ORLANDO, FLA – The calendar has turned from 2016 to 2017 which means that the race begins for playoff positions. There were some teams that were red hot during the opening week of the new year while others hit a bump in the road.
Manchester Monarchs (21-10-1-2, 45 points)
The Monarchs spent the first week of the new year in Florida taking on Orlando and Florida. In four contests, they picked up one win and three total points.
Tuesday in Orlando, Manchester got goals from Kevin Morris, Gasper Kopitar and Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman during regulation to push the host Solar Bears to extra hockey. Joe Diamond and Derek Arnold both scored in the shootout with Armold’s tally giving the Monarchs a 4-3 win. The next night in Estero, LaVallee-Smotherman netted a pair of goals while Cory Ward and Matt Leitner had one each but Manchester fell to the Everblades in a shootout.
Game two against Florida on Friday saw David Kolomatis light the goal light and goalie Sam Brittain make 32 saves in a 3-1 loss. The week ended on Saturday with Morris and Diamond each hitting the back of the net but again it was not enough as the Monarchs lost 3-2.
Next Up: Friday – at Adirondack, Saturday – Adirondack
Brampton Beast (19-11-2-2, 42 points)
The new calendar year did not start off well for the Beast. Brampton secured just one point in three games.
Friday against Kalamazoo, the Beast fell behind early and never recovered as they lost 5-2. Daulton Leveille and Chris Auger took care of the offense with a goal apiece. On Saturday in Toledo, goalie Andrew D’Agostini was the lone bright spot as he made 35 saves in a 4-0 loss to the Walleye.
Back at home to take on the K-Wings again on Sunday, Chris Leveille and David Pacan each scored – Pacan’s coming with 31 seconds left in regulation – as the Beast took Kalamazoo to overtime. Unfortunately for Brampton, the K-Wings came up with the winning goal in the extra period.
Next Up: Friday – at Kalamazoo, Saturday – Toledo, Sunday – Toledo
Reading Royals (19-12-1-1, 40 points)
The Royals ushered in 2017 with a pair of home games. Reading fans saw their heroes split the games down the middle with a win and a loss.
Friday night against Adirondack, Chris McCarthy and Steven Swavely handled the offense with a goal each and netminder Martin Ouellette stopped 36 shots. Unfortunately on this night, the visiting Thunder had more offense as the Royals lost 4-2.
Saturday’s rematch was another tight affair but this time it was the Royals who came away with a 4-3 victory. Ryan Penny, Matt Wilkins and Ian Watters each posted a goal and an assist while Derek Johnson tallied the fourth Reading score.
Next Up: Friday – at Elmira, Saturday – at Elmira
Adirondack Thunder (16-10-2-3, 37 points)
The Thunder opened 2017 on the road for three contests. The results were less than appealing as Adirondack won only one of the games.
Wednesday in Norfolk, Adirondack fell behind early before goals by Mikkel Aagaard and Ty Loney evened the score. Despite 37 saves from J.P. Anderson, the Thunder lost 4-2. On Friday in Reading, goals by Nick Bligh and Loney had the Thunder in a tie before Dennis Kravchenko and Alex Wall broke it open as Adirondack won 4-2.
The week closed with a Saturday rematch against the Royals that did not go the way Adirondack wanted. Despite goals from Bligh, Greg Wolfe and Gunnar Hughes, the Thunder fell 4-3 to the Royals
Next Up: Tuesday – Elmira, Friday – Manchester, Saturday – at Manchester
Wheeling Nailers (16-12-3-0, 35 points)
Wheeling started the new year at home, splitting two games but picking up three points.
On Friday against Toledo, the Nailers put on an offensive and defensive show as the blanked the Walleye 6-0. Nick Sorkin and Garrett Meurs both scored twice while Ryan Segalla and Jordan Kwas chipped in one each. Goalie Sean Maguire was perfect in net, stopping all 25 shots he faced.
Cincinnati arrived in Wheeling on Saturday and proved they were as tough as nails by beating their hosts 3-2 in overtime. Gage Quinney and Meurs had the goals for the Nailers.
Next Up: Wednesday – Toledo, Friday – at Toledo, Saturday – Kalamazoo, Sunday – Kalamazoo
Elmira Jackals (7-19-5-0, 19 points)
The Jackals were on the road with a pair of games against Norfolk. Elmira did not fare well, falling in both contests.
Goalie Andy Iles was the main story on Friday against the Admirals. He faced 50 shots on net and stopped 47 of them to give the Jackals a chance. Unfortunately only Steven Kaunisto found the back of the net as Elmira lost 4-1.
The next night, Iles again was a bright spot, making 26 saves. His teammates did not give him any help as Norfolk came away with a 3-0 win.
Next Up: Tuesday – at Adirondack, Friday – Reading, Saturday – Reading
Florida Everblades (23-7-1-2, 49 points)
The Everblades solidified their place as the best team in the Eastern conference by sweeping a three-game set from the North division leading Manchester Monarchs.
Wednesday’s series opener was a wild affair that saw Florida fall behind before making a big comeback to tie and then win 5-4 in a shootout. Brendan O’Donnell scored twice in regulation and Michael Kirkpatrick and Matt Berry added one each before Kirkpatrick netted the penalty shot winner.
On Friday, Kirkpatrick, O’Donnell and Berry posted a goal each and goalie Anthony Peters made 19 saves in a 3-1 victory. Evan Bloodoff, Mike Ferrantino and Brant Harris handled the scoring while Peters made another 24 stops as the Everblades completed the sweep by edging the Monarchs 3-2.
Next Up: Wednesday – South Carolina, Friday – South Carolina, Saturday – South Carolina
South Carolina Stingrays (20-11-1-1, 42 points)
The Stingrays moved into second in the division ahead of Orlando (based on wins) by winning all four games during the week.
Tuesday against Tulsa, the Oilers scored first but the Stingrays answered with the last four to claim a 4-1 win. Derek DeBlois, Marcus Perrier, Rob Flick and Joe Devin each lit the goal light once while goalie Parker Milner made 19 saves. Milner starred in Friday’s game with Greenville, stopping all 20 shots in a 3-0 victory. Flick netted a pair of goals and Olivier Archambault scored one for the Stingrays.
Saturday night in Greenville, DeBlois and Tim McGauley contributed a goal each in regulation before Archambault scored the shootout winner as South Carolina won 3-2. Archambault and Dominic Monardo provided the offense on Sunday against Atlanta while Jordan Ruby made 18 saves as the Stingrays edged the Gladiators 2-1.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Florida, Friday – at Florida, Saturday – at Florida
Orlando Solar Bears (18-12-4-2, 42 points)
The Solar Bears opened 2017 with four games on the schedule, winning just one of them and picking up a third point in a shootout loss.
At home on Tuesday against Manchester, Alex Gacek scored twice and Brenden Miller scored for the third time in as many games in regulation. The game went to a shootout where Austin Block scored but the visiting Monarchs scored twice to win 4-3. Orlando then headed west to face the Colorado Eagles in a trio of contests. In Friday’s first meeting, the Solar Bears trailed 4-1 in the third period before scoring three unanswered goal to take a 4-3 win. Nik Brouillard, Denver Manderson, Gacek and Miller were the goal scorers for Orlando.
Saturday’s second contest saw the Solar Bears fall behind and never recover as they lost 4-2. The two Orlando goals came off the sticks of Miller and Eric Baier. Sunday’s rubber game was not a good one for Orlando. After newcomer Darik Angeli scored his first as a Solar Bear, the Eagles scored five unanswered to take the series with a 5-1 final.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Alaska, Friday – at Alaska, Saturday – at Alaska
Greenville Swamp Rabbits (17-14-2-1, 37 points)
The Swamp Ranbits hopped into the new year on an unlucky foot, dropping all three games during the week but picking up a point in a shootout loss.
In Friday’s game against South Carolina, Greenville goalie Mackenzie Skapski was the lone bright spot, making 21 saves in a 3-0 loss.
Saturday’s rematch with the Stingrays in Greenville saw Trevor Gerling and Paul Zanette each score to get the Swamp Rabbits into overtime before they lost 3-2 in a shootout. Back at home on Sunday against Tulsa, Gerling and Joe Houk found the back of the net but it was not enough as Greenville fell to the Oilers 6-2.
Next Up: Wednesday – Atlanta, Friday –Â Norfolk, Saturday – Norfolk, Sunday – Cincinnati
Cincinnati Cyclones (16-13-4-0, 36 points)
The Cyclones had themselves a good week, winning all three road games on their schedule.
Wednesday at Wichita, the Cyclones trailed 2-1 before putting up three straight goals to win 4-3. Jordan Sims scored twice while Colin Mulvey and Peter Leblanc netted one each. On Friday Cincinnati visited Quad City and led by goalie Mark Visentin’s 25 save effort, shut out the Mallards 4-0. Brandon McNally led the offense with two goals and an assist while Shane Walsh added a goal and two assists to the cause. Nick Huard scored the fourth goal for the Cyclones.
Sunday in Wheeling, Visentin won his third game of the week by making 29 saves in a 3-2 overtime victory. Walsh scored once but it was Jaynen Rissling who was the hero, netting a pair of scores including the game winner 1:09 into the extra period.
Next Up: Wednesday – Quad City, Saturday – at Atlanta, Sunday – at Greenville
Atlanta Gladiators (14-16-4-1, 33 points)
The Gladiators started 2017 with three games at home, taking the first two before falling to South Carolina.
Thursday saw the Gladiators host Tulsa for the first of two meetings. After going down by a goal, Atlanta scored three straight and hung on for a 3-2 win. Brock Higgs scored twice and Thomas Frazee added one while Matt Ginn made 40 saves between the pipes. The next night saw the home team score three in the first period on the way to a 5-3 victory. Higgs, Derek Nesbitt, Trevor Mingoia, Cason Hohmann and Justin Buzzeo scored the goals for the Gladiators.
Mingoia scored the lone Atlanta goal on Sunday and Ginn stopped 30 shots but the Gladiators came out on the short end of a 2-1 final against South Carolina.
Next Up: Wednesday – at Greenville, Saturday – Cincinnati
Norfolk Admirals (9-20-4-0, 22 points)
The Admirals started the new year on a hot streak, winning all three of their games during the week.
Wednesday against Adirondack, Norfolk jumped out to a lead, saw the Thunder come back to tie before scoring the final two to grab a 4-2 victory. Brodie Dupont, Nick MacNeil, John Dunbar and Jaedon Descheneau each lit the goal light for the Admirals while goalie Brandon Anderson made 34 saves.
Elmira then visited Norfolk for a pair of games. In Friday’s contest, the Admirals fell behind but scored four unanswered goals to win 4-1. MacNeil, Descheneau, Paul Rodrigues and Frankie Simonelli accounted for the goals while Anderson stopped 22 of 23 shots. Anderson was even better on Saturday as he made 30 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over the Jackals. Dupont scored twice for the Admirals and Descheneau added the third for the winners.
Next Up: Friday – at Greenville, Saturday – at Greenville
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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