Phantoms defeated by Monarchs, 6-2

The Philadelphia Phantoms out shot the Manchester Monarchs 30-23 on Sunday at the Wachovia Spectrum, but were unable to get past Manchester’s goalie and ultimately lost. The final score was 6-2, with all the goals taking place in the first two periods of play.

The Phantoms gave the Monarchs a power play two minutes and 45 seconds into the first period when leftwing Triston Grant got 2 minutes for elbowing. The Monarchs made good use of this opportunity and scored at 3:06. The goal was scored by defenseman Troy Milam.

“We got into penalty trouble early on against the best power play in the league and got behind the eight ball right away," Phantoms coach Craig Berube said.

The Monarchs have the best power play record in the AHL, but the worst penalty killing percentage. The Monarchs score on 26.9 percent of their power plays, but are only able to prevent goals 76.5 percent of the time when short handed. The Phantoms allowed the Monarchs ample opportunities to exhibit their power play strength, with the monarchs scoring during 4 of the 9 power plays they received.

The Monarchs quickly scored again during the same power play at 3:38. This time it was center Matt Ryan who got the puck past Phantoms goalie Brian Boucher, making the score 2-0.

The Phantoms responded at 9:41 into the period with a goal from leftwing Triston Grant making the game 2-1. A penalty against defenseman Alexandre Picard for cross-checking at 11:19 resulted in an other power play goal for the Monarchs. Scored by leftwing Matt Moulson, the goal occurred at 12:32 into the period.

Once out of the penalty box, Picard showed why he made the AHL All-Star team and brought the score up to 3-2 with a power play goal at 15:39. A two-minute penalty against Phantoms leftwing Jared Ross for boarding at 19:42, was yet again seized on by the Monarchs, as right wing Teddy Purcell scored at 19:53 to give the Monarchs a 4-2 lead.

It only took 32 seconds into the second period for the Monarchs to bring the score up to 5-2. The goal was scored by Manchester’s David Meckler. Following that goal, Boucher was taken out of the net and was replaced by Scott Munroe.

“Boucher didn’t do anything wrong tonight,” Berube said. But he admitted that, given the score, “why leave him there?”

At 9:44 into the second period, right wing Stefan Ruzicka received a two-minute penalty for boarding, giving the Monarchs another power play opportunity. Manchester left wing Matt Moulson scored the final goal of the game on this power play, at 10:52 into the second period. The third period was scoreless for both teams.

Though they didn't score in the second or third period, the Phantoms took 22 shots on goal in these two periods. In contrast the Monarchs only took 7 shots on goal in the later two periods.

When asked about the Phantoms outshooting the Monarchs but still losing, Berube said, “a lot of times you outshoot teams and you lose, but it doesn’t always mean you played a good game…”

“We definitely want to outshoot teams, but we want to do it the right way,” he added.

The Phantoms travel to Syracuse to play the Crunch this Wednesday at 5:00 P.M. and return home this Friday to play the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 7:05 P.M. at the Wachovia Spectrum.