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Monthly award winners named for March

Photos: Laval Rocket, Scott Thomas, Ross Dettman

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Laval Rocket forward Chris Terry, Syracuse Crunch forward Mathieu Joseph and Chicago Wolves goaltender Oscar Dansk have been selected as the league’s award winners for March.

Terry, the CCM/AHL Player of the Month, tallied seven goals and 14 assists for a league-leading 21 points in 16 games for Laval during March.

Terry picked up a point on 21 of the Rocket’s 39 goals scored during the month (53.8 percent), putting together a six-game scoring streak from Mar. 2-10 and a seven-game run from Mar. 16-30. He notched a goal and an assist in a 5-4 overtime win at Syracuse on Mar. 3, and scored the game-winner in a 4-3 OT victory over Belleville on Mar. 10. Terry had a pair of three-point games during the month – registering a goal and two assists each on Mar. 7 vs. Providence and Mar. 16 at Utica – and scored his first shorthanded goal of the season on Mar. 30 at Binghamton.

Terry enters the final two weeks of the regular season ranked second in the AHL in scoring with 66 points and tied for fourth with 29 goals in 57 games for Laval. The ninth-year pro from Brampton, Ont., has recorded 180 goals and 255 assists for 435 points in 495 career AHL games with Laval, St. John’s, Charlotte and Albany. He played in his third AHL All-Star Classic earlier this season, and last week was named Laval’s team winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his community work in 2017-18. Drafted by Carolina in 2007 and signed as a free agent by Montreal in 2016, Terry has recorded 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points in 152 career National Hockey League games with the Hurricanes and the Canadiens.

Joseph, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, registered five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 12 games for Syracuse in March.

Joseph had a two-goal effort in a 4-2 win over Rochester on Mar. 10, and extended his scoring streak to seven games with an assist in a 6-2 win at Binghamton on Mar. 14. His three assists on Mar. 17 vs. Laval were a personal best for the season, and he matched it with another three-assist performance on Mar. 28 vs. Binghamton. Joseph added a goal and an assist in the Crunch’s 4-1 victory over Belleville on Mar. 30 and finished tied for the team scoring lead during a month in which Syracuse went 9-2-1-1.

A fourth-round selection by Tampa Bay in the 2015 NHL Draft, Joseph is tied for third among all AHL rookies in scoring this season with 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists) in 66 games with Syracuse. The 21-year-old native of Laval, Que., played four seasons of junior hockey with Saint John (QMJHL) and won a silver medal with Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Dansk, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month, was 6-1-2 in nine starts for Chicago during March, allowing just 16 goals on 273 shots for a 1.75 goals-against average, a .941 save percentage and one shutout to help the Wolves move to the top of the Central Division.

Dansk began the month with 28 saves in a 3-0 win at San Antonio, the first shutout of his AHL career. He stopped 30 shots in a 4-3 win in Milwaukee on Mar. 9, and his 37 saves helped Chicago earn a point in a 2-1 overtime loss to Rockford on Mar. 11. Dansk made 30 saves and denied all three shootout attempts as the Wolves beat Grand Rapids, 3-2, on Mar. 25, and he turned aside 27 of 28 shots in a 3-1 win over Iowa on Mar. 28.

Dansk has a record of 10-1-3 in 14 outings for the Wolves this season, with a 2.30 GAA and a .923 save percentage. The 24-year-old native of Stockholm, Sweden, also made his NHL debut with Vegas and appeared in four games with the Golden Knights, going 3-0-0 with a 1.78 GAA, a .946 save percentage and one shutout. A second-round pick (31st overall) by Columbus in the 2012 NHL Draft, Dansk signed with Vegas as a free agent on July 3, 2017, after spending the previous two seasons with Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League.

Each monthly award winner will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game in recognition of his achievement.