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ECHL Manchester Monarchs

Monarchs Weekly Preview

March 13, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MONARCHS WEEKLY PREVIEW

GAMES

Friday, March 17, 7 p.m. - Atlanta Gladiators - SNHU Arena

Saturday, March 18, 6 p.m. - Atlanta Gladiators - SNHU Arena - Superhero Night

WEEK IN REVIEW The Monarchs played three games this past week going 0-3-0-0, including two losses at SNHU Arena.

Friday night, the Monarchs played host to division rival, the Adirondack Thunder, in game one of a home-and-home. Adirondack jumped out to an early lead at 3:11 of the first period with a goal by Brock Montgomery and never looked back. The Thunder added another goal in the second period and three more in the third, while Mason MacDonald stopped all 29 shots he faced on the way to shutting out the Monarchs in a 5-0 Thunder victory.

Saturday, the Monarchs traveled to Adirondack in hopes of rebounding after Friday night's game, but it was more of the same for Manchester, allowing six goals on 31 shots. Adirondack's Peter MacArthur struck first at 2:16 of the first period, before Ashton Rome responded just over a minute later to tie the game, 1-1. The Thunder took over from there, taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Manchester battled their way back to within a goal at 14:09 of the third period with a goal by Chris Leone making it 5-4, but MacArthur buried an empty-netter to finish the game off, 6-4.

Sunday night, the Norfolk Admirals made their way to Manchester and poured on the offense against the Monarchs in an 8-6 win. Despite the Monarchs scoring first, Norfolk responded with three first period goals, taking the 3-1 lead into the break. Down 4-2 in the second, Manchester once again battled back to take the lead 5-4 at 14:37 of the second period. The Admirals then added four goals in a row, including two by Joey Benik to complete a hat-trick, to make it, 8-5, Norfolk. A David Kolomatis goal with 41 seconds left in the game was too little, too late for the Monarchs who lost, 8-6.

PLAYOFF PICTURE The Monarchs (73 pts.) begin the week third in the North Division. They trail the second place Brampton Beast by two points and the first place Reading Royals by three points. Adirondack currently sits fourth, one point behind the Monarchs and four points out of first place. If the playoffs were to start today, Manchester, as the three-seed, would travel to second seeded Brampton in the first round.

The four-point spread between the top four teams in the North Division is the tightest race in the league by far. The other division leaders, the Florida Everblades, Toledo Walleye and Colorado Eagles have point leads of 15, 23 and 18 respectively over the fourth-place teams in their division.

LEADING THE WAY The Monarchs leading scorer is Matt Leitner with 53 points on 14 goals and 39 assists through his 50 games. Leitner leads the team in assists, while Daniel Doremus is second with 33. Joey Diamond continues to pace the Monarchs goal scoring, with 20 on the season.

INSTANT INPACT The Monarchs acquired Peter Leblanc, Chris Leone and Colton Saucerman at the Trade Deadline (Mar. 9), and the trio has already made a good impression. Leblanc, the former University of New Hampshire captain, has posted two assists in two games, including his 185th professional point, Leone has scored two points (1g, 1a) in three games, while Saucerman, a graduate of Northeastern University, has added an assist in his three games while contributing to both special teams units.

FORGET YOU

The Monarchs came out of last weekend with a 0-3-0-0 record, with two of those losses coming against their division rival, the Adirondack Thunder. The Monarchs allowed 19 goals through the three games, averaged 6.33 goals against per game and were outscored, 19-10, on the weekend.

NOT QUITE AT HOME

Despite having a division leading, 20 home victories to go along with a 20-8-3-1 record at SNHU Arena, the Monarchs currently have dropped three-straight home losses, the longest home losing streak of the season. Dating back to Feb. 26th, a 7-2 loss to the Alaska Aces, Manchester hasn't been able to pick up a win on home ice. They have been outscored 20-8 in those three games, with their goaltenders combining for a .813 save percentage and a 6.66 goals against average.

EXPECTING SOME GOALS

The Monarchs and the Gladiators will meet for the first time this season for a two-game series in Manchester this weekend. Both teams find themselves near the bottom of the league in goals against this season, with Atlanta ranked 25th with 3.91 goals against per game and Manchester ranked 20th at 3.59. Meanwhile, both teams are in the top half of the league in goals scored, with Manchester 5th at 3.72 goals per game and Atlanta 12th at 3.42. The Gladiators are the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins.

TICKETS The Monarchs return to SNHU Arena ice Friday, Mar. 17 (7 p.m.) when they host the Atlanta Gladiators on St. Patrick's Day!

Join the Monarchs for Superhero Night on Saturday, Mar. 18 (6 p.m.), when the Monarchs take on the Atlanta Gladiators in the second game of the two-game series.

To purchase tickets, click HERE or contact the Front Office at 603-626-7825! Visit us at ManchesterMonarchs.com, follow the team on Twitter: @MonarchsHockey, and like us on Facebook for additional information.

-Monarchs-

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