Backman's Goal the Difference in 2-1 Win at Worcester
January 2, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - The Monarchs started 2015 with a 2-1 win over Worcester at the DCU Center on Friday night. Zach O'Brien and Sean Backman scored Manchester's only goals in its second straight victory.
The Monarchs (24-7-1-1) have now won all six of their games against the Sharks (13-14-3-1) this season.
Brian O'Neill, who was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month before the game, registered his team-high 31st assist of the season on Backman's goal. O'Neill now has at least one point in nine of his last 10 games beginning on Dec. 13 (3 goals, 16 assists).
O'Brien put the Monarchs on the board at 12:00 in the second period when he stole the puck in the offensive zone and finished on a backhander. It was O'Brien's eighth goal of the season.
With Manchester on the power play, Backman scored on a rebound opportunity at 7:24 in the third to make it 2-0
Willie Coetzee cut the lead to 2-1 when he scored at 13:23 in the third period. It was the first goal allowed by J.F. Berube since the third period of Manchester's game against Providence on Dec. 27.
Worcester pulled Troy Grosenick with just over a minute remaining in the third, but couldn't get the tying goal.
The Monarchs will be off tomorrow before returning to the ice on Sunday for a 3 p.m. game at Springfield. Their next home game will be on Jan. 10 when they host Binghamton at 7 p.m.
Notes:
* J.F. Berube has won each of his last nine starts and earned his AHL-leading 19th victory of the season. He made 22 saves on 23 shots. * The Monarchs improved to 19-0-0-0 when leading after two periods this season. * Manchester is 17-3-0-0 this year when scoring first. * Sean Backman has tallied a point in three of his last four games, with two goals and an assist in that stretch.
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