Monarchs Pound Wolf Pack, 6-1

Bud Holloway scored two goals and added an assist Sunday, leading the Manchester Monarchs to a 6-1 victory over the Wolf Pack at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester.

It was the last of four visits on the year for the Wolf Pack to Manchester. They finished 0-4-0-0 in those games and were outscored by a combined margin of 17-3 in the last three.

Andrew Campbell and Corey Elkins had a goal and an assist each for the Monarchs, and David Meckler added two assists.

A pair of power-play goals by Holloway gave Manchester the jump in the first period.

Holloway opened the scoring at 4:15, with Michael Sauer in the penalty box for boarding, taking a centering pass from Geoff Walker in the left circle and driving it past Wolf Pack starting goaltender Steve Valiquette.

Holloway's second power-play goal of the period came at 9:45, when he gunned a shot from the top of the right circle under the crossbar behind Valiquette.

The Monarchs doubled their lead in a 60-second span in the second period, starting at 5:54 with a goal by Gabe Gauthier, who converted a centering pass from the left-wing side by Richard Clune. Then, at 6:54, Campbell, a defenseman, made it 4-0 with his second goal of the year, both of which have come against the Wolf Pack. Campbell lofted a shot from the left circle that found its way into the top corner over Valiquette's catching glove.

The Wolf Pack's Corey Locke ruined Manchester goaltender Jonathan Bernier's shutout bid at 13:39 with his 18th goal of the year. Locke took a cross-slot feed from Kenny Roche, playing in his first game of the year for the Wolf Pack, in the right circle and snapped a shot into the top of the net behind Bernier.

Manchester got that one back, though, at 16:51, just three seconds after a Hartford power play expired. Elkins grabbed the puck away from the Wolf Pack's David Urquhart in neutral ice and broke in alone on Valiquette. Valiquette got his stick on Elkins' shot, but it deflected up in the air and over Valiquette's shoulder, and bounced over the goal line.

Chad Johnson replaced Valiquette in the Wolf Pack net for the third period, with Manchester up 5-1, and the Monarchs tacked on one more at 9:58 of the third. Dwight King finished a good forechecking shift by banging the puck off Johnson and in, after Elkins passed the puck out from behind the net.

Bernier made 22 saves to get the win for the Monarchs. Valiquette took the loss, with five goals-against on 22 shots, and Johnson stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced.

Despite the loss, the Wolf Pack maintained sole possession of fourth place in the Atlantic Division, at 23-17-2-4 for 52 points. The Pack's next action is a home game at the XL Center this Wednesday night, January 27 vs. the Norfolk Admirals (7:00 PM faceoff).

Hartford Wolf Pack 1 At Manchester Monarchs 6
Jan 24, 2010 - Verizon Wireless Arena

Hartford 0 1 0 - 1
Manchester 2 3 1 - 6

1st Period-1, Manchester, Holloway 13 (Walker, Meckler), 4:15 (pp). 2, Manchester, Holloway 14 (Campbell, Kolomatis), 9:45 (pp). Penalties-Sauer Hfd (boarding), 2:31; Martinez Mch (holding), 6:50; Crowder Hfd (boarding), 9:06; Byers Hfd (fighting), 17:59; Nolan Mch (fighting), 17:59.

2nd Period-3, Manchester, Gauthier 8 (Clune, Kroll), 5:54. 4, Manchester, Campbell 2 (Holloway, Westgarth), 6:54. 5, Hartford, Locke 18 (Roche, Sauer), 13:39. 6, Manchester, Elkins 15 16:51. Penalties-Westgarth Mch (boarding), 7:54; Kolomatis Mch (tripping), 11:27; Kroll Mch (tripping), 14:48.

3rd Period-7, Manchester, King 3 (Elkins, Meckler), 9:58. Penalties-Couture Hfd (fighting), 2:58; Clune Mch (fighting), 2:58; Nightingale Hfd (roughing), 17:08; Rheault Mch (roughing), 17:08.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 8-12-3-23. Manchester 13-9-12-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 of 4; Manchester 2 of 2.
Goalies-Hartford, Valiquette 4-5-1 (22 shots-17 saves); Johnson 14-8-2 (12 shots-11 saves). Manchester, Bernier 19-11-4 (23 shots-22 saves).
A-4,131
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18).
Linesmen-David Spannaus (8), Frank Murphy (29).