Recently in Manchester Monarchs Category

The Manchester Monarchs will have a new leading scorer next season.

Skilled right wing Bud Holloway has signed with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Elite League for 2011-12. The restricted free agent declined the Kings' qualifying offer, at least temporarily ending his tenure with the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2006 draft.

Both this season (28+33=61) and last (19+28-47), Holloway led the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate in scoring. He helped the Monarchs reach the Eastern Conference Final series in 2010, tying an AHL record with six game-winning goals in a single postseason (out of the seven goals he scored).

But in three pro seasons, the 23-year-old from Wapella, Saskatchewan never got the NHL call-up he desired. He joins Corey Elkins and Oscar Moller on a short list of Kings prospects who have left for Europe this summer.

The most famous Japanese hockey player in Kings history - more accurately, the only Japanese hockey player in NHL history - was in the news again today.

Yutaka Fukufuji made 47 saves but took the loss as host nation Kazakhstan defeated Japan 4-1 in the gold-medal game at the Asian Winter Games. Fukufuji, who appeared in four games for the Kings in 2006-07, was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament by the Tournament Directorate. The 28-year-old left North America two years ago and currently plays in the Asian League, according to Wikipedia.

A few notes from the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' AHL affiliate:

• Scoring his third goal in as many games Friday evening, defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (12-25=37) holds sole possession of first place on the Monarchs with 37 points.
Voynov also leads American Hockey League defenseman with 37 points on the season and is tied for the lead among AHL blueliners with six power-play goals to his credit.

• LW Bud Holloway recorded an assist as well as his team-leading 16th goal of the season in Saturday's 4-0 blanking of the Albany Devils. He has 36 points (16-20=36) in 51 games to place second on the Monarchs in points. Holloway also assisted on the game-winning goal and added a power play goal of his own as insurance in Saturday's contest against Albany.

• Martin Jones stopped all 26 shots he faced to pick up his third shutout of the season against Albany. Jeff Zatkoff missed the game with an undisclosed illness. A night earlier, Jones absorbed a 4-3 shootout loss against the Worcester Sharks.

• The Monarchs (31-16-1-4) have a tenuous two-point lead on Portland (30-15-4-1) in the Atlantic Division; Portland has two games in hand. Things could change in a hurry this week: Manchester plays four games in five days, all at home, beginning Wednesday.

In this morning's New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester Monarchs coach Mark Morris talks about the upcoming season, including which players he thinks will stick with the Kings and what he hopes to see from his team in the upcoming season. The article mentions Brian Boyle and Teddy Purcell as two players Morris believes ``proved they belong'' in the NHL. Here's the full story...

Watching baseball, talking hockey with Monarchs coach

Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend. It's hard to beat sleeping in on a Monday morning. But to get back into the swing of things, here's an interview Don just did with Mark Morris, coach of the AHL Manchester Monarchs. In the interview, Mark gives some perspective on the season and what it's like to coach at the highest minor-league level. It's another great interview by Don with an interesting subject...

The Manchester Monarchs, the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, announced today that the contracts of coach Mark Morris and assistant coach Scott Pellerin have been extended for the 2008-09 season. Morris has coached the Monarchs to a 90-52-12-6 record in two seasons. Last year's team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals and this year's team lost in the first round of the playoffs. Here's the full press release...

In a rough end to a weird series, Manchester blew a 2-0 lead last night, lost in overtime and got swept by Providence in the first-round AHL series. Don Fulton did a recap and also caught up with Monarchs coach Mark Morris this morning...

The blog server appears to be working today, so I'll give this whole posting thing a go. Don Fulton tracked down coach Mark Morris, whose Manchester Monarchs are in dire straits, down 3-0 to Providence and facing elimination tonight. Don also has an interview with Jeff Zatkoff ready to go. Here's what Morris had to say about the Monarchs' situation:

On being down 3-0 in the series.

"We've gotten great goaltending from both Bernier and Quick, and I don't think we have to hang our heads at all. We had those two goals disallowed (in Game 3), that in our opinion, were both good goals, and we didn't have a whole lot of things go our way. I really believe that we are really on the verge of winning any one of those games. These are the types of battles that are going to make these guys better hockey players."

On the absence of Brian Boyle:

"That was a huge blow. Brian is such a physical presence, guy who played half the season as a defenseman and still lead the league in rookie scoring. I can't say enough for what he has meant to our hockey club. There aren't too many 6-7, 250-pound people that can replace him. He's been a huge presence in front of the net on the power play, and a good face-off man. He knows how to distribute the puck and he is a hard guy to hold. My guess is that his recovery time is going to be too lengthy unless we are able to turn this thing around."

Pascal Pelletier scored 9:01 into overtime as Providence beat Manchester 3-2 in the first game of the best-of-seven first round series in the AHL playoffs. Petr Kanko scored with just over five minutes left in the first period to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead, and after two Providence goals (one shorthanded), the Monarchs tied the game when Matt Moulson scored a power-play goal 9:30 into the third period. Jonathan Bernier played in goal for the Monarchs and stopped 34 of 37 shots. Tonight's game was played in Providence. The Bruins also host Game 2 on Friday.

Game 1 of the first-round AHL playoff series between Manchester and Providence starts just after 4 p.m. Pacific time (7 p.m. local time). The Monarchs, who finished fourth in their division, face the Bruins, who finished first. The Monarchs coach is indicating that Brian Boyle might return sometime during the series, but that seems vague. A key to the series could be whether Phil Kessel shows up. Kessel has been a healthy scratch for the Boston Bruins put could end up on the Providence roster at some point.

There's a webcast of the game, but you have to shell out $6 to watch it. Seems as though there might be free audio on the Monarchs' site, but I can't be 100 percent certain of that. Here's a couple preview stories from the two local papers:

Manchester Union-Leader: Monarchs prepped for playoff test

Providence Journal: P-Bruins are riding wave into playoffs

The Manchester Monarchs concluded their regular season Saturday and are now preparing for a first-round series against the Providence Bruins, starting Wednesday in Providence. The Monarchs finished with 88 points, good for fourth in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division, while the Bruins finished first with 117 points.

Here's the series schedule. I found it interesting that the series goes 2-2-2-1. Providence gets four of the first six games at home, but the seventh game would be at Manchester. Interesting setup...

Game 1 - Wed., Apr. 16 - Manchester at Providence
Game 2 - Fri., Apr. 18 - Manchester at Providence
Game 3 - Sat., Apr. 19 - Providence at Manchester
Game 4 - Mon., Apr. 21 - Providence at Manchester
*Game 5 - Fri., Apr. 25 - Manchester at Providence
*Game 6 - Sat., Apr. 26 - Manchester at Providence
*Game 7 - Mon., Apr. 28 - Providence at Manchester

Here's today's story from the Union Leader:

Monarchs Insider