MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sam Kurker netted two goals, and the Manchester Monarchs beat the Norfolk Admirals 5-2 Friday night at SNHU Arena.
The Monarchs (13-7-1-1) defeated the Admirals (7-14-1-0) for the third time this season, and have now taken seven of a possible eight points from Norfolk this year.
The Admirals opened the scoring when Kenton Helgesen netted histhird goal of the year at 2:39 of the first period. Michael Young took a shot on net from the left-wing circle that bounced off Monarchs goaltender, Charles Williams. Darik Angeli tapped the rebound to Helgesen who snuck it past Williams to put the Admirals up, 1-0.
Kurker tied it up at 12:34 of the first period when he scored his seventh goal of the year. Matt Buckles fed Kurker a cross-ice pass at the blue line where the rookie forward drove to the net. Kurker set his edges with a defender on his back and snuck the puck around the left leg of Admirals goaltender Jamie Murray to tie the game at 1-1.
Buckles put the Monarchs ahead 2-1 at 15:52 in the first period when he scored his first goal of the season. Colton Saucerman took the puck on the blue line off a face-off and passed it up to Kurker at the top of the right circle. Kurker took a shot that tipped off Buckles’ stick and past Murray, to put the Monarchs up for the first time in the game.
Norfolk started the second period with a goal by TJ Melancon at 5:05, his third goal of the season. Max Cook passed the puck to Don Olivieri from the corner to the left of Williams, where Olivieri sent the puck along the blue line to Melancon. Melancon took a shot from just inside the blue line through traffic in front of Williams and into the back of the net, to make the score 2-2.
Kurker scored his second goal of the night at 19:46 of the second period to make the score 3-2. Zac Lynch got the puck to Kurker from the face-off, who passed it back to Saucerman on the blue line. Saucerman tapped the puck back to Kurker who took a shot from the high slot to beat Murray for his eighth goal of the season.
Matt Leitner netted his fourth goal of the season :57 seconds into the third period to put the Monarchs up 4-2. Joel Lowry passed the puck out of the defensive zone to Leitner who skated into the attacking zone where he fired a shot that bounced off Murray’s pads. Leitner grabbed the rebound and put the puck into the back of the net to double the Monarchs lead.
Michael Aagaard put the Monarchs up 5-2 at 18:16 of the third period. Lowry found the puck in the slot and passed it over to Spencer Watson who took a shot on net. Michael Aagaard snagged the rebound, did a full spin and beat Murray blocker side for his first goal of the season.
The Monarchs return to SNHU Arena on Dec. 9th at 6 p.m. when they host the Reading Royals to continue their three-game homestand in the Holiday Game. The Monarchs will wear ugly sweater jerseys on the ice and fans are encouraged to throw stuffed animals on the ice after the first Monarchs goal of the night for the annual Teddy Bear Toss. All stuffed animals will be donated to local charities for the holidays.
Notes: Sam Kurker and Colton Saucerman both recorded three points… Michael Aagaard and Matt Buckles made their Monarchs debuts… Matt Leitner scored his 30th career goal.
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