Playoff Preview - Round 1 - North Division Semi-Finals
April 10, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Manchester Monarchs finished the 2017-18 regular season in second place in the North Division, drawing a first round playoff matchup with the three-seed Reading Royals. The Monarchs finished the season with a record of 41-25-3-3, their most wins since joining the ECHL three seasons ago. Manchester finds themselves in the playoffs for the 16th time in their 17 seasons of professional hockey.
The Series
The best-of-seven series will begin Friday, Apr. 13 (7 p.m.) in Manchester, N.H. at SNHU Arena as the Monarchs host the Royals for Game 1. Game 2 will be played on Saturday, Apr. 14 (6 p.m.) at SNHU Arena. The series will then shift to Reading, Pa. for three games on Monday, Apr. 16 (7 p.m.), Wednesday, Apr. 18 (7 p.m.) and Thursday, Apr. 19 (7 p.m.), before returning to Manchester for the final two games on Saturday, Apr. 21 (6 p.m.) and Tuesday, Apr. 24 (7 p.m.). Games five through seven will be played if necessary.
The Matchup
When the Monarchs were founded in 2001, the Royals became their ECHL affiliate until the 2008 season. This marks the first time these two teams have played against each other in the playoffs. In the regular season matchup against the Royals, the Monarchs won the season series with a record of 4-3-0-2. The Monarchs averaged 3.57 goals per game and 2.97 goals against per game, while the Royals averaged 3.22 goals per game and 2.76 goals against per game.
The Royals
The Reading Royals finished the 2018 campaign with a 39-24-9-0 record, one point behind the Monarchs. The Royals posted a division best 24-10-2-0 record on home ice this season. Reading was the least penalized team this season, averaging 9.14 penalty minutes per game, while recording only 18 fighting majors all season. Reading led the league, scoring the first goal 46 times this season, going 32-9-5-0 when lighting the lamp first, but going 7-15-4-0 when the opponent scores first.
Players To Watch For
Matt Willows led the Royals with 74 points on the season, scoring 32 goals and 42 assists, ranking 3rd in the league in points and 6th in the league in goals scored. John Muse will likely get the most time in net against the Monarchs, despite playing in only 26 games for the Royals this season, as he ranked 7th in the league with a 2.24 goals against average and 2nd in the league with a .931 save percentage. Muse also played in 15 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL), posting a 2.46 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. Muse was also called up by the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) this season but did not record any playing time.
Playoff Experience
The Monarchs have 10 players on the active playoff roster with playoff experience and a total of 290 professional playoff games played. David Kolomatis (65), Ashton Rome (39), Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman (37), Colton Saucerman (34), Matt Leitner (23), Craig Wyszomirski (22), Kevin Morris (19), Alexx Privitera (17), Zac Lynch (17) and Cory Ward (17) have all registered playoff games in their career. The Royals have 13 players on their active playoff roster with playoff experience and a total of 140 professional playoff games played. Mark Dekanich (23), Tyler Brown (21), Nolan Zajac (16), John Muse (14), Charlie Vasaturo (12), Matt Willows (12) Chase Golightly (11), Nick Luukko (8), Chris McCarthy (6), Ryan Penny (6), Steven Swavely (5), Matt Wilkins (4) and Michael Huntebrinker (2) all have playoff experience.
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