IceCaps continue to struggle after 4-1 loss to Monarchs as Jones makes 37 saves

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The St. John's IceCaps threw everything they had, from bodies to pucks, at the net Saturday night and they still lost.

Martin Jones made 37 saves as the Manchester Monarchs defeated the IceCaps 4-1 in American Hockey League action Saturday night.

"I wish I could tell you what the problem is," said IceCaps captain Jason Jaffray. "I thought we out-played them for most of the game, we out-chanced them, but at the end of the day, we got another loss under our belts.

Bryan Rodney, Hunter Bishop and Andrew Bodnarchuk scored for Manchester (26-24-6). Linden Vey had a goal and an assist.

Aaron Gagnon had the lone goal for St. John's (23-31-4).

IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge said the team is working hard despite their frustration, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

"That's everything we've got," said IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge. "That's everything we've got, laying it out there."

St. John's was energized when goaltender Eddie Pasquale was run by the Monarchs' Stefan Legein. The IceCaps peppered Manchester starter Martin Jones with shots, but could not solve him with the man advantage.

The period closed with the Monarchs getting on the board with just four seconds left in the period.

Rodney snuck in from the right point without a man marking him, and fired home a shot over Pasquale.

McCambridge thought the IceCaps found themselves down in the second period, despite playing a much stronger period than their opposition.

"Guys are blocking shots, finishing checks, playing hard," said McCambridge. "Can't fault the effort, their goaltender was good and I thought Manchester played a strong game. We out-shot them 15-4 in the second period and we're down one goal."

The IceCaps went to work to start the third period, and a beautiful give-and-go tied the game at 2:06.

Gagnon drop-passed the puck to Jason Jaffray, who found Gagnon waiting at the back post for the tip-in, which Jones narrowly missed.

The Monarchs took the lead back at 9:35 when Bishop scored on a two-on-one short-handed effort.

Manchester added to their lead with a goal from Vey at 11:04. Monarchs forward Bodnarchuk put it away at 19:52 with an empty-net goal.

Jaffray said the team needs every point they can get to remain in the playoff race, and the losses at home have been hurting their case.

"You hope this time of the year, when you're in the home stretch, those are the kinds of games that you need to grind out," said Jaffray. "You need to get those points to climb back into the playoff race and right now it's just not good enough."

Pasquale finished with 19 saves. St. John's was 0 for 7 on the power play and Manchester was 0 for 5.