Monarchs Game Day Capsule
January 24, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
WHERE WE STAND
The Monarchs look to close out the weekend by jumping Adirondack for first place in the East Division standings. Heading into this afternoons tilt with the Thunder, the Monarchs have won the previous two meetings to pull even in the points with 53. Both the Monarchs and Thunder are 8 points clear of the Elmira Jackals in the Division standings going into today.
THERE'S A STORM BREWING
The Monarchs will close out there weekend series with the Adirondack Thunder this afternoon. Manchester has taken the first two games of the series and is now tied with the Thunder for most points in the Division. Manchester has improved their record against Adirondack to 4-5-0-0 this season.
LEADING THE WAY
Matt Leitner continues to lead the Monarchs in scoring with 35 points on eight goals and 27 assists. Leitner sits third in scoring amongst ECHL rookie skaters and third in assists for first year players. Maxim Kitsyn sits second on the Monarchs roster in scoring with 29 points (15g, 14a) and Yann Sauve remains third in Monarchs scoring with 24 points (5g, 19a).
Colin Stevens picked up his eight win of the season on Saturday night, stopping 39-of-40 shots faced. Stevens improved his record to 8-5-1 with a 2.51 GAA, and a 0.913 save percentage.
HITTING MILESTONES
Stefan Legein played in his 300th professional game on Saturday night. Legein has played pro games for the Syracuse Crunch (AHL), Adirondack Phantoms (AHL), Manchester Monarchs (AHL), and Toronto Marlies (AHL), with a stop with the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL) mixed in before returning to Manchester.
Matt MacKenzie also reached a games played milestone, playing in his 200th career game in his 5th professional season. This season marks MacKenzie's first with the Monarchs while previously playing for the Elmira Jackals (ECHL), Rochester Americans (AHL), Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL) and Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL).
Finally, Danick Paquette notched his 60th professional goal and 130th career point with his tally Sunday afternoon, hitting the milestone in his 266th professional game to go along with 1046 penalty minutes in his six-year career.
LEADING IN SHOTS
The Monarchs continue to lead the ECHL in shots on goal, entering this afternoon with 1451 pucks on net in their 41 games, an average of 35.4 shots/game. Maxim Kitsyn leads all Monarchs with 134 tries on goal (4th in the ECHL), with Michael Boivin (106) sitting alone in 4th place amongst ECHL defensemen in shots.
FRONT RUNNING ISN'T A BAD THING
The Monarchs have scored first in only 18 of their 41 games, but when they do, points usually follow. The Monarchs head into their final game of the weekend with a 14-2-0-2 (30 pts.) record when scoring the first goal of the game, which comes to a .833 points percentage. Compared to the rest of the ECHL, the Monarchs are 4th overall in points percentage when going ahead first in a game.
Adirondack Thunder (25-10-1-2) at Monarchs (24-12-1-4)
Sunday, January 24, 2016 - 3 p.m. - Verizon Wireless Arena
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Last Game - 2-1 W, MCH, Jan. 23
All-Time - 4-5-0-0
MONARCHS POINTS LEADERS
Matt Leitner: 35 points (8g, 27a)
Maxim Kitsyn: 29 points (15g, 14a)
Yann Sauve: 24 points (5g, 19a)
MONARCHS GOALTENDING LEADERS
Doug Carr: 4-1-0-4, 2.10 GAA, 0.939 save %
Colin Stevens: 8-5-1-0, 2.51 GAA, 0.913 save %
THUNDER POINTS LEADERS
Michael Kirkpatrick: 31 points (14g, 17a)
Mitchell Heard: 28 points (10g, 18a)
Ryan Constant: 22 points (5g, 17a)
THUNDER GOALTENDING LEADERS
Ken Appleby: 14-8-1-1, 2.22 GAA, 0.925 save %
Kent Simpson: 5-1-0-1, 2.26 GAA, 0.927 save %
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