Post by SealsGM on Feb 28, 2005 10:03:40 GMT -5
Hamilton, ON- The Manchester Monarch's continued their rise in the standing by defeating the Western Conference leading Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 Sunday night in front of a sold out crowd at Hamilton Arena. Manchester got two first period goals from defensemen Todd Rierden (3) and Konstantin Koltsov (11). Esa Pirnes scored early in the 3rd to make the count 3-1. Goaltender Rostislav Stana stopped 31 of his final 32 shots including 20 in the 3rd period to perserve the victory for the visiting Monarchs.
"We hung in there." said coach Bruce Boudreau. "They were on the attack for two periods. [Stana} played a helluva game tonight. He really kept us in it and has played extremely well for the Monarchs this season. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now. He shut down a very good team tonight."
After a rough start to the season in which the team went 2-6, the Monarchs have rebounded nicely and have gotten points in 17 of their last 24 games. Their latest victory catapults them into the 8th seed in the playoff race for the AsHL Cup and has put them at .500.
Manchester's success has been due in part to a 3 headed platoon in net this season. Strong play from Rostislav Stana, Adam Hauser, and Robbie Gherson have kept the Monarchs in virtually ever game. Stana and Hauser have received the bulk of the playing time but Gherson's call ups from Reading have been very successful in relief of the two regular goaltenders. All three are showing that they can play in the AsHL and could draw attention from LA Kings brass next year.
"We like the way all three of these guys are playing right now in the AsHL. We're going to give the bulk of the work to Adam (Hauser) and Stana but Robbie (Gherson) has been a nice surprise. We would like to see him start several more times this season for the Monarchs to get him some experience at this level. " said GM Nathan Kopsack. "Whom we haven't mentioned here is Mathieu Chouinard, who is among the lead leaders in the ECsHL in goals against. He's had a solid year for Reading and that organization is poised to make a run at the ECsHL Cup. Their offense is incredible. They play sound defense. That team is really motoring on all cylinders right now." concluded Kopsack.
All in all, GM Nathan Kopsack felt his organization was making progress and that the best times are still ahead of them. "At this point of the season...and I don't want to jinx anything, but all three organizations within the LA Kings system are competitive and looking to the post season for continued success. " said GM Nathan Kopsack. "We are heading in the right direction and I'm very happy with the development of some of these younger players. We have good systems in place." concluded Kopsack.
This is Hu Flung Dung for Manchester Hockey.
"We hung in there." said coach Bruce Boudreau. "They were on the attack for two periods. [Stana} played a helluva game tonight. He really kept us in it and has played extremely well for the Monarchs this season. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now. He shut down a very good team tonight."
After a rough start to the season in which the team went 2-6, the Monarchs have rebounded nicely and have gotten points in 17 of their last 24 games. Their latest victory catapults them into the 8th seed in the playoff race for the AsHL Cup and has put them at .500.
Manchester's success has been due in part to a 3 headed platoon in net this season. Strong play from Rostislav Stana, Adam Hauser, and Robbie Gherson have kept the Monarchs in virtually ever game. Stana and Hauser have received the bulk of the playing time but Gherson's call ups from Reading have been very successful in relief of the two regular goaltenders. All three are showing that they can play in the AsHL and could draw attention from LA Kings brass next year.
"We like the way all three of these guys are playing right now in the AsHL. We're going to give the bulk of the work to Adam (Hauser) and Stana but Robbie (Gherson) has been a nice surprise. We would like to see him start several more times this season for the Monarchs to get him some experience at this level. " said GM Nathan Kopsack. "Whom we haven't mentioned here is Mathieu Chouinard, who is among the lead leaders in the ECsHL in goals against. He's had a solid year for Reading and that organization is poised to make a run at the ECsHL Cup. Their offense is incredible. They play sound defense. That team is really motoring on all cylinders right now." concluded Kopsack.
All in all, GM Nathan Kopsack felt his organization was making progress and that the best times are still ahead of them. "At this point of the season...and I don't want to jinx anything, but all three organizations within the LA Kings system are competitive and looking to the post season for continued success. " said GM Nathan Kopsack. "We are heading in the right direction and I'm very happy with the development of some of these younger players. We have good systems in place." concluded Kopsack.
This is Hu Flung Dung for Manchester Hockey.