
Monarchs Weekly Preview
March 21, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Monarchs played two games this past week, and came out with a 0-1-1-0 record in the final two regular season games against the Elmira Jackals.
Friday night, the Monarchs fell, 4-2, in Elmira. The Jackals received three goals in a 1:32 span and never looked back. Zac Larraza got the Monarchs on the board with his 16th goal of the season early in the second period, but Elmira struck back to push their lead back to three goals heading into the third period. Nicholas Kuqali added the final goal of the game, the first ECHL goal of his career.
Saturday, the Monarchs couldn't hold on to a third period lead, and eventually dropped an overtime thriller, 4-3. Goals from Matt Fornataro, Maxim Kitsyn and newcomer, Kevin Morris, gave the Monarchs a lead, but Elmira struck back and netted the game winner in overtime, bringing the Monarchs record against the Jackals to 6-4-0-1 on the season.
WHERE WE STAND
The Monarchs (83 points) begin the week leading the East Division by seven points over Adirondack, 10 points in front of Reading and 38 points clear of Brampton. Manchester sits four points behind Eastern Conference leading, Toledo, and is now in third place in the conference.
LEADING THE WAY
The Monarchs are being paced by a career year from Maxim Kitsyn. Entering the week, Kitsyn has a career-high 48 points, and his 24 goals are only two behind his high-water mark from last season. Joey Diamond sits in second place on the Monarchs scoring list with 45 points and leads all active Monarchs with 27 assists. Derek Arnold (16g, 14a) and Gasper Kopitar (8g, 22a) are tied for 3rd in scoring with 30 points each.
IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME
The Brampton Beast come to town for the second time this season, with the first ever meeting between Manchester and Brampton coming on Opening Night, Oct. 16. The Monarchs took that game but have split last four, coming out with a 3-2-0-0 record against their foes from the North Division. Brampton comes to town in last place in the Eastern Conference with 45 points, and is second to last in the ECHL, only ahead of the Wichita Thunder. As of now, Brampton is tied for the most road losses across the ECHL (19), and their seven road victories are tied for the fewest in the league. The Beast will come to Manchester with the most goals allowed in the ECHL (227) and the second fewest goals scored (150) in the league.
TROUBLE READING
The Monarchs will travel to Reading for the final time this season to take on a Royals team that has given them fits all season. Reading checks in as the only team in the ECHL with a winning record against the Monarchs (5-3-1-0), and Manchester has dropped the last three contests between the two teams. The Monarchs do hold a 2-1-0-0 record at Santander Arena, winning the last two games in Reading, and the Royals have struggled at home, playing to a 13-13-3-1 home record, the third-fewest home victories across the league.
RACE FOR THE EAST
The Monarchs will make a stop in Adirondack on Saturday night before returning home, taking on the Thunder for the 13th time this season. The Monarchs hold a 6-5-1-0 record against their closest East Division rival, and will begin a stretch playing Adirondack in three of their last five games of the regular season. Despite dropping their last meeting, the Monarchs are 4-1-0-0 in the last five games against the Thunder. The final three games against the Thunder will likely produce an East Division winner and a top-3 seed in the playoffs.
IT'S SPECIAL
The Monarchs power play has been rolling lately, netting at least one PPG in the last seven games. The Monarchs hold the 4th overall power play (19.2%) in the ECHL, and the 2nd ranked road power play (22.0%) will come in handy as the team plays five of its last seven games away from the Verizon Wireless Arena.
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF
The Monarchs roster has been fluid all season, but this past week, the team featured four new players.
Kevin Morris scored his first professional goal in his first professional game Saturday night in Elmira, after his season with Miami (OH) finished. Morris is the son Mark Morris, the winningest head coach in Monarchs franchise history.
Jonathan Parker also made his Monarchs debut in Elmira after being signed Friday. Parker played in 55 ECHL games before coming to Manchester with the Royals, Allen Americans and Beast, scoring 28 points on 11 goals and 17 assists.
Castan Sommer joined the team after his season with Holy Cross ended. Sommer is the son of former Worcester Sharks (AHL) and current San Jose Barracuda (AHL) coach, Roy Sommer.
Finally, the team welcomed Craig Wyszomirski to the ECHL after his Hockey East season with Merrimack College ended. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound defenseman signed an ATO with the team, but after one game, signed an SPC.
TICKETS
The Monarchs return to the Jungle ice Wednesday, Mar. 23 (7 p.m.), when they host the Brampton Beast for the final time in the regular season.
To purchase tickets, visit ManchesterMonarchs.com or contact the Front Office at 603-626-7825!
GAMES
Wednesday, Mar. 23, 7 p.m. - Brampton Beast - Verizon Wireless Arena
Friday, Mar. 25, 7 p.m. - Reading Royals - Santander Arena
Saturday, Mar. 26, 7 p.m. - Adirondack Thunder - Glens Falls Civic Center
Images from this story
![]() Manchester Monarchs in Action |
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