of KELLY SPEAKING HIS MIND ABOUT HIS GAME SUSPENSION in that REF Incident back in October ???   Hmmmmmmmmm Very Interesting ................... Joe Z.

 

11/16/03  Late OT goal sinks Monarchs
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

MANCHESTER — Some old friends came back to spoil the undefeated run of Monarchs goaltender Adam Hauser last night in the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Former University of Minnesota center Jeff Taffe finished highly touted rookie Fredrik Sjostrom’s rebound with 32.4 seconds to play in overtime as the Springfield Falcons edged the Manchester Monarchs, 4-3, last night before 8,555.

Erik Westrum, also one of Hauser’s former Minnesota teammates, also scored a goal at 10:43 of the second period as the Falcons put away four unanswered goals to snap Manchester’s seven-game unbeaten string.

The Monarchs (8-5-1-2) were seeking a franchise-record sixth straight victory at home. Traffe’s 10th goal of the season snuffed the candles on that party cake. The Monarchs, second in the Atlantic Division, will have to wait another week to overtake the first place Hartford Wolf Pack.

Springfield (6-7-2-0, 14 pts.) halted a five-game winless string and fought their way out of last place in the Atlantic Division.

“That was a very good hockey game,” said Falcons coach Marty McSorley. “We needed it.”

Hauser (24 saves) started consecutive games for the first time as a Monarch and was nipped for his first loss in AHL play. Falcons rookie David LeNeveu, who broke Ken Dryden’s records for shutouts in a season (nine) atCornell last year, was superb (31 saves) after getting over run by the Monarchs early.

“We knew it was a game where we had to get them and keep them down,” said Monarchs coach Bruce Boudreau. “Once we allowed them a couple goals, you could see they were getting better. And we didn’t play with the same confidenceor the same deterimination that we did in previous nights.”

The Falcons soared back from a 3-0 deficit with a period and a half to play. Former Maine sniper Chris Ferraro slapped in his second goal of the season tying it 3-3 with 5:38 left in regulation. The crucial opportunity came after Falcons rookie Fredrik Sjostrom reeled in Jerred Smithson’s mishandle right smack in the Monarchs high slot. Swede Sjostrom was the Phoenix Coyote’s first round choice (11th overall) in the 2001 draft.

Midway through the second period the Falcons scored twice in a 2:55 span pulling to within one, 3-2. At 10:33, Minnesota-product Erik Westrum quickly wrapped around and under injured Monarchs defenseman Joe Rullier, whowas in the crease on Hauser’s stick. Rullier was speared by fifth-year goon (10 different pro teams) Trevor Gillies on the play, but it was not whistled. Kiel McLeod streaked right wing and wristed a shot over Hauser’s shoulder on theshort side. Manchester’s Pavel Rosa had pumped the lead to 3-0 with his fourth goal of the year 8:04 into the second period.

“Trevor Gillies did what he’s supposed to do out there,” said Boudreau. “He created havoc in front of the net and caused a goal. Part of theplay. What are you going do?”

The Monarchs were lucky and good in the opening period as they grabbed a 2-0 lead. The goals came 46 seconds apart. First lucky. Dan Welch flipped a 70-foot weird one hopper past handcuffed LeNeveu at 7:59. Then good. The AHL’s leading scoring defenseman Bryan Muir fired home his sixth goal of the season on a power play slap shot from the left circle at 8:45.

“Even when we were down 2-0, I really felt collectively as a team we were not playing bad,” said McSorley. “The shots were pretty much even. The chances were pretty much even. We got contributions from everybody tonight. Theguys made the right decision and pulled together, rather than fragmenting.”

The Monarchs have killed off 45 consecutive penalties going back nine games and one period (to Oct. 24) including two Falcons power play opportunities last night. What really hurt, however, was a 1-for-6 performanceby the Monarchs on their man advantages.

“They haven’t had a great power play if you look at their percentage,”said McSorley.

It was the Monarchs second straight loss in as many meetings this season with Springfield. After games next weekend at Binghamton and Springfield, the Monarchs return home next Sunday hosting the Falcons at 4:05 p.m.

 

PS.....  Was there too much jubilation the night before after beating the 1st Place Hartford Wolf Pack?"    :- )~    Just wondering........

 

11/16/03  Monarchs appeal Flinn's ejection
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

 

 

11/15/03   Monarchs put Wolf Pack down
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff

and .....

11/15/03   AHL likely to choose Manchester for all-stars
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff

MANCHESTER — The American Hockey League will likely name Manchester as the host city of next season’s AHL all-star game. The league has called a news conference in the Verizon Wireless Arena for Tuesday at 3 p.m.

Mayor Robert Baines is expected to attend the announcement, according to the AHL invitation.

The all-star game, typically telecast internationally and an automatic sellout, would be played in early Feb. 2005. Portland, Maine, played host to the two-day event last season. Grand Rapids, Mich., is the game’s site this season.

Monarchs president Jeff Eisenberg made it clear last season that he was eager to showcase the city, the arena, and its professional staff and told The Union Leader during the league’s annual summer meetings that he would make a formal pitch for the all-star contest.

MONARCHS MINUTES: Defenseman Joe Roullier played in his 200th AHL game last Saturday. All of his AHL games have been in the Kings organization . . . Scott Barney leads the Monarchs with three game-winning goals and he is tied for the league lead in the category. Half of Barney’s 20 career AHL goals are game winners . . .

 

11/14/03   Team shines killing penalties
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Sports Writer

THE MONARCHS’ six-game unbeaten streak is the result of a “killer” instinct. Penalty killing.

The Monarchs have played seven straight games without allowing a power play goal. They have 32 straight kills (66 minutes) extending back to Oct. 24.

“It’s amazing,” said Monarchs coach Bruce Boudreau. “We’re playing very good defensively. You look at our goals against in the last eight games. It’s one-point something.”

Tonight the Monarchs face the red-hot, Atlantic Division-leading Hartford Wolf Pack. A Monarchs victory would match a franchise-record five-game home win streak. The Monarchs have not lost since dropping a 2-0 game at Hartford Oct. 25 and since that time Manchester has outscored the opposition, 21-6. Hartford absorbed its first regulation loss Wednesday. The Wolf Pack has allowed the second-fewest goals in the league.

In the last six games the Monarchs have allowed six goals total.

“Winning coincides with not allowing goals and that all coincides with the penalty killing,” Boudreau said.

Monarchs assistant coach Jim Hughes has instituted a penalty kill previously used by the Boston Bruins. It works.

“Some of it originated in Orlando (IHL Solar Bears) in my days when we won a Turner Cup there,” said Hughes, who is in his first season in the Kings’ organization. “And then (Ftorek) and I fine-tuned it even more so in Boston.

“It’s less robotic and uses more athleticism,” said Hughes. “We’re asking our players to play with great sticks, not good sticks. Sticks that we put in people’s lanes, stick on the puck, stick on sticks. Certain areas of the rink are critical pressure points for us. Areas of the rink where we want to create turnovers. So far we’re having success. We’re creating a culture here that if you want to play on our penalty killing unit you virtually have to work like a wild dog for 35 seconds then get off the ice and allow your teammates to go out and essentially do the same thing.

“We create a tremendous amount of pressure on the puck. We usually don’t allow any one man to be outnumbered. We always want to create a 2-on-2-like situation. If they’re going to beat us they’re going to have to make multiple good passes,” he said.

This new penaly kill or defensive “culture” as Hughes likes to label it did not come easy. The Monarchs started the season losing five of their first six games.

“I think my mistake in the beginning was that I may have given them too much too early,” said Hughes. “Quite frankly it wasn’t exactly working.”

“It took five or six games before the guys understood the meaning of it. They had to have faith,” said Boudreau. “You knock off the goal-and-a-half a game we had been giving up in the first five games from the penalty kill, and so now instead of having an overall three goals against average it’s one-and-a-half and you usually find yourself winning.”

“It’s a new system Jim brought in and the guys have picked it up,” said Monarchs defenseman Richard Seeley. “Basically, the guys are comfortable with the system, and the bottomline is the guys are working hard. We can do any system we want but if we don’t work hard it’s not going to work.

“A lot of it is we’re playing a little smarter. When you get a couple wins under your belt you start to believe in things and when you work hard good things start to happen. You play with more confidence. This team is playing with a lot of confidence right now. We go into games and expect to win every game right now,” said Seeley, the captain.

“We have the personnel to do it. It’s a matter of people believing in it the way the coaching staff believes in it,” said Hughes. “It’s proven. It works. Now the players are starting to feel comfortable with it. Some pucks are starting to fall our way. We’re starting to get a few bounces, too.”

This weekend the stingy Monarchs would love nothing more than to see the equally stingy Wolf Pack bounced out of first place.

——

HARTFORD packs a balanced offensive punch, although no scorer is in the AHL’s top-10. But who needs a lot of goals when goaltender Jason LaBarbera (6-1-3) has a 2.03 goals against average in 11 games and backup Phil Osaer is 2-1 with a pair of shutouts. Osaer, a Ferris State product, is the likely starter tonight. Former UNH defenseman Jayme Filipowicz is running with the Pack this season — his fifth pro team in as many seasons.

——

GOALIE CONTROVERSY? Milan Hnilicka practiced all week and could return to the Monarchs lineup this weekend. Boudreau made the pecking order perfectly clear saying, “Milan is our number one goalie.”

Does that leave undefeated Adam Hauser, under a two-way contract with the Monarchs and Reading Royals of the ECHL, playing for the number two spot in the Queen City? Could he unseat Mathieu Chouinard, who is also recovering from a groin injury as is Hnilicka? For now those are questions without answers. Boudreau said it would be the Kings call if three goalies were to stay with the Monarchs. Chouinard skated in practice this week and took a few shots. He says he feels good and could be ready soon. Matt Underhill is on a tryout agreement with the Monarchs and will likely return to Florence, S.C., of the ECHL when Hnilicka gets back into action.

Hauser remains very humble about his recent Monarchs success (he has not lost an AHL game), even though Boudreau said, “After a while do you say it’s an accident? I don’t know. (Hauser’s) opening eyes.”

“I feel like the guys are playing well. It almost doesn’t matter what I do,” said Hauser. “We’re alternating goaltenders. We’re both winning. They’re playing so well getting the puck in and out at both blue lines. Doing exactly what they’re supposed to. That’s all you can ask for. We’re not giving up 40-something shots a game. Twenty shots are a good night.”

Boudreau said, “There’s nobody in the goaltending department you could say is our weak spot. That just hasn’t been.”

——

MONARCHS MINUTES: Captain Seeley has played in 144 Monarchs games, surpassing left wing Eric Healey who now plays for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Seeley shares the league lead plus/minus among defensemen with a plus 9 . . . Pavel Rosa leads the Monarchs in scoring with 3-11-14. Rosa is among eight players tied for third in AHL scoring . . . Defenseman Bryan Muir leads all AHL defensemen in scoring with 5-8-13 . . . Center Jerred Smithson has topped 150 AHL games . . . Winger John Tripp is tied for the AHL lead in shots with 59 . . . In retaliation for Steve Kelly speaking his mind on the pages of The Union Leader two weeks ago when the AHL slapped him with a four-game suspension for physical abuse of a linesman, the AHL added a $200 fine onto Kelly’s sentence. Interesting to note that the AHL sent news of the suspension across the league via hard copy news release, but nailed Kelly privately by taking $200 out of the family man’s wallet.

 

11/14/03 Since When Is Freedom of Speech a Finable Offense In The AHL ?

In retaliation for Steve Kelly speaking his mind on the pages of The Union Leader two weeks ago when the AHL slapped him with a four-game suspension for physical abuse of a linesman, the AHL added a $200 fine onto Kelly’s sentence. Interesting to note that the AHL sent news of the suspension across the league via hard copy news release, but nailed Kelly privately by taking $200 out of the family man’s wallet.

JOE Z opinion ....  " I should be downstairs making my sign for tonight's Monarchs game, but instead, I'm sitting at the keyboard venting my disgust at the AHL at this latest ruling!  This country was founded on the various freedoms afforded to all, including freedom of speech.  Our soldiers have laid down their lives to protect our freedoms since the colonial days.  ( and I say Thank You! )

The AHL had suspended Kelly for his actions with the ref, whether we like it or not. But when the AHL steps a bit farther by fining Kelly after speaking his opinion after the fact, I feel that the AHL is mocking the concept of FREEDOM OF SPEECH and should be reminded that this is a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT in the USA, STILL !

I think it would be appropriate to return his added fine for speaking his mind, and keep Freedom of Speech a NON-Finable Offense in the AHL.

To the AHL, I say,  " BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo  ! " .....   Joe Z. "

 Kelly's original article interview that the AHL nailed him on was on 10/22/03

 

11/12/03   Looking for tendencies and waiting for Hartford
By coach BRUCE BOUDREAU
Special to The Union Leader

AFTER YESTERDAY’S practice, I left for Lowell to catch the Lock Monsters and the Springfield Falcons play in a Veteran’s Day afternoon game at the Tsongas Arena.

With the Falcons due to visit Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday and the Lock Monsters on the schedule another nine times this season, it was a good opportunity to do a little advance scouting on both teams.

When scouting, you go into a game looking for trends. You watch to see how a team breaks out, you watch to see what type of forechecking scheme a team uses, and you break down what a team does on the power play and on the penalty kill. You also look to see how a team reacts to what’s happening on the ice around them.

If a team really comes at you hard after allowing a goal, you can prepare your team for that. We’ve been able to be very successful as a hockey team because our players know what to expect from the opposition.

We deserved the two wins and the tie we picked up last weekend. We played hard and we played smart. We also were helped by the arrival of defenseman Martin Strbak and center Michael Cammalleri, assigned to the Monarchs by the Los Angeles Kings.

When Cammalleri plays hard, he’s capable of putting big points on the board. He can be a dominating player at our level. In many ways, he’s still getting his feet wet after missing significant time because of injuries. He missed the last 31 games of the 2002-03 season with a concussion, and he missed the second half of training camp this season because of a knee injury.

The injuries have hurt Cammalleri’s conditioning and it showed last weekend. He was a little out of synch in Friday’s game against the Worcester IceCats, but then he really found his game on Saturday against the Portland Pirates, putting up two goals and one assist. He also started strongly in Sunday’s game against the Albany River Rats before tiring later in the contest.

Considering the amount of ice time he had last weekend, I’m not surprised that he ran out of gas. Look for him to be in better condition this weekend.

Strbak is a character guy and a really talented defenseman who has represented his native Slovakia in several world championship tournaments. After spending the last several seasons playing in the elite leagues of Europe, he agreed to terms with the Kings last summer.

Strbak is adjusting to North America and I’m sure there’s a bit of culture shock involved. In fact, he left the team for L.A. earlier in the week to help his wife tend to their sick child. I talked to him yesterday, and he told me everything is fine. He’ll rejoin the team in team for our next game.

As both a coach and a fan of the game, I can’t wait for Friday when we welcome the Hartford Wolf Pack to Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Wolf Pack is the only remaining team in the American Hockey League without a regulation loss. They lead our division and, quite frankly, they outplayed us in Hartford three weeks ago. They held us to a season-low 18 shots and really controlled the game.

We’ve been on a roll lately, especially at home, but Friday’s game will be a great challenge for us.

Have we improved as a hockey team since the last time we faced them? We’ll find out on Friday.

 

11/10/03   Monarchs hold off Albany comeback
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

MANCHESTER — Yanick Lehoux figured on both goals and the Manchester Monarchs held off a chaotic Albany jailbreak offensive in the final minutes in downing the River Rats 2-1 last night before 9,687 in the sold-out Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Monarchs (7-5-1-1) are unbeaten in their last six and have won four straight at home. No overconfidence here, however. No one dared leave their seats.

“That would have been a criminal thing if they had tied it up,” said Monarchs’ coach Bruce Boudreau.

The River Rats (2-6-2-1) have just one win in their last six, but only once this season have they lost by more than one goal (and that was via an empty net). Former Boston College goaltender Scott Clemmensen made 35 saves, keeping the River Rats hanging on until the bitter end.

“We’ve played just well enough to lose,” said Albany coach Red Gendron, the frustration in his voice clear.

With a little help from his friends, Manchester goaltender Adam Hauser, second-rated in the AHL, was one goal better than Clemmensen. “Brick” Hauser remains undefeated in his four Monarchs appearances so far.

He appeared en route to his third AHL shutout with 22 saves, especially when he made five stops on a River Rats’ power play with 5:50 left. But, with Clemmensen pulled for an extra skater in the final two minutes, Albany second-year pro Eric Johansson finally converted at Hauser’s back door on a perfect feed from veteran scorer Craig Darby.

With 20 seconds left, Albany’s Maxim Balmochnykh hit the post. With two seconds left, Hauser was on his back in the crease, legs and sticks everywhere. Dead to rights, he made a snow angel-like arm save on Jiri Bicek, a veteran who played 44 games with the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils last season.

“They put in two real solid minutes and almost stole one from us,” added Boudreau.

“Take the playbook and throw it right out the window there,” said a relieved Hauser. “They put a whole lot of pressure on.

“They’re not a bad team at all. Two-nothing on them, it’s a great score for us, but that’s still striking distance. You could see they put the pressure on and they never stopped. Exciting,” Hauser said.

“He made a couple huge saves at the end,” said the Monarchs’ captain, defenseman Richard Seeley.

“We played with desperation at the end of the game, but we didn’t do much for most of the game,” said Gendron. “Yeah, it was a heck of a try at the end and we could have tied the game, but we didn’t deserve to win the hockey game.”

Manchester’s Scott Barney scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season, which at the time felt like an insurance tally, 2:27 into the third period.

Camped in front of Clemmensen, Barney made it 2-0 by finishing the short rebound of Lehoux’ close-range bid that came as a Monarchs power play had just ended.

Lehoux, noting that finally some bounces went his way, had put Manchester on the board by one-timing Jeff Giuliano’s short centering pass in front 4:24 into the second period for a 1-0 lead.

First period: No scoring. Penalties: A, Ryan Murphy (elbow) 0:44; M, Tomas Zizka (hold) 8:35; Krisjanis Redlihs (cross check) 14:18; M, Martin Strbak (major, kneeing) 17:10; M, Strbak (major, game misconduct) 17:10.
Second period: M, 1-Yanick Lehoux 3 (Jeff Giuliano, Dan Welch) 4:24. Penalties: A, Jiri Bicek (rough) 8:19; M, Giuliano (interference) 11:55; M,Steve Kelly (high stick) 17:48.
Third period: M, 2-Scott Barney 7 (Lehoux, Pavel Rosa) 2:27; A, 3-Eric Johansson 2 (Craig Darby, Maxim Balmochnykh) 18:56. Penalties: A, Balmochnykh (boarding) 0:23; M, John Tripp (high stick) 15:11.
Power plays: Albany 0-for-5; Manchester 0-for-4.
Shots on goal: Albany 6-5-12-23; Manchester 11-14-12-25.
Saves: A, Scott Clemmensen (2-6-2) 23 saves; M, Adam Hauser (3-0-1) 22 saves.
Referee: Dave Hansen. Linesman: Conrad Hache, Tim Low.
Attend.: 9,687 (sold out).

 

 

11/09/03   Cammalleri sparks Monarchs to 5-1 win over Portland
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer

MANCHESTER — This just in from Los Angeles, Mike Cammalleri is back!

In his return to the sold out Verizon Wireless Arena last night, the former Michigan sniper, Cammalleri scored a pair of goals as the Manchester Monarchs sliced and diced the Portland Pirates, 5-1.

Manchester (6-5-1-1) is unbeaten in five games and above .500 for the first time this season. Don’t let that percentage deceive, however, since the Monarchs are in second place in the Atlantic Division and the only thing keeping them out of first place is a red-hot Hartford Wolf Pack.

Portland (5-8-0-0) dropped its second straight after grabbing the lead 4:30 into the game. But, Monarchs goaltender Matt Underhill won the war making 20 saves solidly shutting out the Pirates for the final 55 minutes. Manchester outshot Portland, 40-21.

“I’ve got to stop getting scored on early,” sighed Underhill, a Cornell product. “Our guys came right back though. It’s nice to get a lead. It’s easy to play with the lead.

“We scored five goals and we deserved to. We got the puck in and got the puck out. Played a simple game and took it to them,” Underhill said.

Goals by Cammalleri and Steve Kelly in the first 2:11 of the third period effectively put the game away.

“At that point it was kind of a big hole,” said Pirates coach Tim Army, who pulled starting goalie Max Ouellet after Cammalleri’s second goalthat came only 59 seconds into the third period.

“I got some sleep today and felt better than I did yesterday,” said Cammalleri, who went scoreless Friday night in Worcester in his first Monarchs game in nearly a year. He flew in from Los Angeles Friday. The second-year pro,who is in Manchester on a conditioning assignment, said his blending into the Monarchs system is easier because of the similarity of the minor league team’s play to that of the parent club, L.A. Kings. In other words, smooth transition.

John Tripp figured in on all three Monarchs tallies in a “shock and awe” first period Monarchs salvo. Tripp credited Yanick Lehoux for making several big hits that popped the puck onto dangerous Monarchs sticks.

“I’m just lucky I guess,” joked Tripp. “We’re playing physical. We’re playing hard. We’re on a little roll.”

Tripp’s fifth goal of the season was a pretty no-look backhander at the top of the crease on the power play making it 3-1 with seconds to go in theopening period. After Portland’s Trent Whitfield poked in a little rebound of his own wraparound attempt 4:30 into the game, the Monarchs Mike Cammalleri and Ryan Flinn scored goals 1:08 apart for the lead. For his first goal of the season, Cammalleri snapped a one-timer from inside the left circle sharply finishing his give-and-go with rookie Noah Clarke. Flinn fired a full windup bullet in the slot off a 3-on-1 break thanks to a patient Tripp feed after acostly turnover by Portland rookie defenseman Louis Robitaille.

“They (Monarchs) added a couple guys who are pretty good players and they found the mark tonight,” said Portland’s Army. “They created chances and were able to capitalize. But, we’ve got them seven more times. We’ll be ready for them the next time.” Manchester 5, Portland 1 Portland (5-8-0-0)щ1 0 0 1 Manchester (6-5-1-1щ3 0 2 5

First period: P, 1-Trent Whitfield 4 (Colin Forbes, Andrej Podkonicky) 7:06; M, 2-Mike Cammalleri 1 (Noah Clarke, John Tripp) 11:48; M, 3-Ryan Flinn 2 (Tripp) 12:56; M, 4-Tripp 5 (Tomas Zizka, Cammalleri) pp. Penalties: P,Whitfield (hold) 18:39.

Second period: No scoring. Penalties: P, Garrett Stroshein (major, fighting) 2:00; M, George Parros (major, fighting) 2:00; P, Darcy Verot (high stick) 6:39; M, Kelly (goaltender interference) 7:00; M, Flinn (rough) 9:35; P, Chris Hajt (hold) 11:08; P, Verot (hook) 13:20; M, Joe Rullier (hook) 18:33.

Third period: M, 4-Cammalleri 2 (Bryan Muir) 0:59; M, 5-Kelly 4 (Pavel Rosa, Denis Grebeshkov) 2:11. Penalties: P, bench served by Ivan Ciernik (too many men) 8:03; M, Parros (rough) 14:51; P, Stroshein (rough) 14:51; M, Rullier (unsportsmanlike) 14:53; M, Rullier (major, fighting) 14:53; P, Verot (unsportsmanlike) 14:53; P, Verot (major, fighting) 14:53; M, Flinn(instigator) 20:00; M, Flinn (major, fighting) 20:00; M, Flinn (major misconduct, fighting instigator) 20:00; M, Flinn (major game misconduct, fighting second instigator)20:00.

Power plays: Portland 0-for-3; Manchester 1-for-5.
Shots on goal: Portland 4-10-7-21; Manchester 13-10-17-40.
Saves: P, Maxime Ouellet (2-6) 26 shots, 22 saves, Matt Yeats 14 shots, 13 saves; M, Matt Underhill (2-2) 20 saves.
Referee: Jeff Smith. Linesman: Conrad Hache, Chris Aughe.
Attend.: 9,916 (sold out).

 

11/09/03  Manchester Union Leader article
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Sports

 

11/08/03  Manchester Union Leader article

 

Friday Game Update from Worcester...
courtesy MonarchsFanClub.com
11/07/03

11/07/03   Final ...  MONARCHS and Ice Cats TIE!  Manchester 1  Worcester 1
Houser started in Goal for the Monarchs

1st period . . .  over 
no goals
 total shots on goal    Monarchs  11       Worcester  5

2nd period . . .  over
  no goals
total shots on goal    Monarchs   18     Worcester  11

3rd period . . .   over
0:38  Worcester scores a goal by Varlamov
17:17  The Monarchs score a goal by Barney   assist Tripp & Rullier
total shots on goal    Monarchs   25      Worcester  19

OT period . . .  over
no goals
  total shots on goal    Monarchs  25      Worcester  21

Bright-side of This Game:  Mike Cammalleri is back on the ice with the Monarchs.  Barney still on a scoring streak!

Negative-side of this game:   Monarchs power play was pretty bad, 0 for 6

 

11/07/03  Manchester Union Leader article
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Sports

11/05/03    Manchester Union Leader article

 

11/03/03   Monarchs roll to third straight win
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Staff Sports Writer For The Union Leader

MANCHESTER — It’s officially a win streak.

The Manchester Monarchs streaked 5-0 past the beleaguered Norfolk Admirals last night before 7,094 in the Verizon Wireless Arena.

In just his third AHL game, former University of Minnesota goaltender Adam Hauser recorded his second straight shutout. And for the second straight night Scott Barney pumped in a pair of goals, while veterans Steve Kelly and Pavel Rosa figured on three goals each.

The Monarchs, 5-5-0-1, have won three straight.

Norfolk, 4-7-1-1, is in the midst of a franchise-record 10-game road trip. The Admirals have lost four straight and have been held to two goals or less in their last seven outings. They have been shut out in three of their last four.

The Monarchs scored in every period and their power play connected three times. Norfolk was 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

“You give a team as skilled as that chances on the power play, they’re going to make you pay,” said Norfolk captain Ajay Baines.

“We had some good chemistry out there tonight,” said Boudreau. “We’ve been preaching all year special teams wins games. Our penalty killing hasn’t allowed a goal in four games and our power play finally scored three goals. We made them pay.”

Kelly’s shot from the bottom of the left circle on a power play midway through the third period took a weird bounce off busy Admirals goalie Steve Passmore (27 saves). The goal was simply icing on the cake since Manchester’s 20-year-old Russian rookie blue line sensation, Denis Grebeshkov, one-timed a centering pass 5:45 into the third for an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

“Once you get a couple goals on a team like that, their shoulders shrug and they start to think it’s the same old thing,” said Kelly. “They hadn’t been scoring. A confidence booster for us.”

The Admirals were not without fight throughout the contest. With a three-goal lead, Manchester’s stay-at-home defense formed a wall in front of Hauser. And the lanky Hauser, deceptively agile as he was leading the University of Minnesota to the NCAA championship two years ago, made point blank stops on the Admirals’ Matt Ellison two minutes into the third period and two minutes later kicked away the wide-open slot drive of NHL veteran Igor Korolev.

“You can see the way the guys play. They’re making sure we’re not giving it away in any danger spots,” said Hauser. “You don’t think about (shutouts). Not at all. It’s good to get the win first. Good to get the win for the team.”

“Adam made the saves he had to,” added Boudreau. “He controlled the rebounds very well, so he did everything that was asked of him. There were a lot of stars in the game.”

The Monarchs went up 3-0 with Barney’s second power play goal of the game. Barney and crafty Czech center Rosa played uncontested pinball off Passmore’s stick, then his pads with Barney finally stuffing it in at the far post with 2:33 left in the second period.

Former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bryan Muir, a ninth-year pro the L.A. Kings signed in the off-season and a past Chicago Blackhawk, scored his fifth goal of the season 2:02 into the second period. Muir’s slap shot from the blue line five-holed Passmore.

The greeting committee in Manchester for the road-weary Admirals was a Barney power-play goal 1:14 into the game. Barney walked freely along the goal line and successfully stabbed home the short rebound of his own little backhander just 20 seconds after Norfolk’s Anton Babchuk was whistled for elbowing.

The victory moved the Monarchs into second place in the seven-team Atlantic Division after they were struggling to stay out of the cellar two weeks ago. The Monarchs are off until Friday, when they travel to Worcester, Mass., to face the Ice Cats. The Monarchs have home games Saturday and Sunday.

 

11/02/03   Monarchs name their captains
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

11/02/03   Monarchs turn away Lock Monsters, 5-3
By KEVIN PROVENCHER
Union Leader Staff Sports Writer

 

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