Friday night the Manchester Monarchs dropped their fourth contest in a row, a 4-2 loss coming at the hands of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Prior to the game Monarchs goaltender Jeff Zatkoff received some hardware for his mantle as he was named the Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month for December. In seven appearances during the month, Zatkoff went 5-2-0 with a 1.70 goals-against-average and a .946 save percentage.
Zatkoff (10-6-1) took the loss, his sixth of the season stopping 34-of-37 shots. Manchester got on the board first when Brandon Kozen buried a shot from the point past Sound Tigers goaltender Anders Nilsson.
The second frame was all Sound Tigers as they outshot Manchester 19-4 and and took the lead 2-1. A Rhett Rakhshani wrist shot that beat Zatkoff high glove side knotted the game at one a piece. David Ullstrom put the Sound Tigers up 2-1 with his team leading 13th goal, a one timer from the slot.
At 3:24 of the third period Manchester’s Robbie Czarnik tied the game 2-2 when he won a battle for the puck behind the net and banked a shot off of Nilsson that found its way to the back of the goal. The tie lasted all of 22 seconds as Bridgeport’s Tyler McNeely picked up a loose puck off a blocked shot and sent it through traffic in front of the net past an outstretched Zatkoff.
Rhett Rakhshani sealed the game for Bridgeport with his second tally of the night, an empty net goal in the final minute of the game.
Anders Nilsson (6-6-1) stopped 16 of 18 saves to earn his sixth win of the season. Bridgeport outshot Manchester 38-18.
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