READING, PA – The Manchester Monarchs received two goals from Joey Diamond, and beat the Reading Royals, 6-4, Saturday night at the Santander Arena. With the win the Monarchs took sole possession of second place in the North Division.
The Monarchs (7-4-0-1) have now taken both games against the Royals (6-5-0-1) so far this season, and look to continue their flawless record against Reading as the two teams face-off three times this week, beginning Wednesday morning.
After a scoreless first period, Mike Pereira broke the ice for the Royals when he netted his fourth goal of the season just :58 seconds into the second period. Pereira drove down the left wing and sent a wrister over the right shoulder of Monarchs goaltender, Sam Brittain, to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Justin Gutierrez brought the Monarchs back to even when he scored his third goal of the season just :15 seconds after Pereira’s goal. Gutierrez made a quick forehand-to-backhand deke while on the doorstep in front of Reading goaltender, Martin Ouellette, and buried the puck to tie the game, 1-1.
Reading took the lead back when Ryan Penny scored a short-handed goal, his fourth of the season at 2:11 of the middle frame. Penny took a clearing attempt and went in on a partial breakaway, and beat Brittain with a backhand-to-forehand deke to give the Royals a 2-1 lead.
The Monarchs tied the game again when Quentin Shore scored his fifth goal of the season while on the power play at 2:45 of the second period. Joey Diamond dug the puck out from behind the Royals cage and found Shore just inside the right dot where he beat Ouellette high glove to make the score, 2-2.
Manchester took its first lead of the game when Teddy Doherty netted his first goal of the season at18:58 of the second period. While on the power play, the Monarchs ran a backdoor play where Daniel Doremus found Doherty sneaking in from the point, and the defensemen sent a one-timed shot into an open net to make the score, 3-2, Monarchs.
Daniel Ciampini made the score 4-2 when he scored his fifth goal of the season at 6:09 of the third period. Ciampini took a short pass from behind the net by Alex Guptill and lifted a quick shot under the blocker of Ouellette to extend the Monarchs advantage.
Matt Wilkins brought the Royals to within one when he scored his second goal of the season at 11:37 of the final frame. Wilkins found the puck on his stick off a ricochet, skated towards the left dot and sent a wrister across the grain to beat the glove of Brittain, making it a 4-3 game.
Diamond gave the Monarchs their two-goal advantage back when he netted his fifth goal of the season at 11:57 of the third period. Diamond sent what seemed like a harmless shot in on Ouellette, but the puck had eyes and beat the Royals goaltender to give the Monarchs a 5-3 lead.
The Royals wouldn’t go quietly as Kevin Sundher scored his third goal of the season at 19:03 of the third period. While skating 6-on-4 with the goalie pulled, Sundher sent a shot on goal from the low slot and beat Brittain through a sea of bodies to the blocker side, making the score 5-4.
The Monarchs iced the game when Diamond scored an empty-net-goal with :24 seconds remaining in the game. With Ouellette pulled, Diamond out-raced former Monarchs defenseman, Michael Boivin, and clinched the game for the Monarchs with his second goal of the night.
Notes: The Monarchs played to a scoreless first period for the first time this season… Quentin Shore scored for the second consecutive game… Teddy Doherty scored the first goal of his professional career.
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