MANCHESTER, NH – The Newfoundland Growlers took game three of the North Division Finals by a score of 4-2 over the Manchester Monarchs Tuesday night at the SNHU Arena to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. 
The Growlers scored first as Giorgio Estephan got his stick on a Sam Jardine point shot to redirect the puck behind Monarchs goalie Charles Williams with just 1:30 left in the opening period.
Just five and a half minutes into the second period, Scott Pooley finished off a 3-on-2 play by snapping a saucer pass by Josh Kestner into the Manchester goal. Growlers goalie Michael Garteig stopped all 19 shots he faced in 40 minutes of play to secure the Growlers a 2-0 lead to start the third.
The Growlers added their third straight goal, off the stick of Matt Bradley that handcuffed Williams from a distance to give the Growlers a 3-0 lead with just under four minutes left in the third period.
Garteig had his shutout bid broken when the Monarchs finally snuck the puck by him with two late game goals from Kevin Dufour and Michael Doherty. The Growlers netminder finished the game with 39 saves. Zach O’Brien added the final Growlers goal with an empty net tally to secure a 4-2 win.
Quick Hits: Zach O’Brien scored his team-leading 5th goal of the postseason… Matt Bradley netted his first career playoff goal… The three stars were 3 – K. Dufour (MAN), 2 – G. Estephan (NFL) and 1 – M. Garteig (NFL)
What’s Next: The series stays in Manchester for game four Wednesday night at the SNHU Arena. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m. Newfoundland time (7 p.m. Eastern time).
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