Matt Ryan scored on a penalty shot during a four-goal second period and Mathieu Garon made 30 saves on the night as Manchester posted a 4-1 win in Hartford on Saturday night in a battle of the top two teams in the Atlantic Division.
The Wolf Pack had a chance to tie the Monarchs for first place. Instead, they find themselves four points back.
After a scoreless first period, Dustin Brown got Manchester on the board first with a power-play marker just 34 seconds into the second. Tom Kostopoulos, out since Jan. 16 with an abdominal injury, made it 2-0 at the 12:14 mark.
Ryan converted his penalty shot attempt for his eighth goal of the season at 14:22, and Ryan Kinasewich added his first career AHL goal at 16:18.
The Wolf Pack have lost three of their last four home games since winning 11 straight at the Hartford Civic Center.
Elsewhere on Saturday:
Adam Munro needed 22 saves for his second shutout of the year as Norfolk beat Springfield, 3-0, to move into sole possession of first place in the East Division… With a crowd of 14,725 on hand, Edmonton got a goal and two assists from J.J. Hunter, but it wasn’t enough as Cleveland posted a 4-3 win over the Road Runners… Cincinnati blew a three-goal lead, but Chris Kunitz scored in the final second of overtime to give the Mighty Ducks a 4-3 win over Houston… Cory Larose, Brad Larsen and Greg Hawgood each recorded a goal and an assist in Chicago’s 5-1 win over Utah… Dan Hamhuis got the overtime winner for Milwaukee in a 3-2 victory over St. John’s… Chris Higgins scored twice and Yann Danis made 43 saves as Hamilton defeated Manitoba, 4-2… Mike Souza and Dennis Bonvie scored third-period goals to rally Hershey past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2-1… Brian Willsie recorded a hat trick, Trent Whitfield dished out four assists and Kirk Daubenspeck made 33 saves as Portland beat Providence, 5-1… Brendan Yarema scored 4:02 into overtime, giving Bridgeport its second road OT win in as many nights, a 4-3 decision in Albany… Kip Miller scored at the 1:33 mark of overtime to lead Grand Rapids past San Antonio, 2-1.
