Monarchs End Six-Game Road Trip With Loss In Chicago
Boyle collects two lone goals for Manchester
CHICAGO, IL – Center Jason Krog netted two goals as the former University of New Hampshire standout and his Chicago Wolves topped the Manchester Monarchs 5-2 in front of 12,022 fans at the Allstate Arena on Saturday night.
Manchester (19-18-4-2) is in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 44 points. Chicago (30-10-1-0) is ranked second in the West Division with 61 points.
At 5:19 of the third period, Krog tipped in the eventual game-winning goal for his 20th tally of the season and second of the night. Monarchs center David Meckler's shot was stopped by Gherson and Wolves center Andre Deveaux picked up the loose puck and skated up the ice. Deveaux unleashed a shot from the right wing wall in the Monarchs zone that Krog tipped past Monarchs goaltender Erik Ersberg.
The first period belonged to the Monarchs as they out shot the Wolves 15-to-8 and outscored them 1-0. Right wing Lauri Tukonen collected the puck along the end boards and found center Brian Boyle wide open on the inside corner of the right face-off circle. Boyle walked in on Gherson and stuffed the puck inside the right post for his 18th tally of the season. Right wing Vladimir Dravecky assisted on the goal at 2:14 of the first period.
Defenseman Nathan Oystrick evened the game at 1-1 with his ninth goal of the season at the 29-second mark of the middle period. Center Steve Martins found Oystrick at the top of the left face-off circle for a one-timer that beat Ersberg. Left wing Jordan LaVallee earned the second assist on Oystrick's tying goal.
The second of five consecutive Wolves goals came off the stick of the AHL's leading scorer Krog. On the power play, defenseman Karel Pilar fed the puck to center Alexandre Giroux who connected with Krog as he skated into the slot. Krog fired a one-timer into the net to give the Wolves a 2-1 lead at 19:16 of the second period.
Martins made the Wolves lead 4-1 at 12:54 of the final frame. Chicago's second power play tally came as right wing Jesse Schultz tossed the puck through the slot and Martins tipped it passed Ersberg for his 15th goal of the season. Defenseman Brian Fahey earned his first of two points on the evening with an assist on Martins goal.
Fahey turned around with his 10th tally of the season at 15:30 of the third period to give the Wolves a 5-1 advantage. On the power play, the Wolves brought the puck into the Monarchs zone with a bit of a scramble as the Monarchs put the pressure on. Giroux found Fahey open in the right face-off circle and the defenseman snapped a wrist shot past Ersberg on his blocker side. Schultz collected his second assist of the night on Chicago's final goal.
The Monarchs were not going away without a last minute fight as Boyle scored his second of the night at 17:54 of the final stanza. Right wing Kevin Westgarth battled with Wolves players along the end boards and handed the puck off to Tukonen who found Boyle in the left face-off circle. Boyle's one-timer beat Gherson five-hole to bring the final score to 5-2.
Ersberg suffered the loss stopping 28-of-33 shots on net. Gherson earned the win for Chicago with 29 saves.
Manchester went 0-for-5 on the power play. Chicago was 3-for-6 with the man advantage.
The Monarchs return to the Verizon Wireless Arena to face-off with the Worcester Sharks at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, January 23.. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR-AM 610 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 each Monarchs game to watch the game live!
Monarchs End Six-Game Road Trip With Loss In Chicago 
