Monarchs Weekly Preview

 at 

Adirondack Thunder (30-16-2-3) at Monarchs (33-15-1-4)

February 24 – Verizon Wireless Arena

at 

Monarchs (33-15-1-4) at Norfolk Admirals (22-28-2-1)

February 26 & 27 – Norfolk Scope Arena

Media Contact:  Matt Johnson (mjohnson@manchestermonarchs.com)

GAMES

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 27, 7:15 p.m.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH ADIRONDACK

Last Game – 3-2 MCH, Jan. 24

This Season – 5-5-0-0

PREVIOUS MEETINGS WITH NORFOLK

Last Game – 5-4 NOR, Jan. 17

This Season – 5-0-1-1

WEEK IN REVIEW

The Monarchs played four games this week, all within the East Division, coming out with a 3-1-0-0 record.

Wednesday, the Monarchs traveled to Reading to face the Royals, winning the game, 4-3, in an overtime thriller.  The Monarchs fell behind 2-0 heading into the second period, but Danick Paquette cut the lead in half with his 7^th goal of the season. After another Reading goal, Matt Fornataro and Paquette scored to tie the game, and Alex Roach netted the game-winner in overtime.  Colin Stevens was between the pipes for the Monarchs, and made six saves in the overtime period to seal the win.

Friday, the Monarchs trounced the Royals, 5-2, in Reading. Manchester received goals from Paquette, Gasper Kopitar, Steven Hodges, Matt Leitner and Joey Diamond and strong play in net from Doug Carr, who was returned from loan by the Ontario Reign (AHL) that day.

Saturday, the Monarchs and Royals took their show to Manchester for the final game of the three-game series.  The Royals came away with the 4-3 win, with Monarchs goals coming from Leitner, Maxim Kitsyn and the 1^st career goal by Zach Leslie.

Sunday, the Monarchs welcomed the Elmira Jackals to the Jungle, taking the game 3-2. Kitsyn started the scoring in the first period, but two unanswered goals by Elmira had the Monarchs down to begin the third period. Michael Boivin scored the first home shorthanded goal of the season to tie the game and Alex Guptill scored the game-winner with 1:35 to play in regulation, giving the Monarchs their league-leading 9^th third period comeback victory on the season.

WHERE WE STAND

The Monarchs begin the week all alone in first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time this season with 71 points, one point in front of the Florida Everblades. Manchester leads the East division by six points over Adirondack and is 24 points clear of Norfolk. 

LEADING THE WAY

Matt Leitner continues to lead the Monarchs in scoring with 48 points on 12 goals and 36 assists.  Maxim Kitsyn is hot on his heels with 43 points on 22 goals and 21 assists.  Joey Diamond is locked in third place with 34 points on 10 goals and 24 assists.

SLIPPING THUNDER

The Monarchs will host the Adirondack Thunder on Wednesday night in a battle between the top two teams in the East Division.  After a hot start to the season, the Thunder have come back to earth, playing to a 4-5-0-1 record in their last 10 games, but may have turned it around, winning their last two.  Michael Kirkpatrick leads the Thunder in scoring with 42 points, 18 points in front of the next leading scorer, Ryan Constant.  The Monarchs have had their way with Adirondack of late, winning the last three contests between the two rivals.

ADMIRALS OR RECRUITS?

Manchester will travel to Virginia for two games over the weekend with the Norfolk Admirals. The Admirals find themselves with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, and scoring the second fewest goals in the East (145). The Admirals have been struggling recently, playing to a 4-5-1-0 record in their last 10 games. Norfolk has taken the last two games against the Monarchs after losing the first five contests.  Steven Whitney leads the Admirals with 40 points.

LEIT-NING STRIKE

Matt Leitner has been on fire, scoring points in five consecutive games (2g, 7a), and seven of his last eight (4g, 9a) after coming off a stretch of 13 games where he only scored six points (1g, 5a).  The rookie center begins the week leading all first-year players with 36 assists and sits 10^th in the ECHL with 48 points.

KITSYN THE STREAK ALIVE

Not to be outdone by Leitner, Maxim Kitsyn extended his point streak to 12 games last week, the third longest streak in the league this season, and longest active streak in the league.  During the 12 games, Kitsyn has scored 14 points on seven goals and seven assists.  Kitsyn has also scored in 18 of his last 19 games, posting 12 goals and 10 assists in that span.

NEVER SAY DIE

The Monarchs came back to win two games this past week, bumping their third period comeback victories to nine, tops in the ECHL.  Manchester has grabbed points in 50% of games they entered the final frame trailing, playing to a remarkable 9-11-1-1 record.  Wheeling has the second best percentage in the league, grabbing points in 36.3% of their games (5-14-2-1) when trailing into the third period.

TICKETS

The Monarchs return to the Jungle ice Wednesday, Feb. 24 (7 p.m.), when they host the Adirondack Thunder in an East Division showdown.

To purchase tickets, visit ManchesterMonarchs.com 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-

Photo Credit: Rich Tilton