TOLEDO, OH – The Manchester Monarchs wrapped up a three game road trip in Ohio when they took on the Toledo Walleye Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Monarchs, the Walleye were just a bit stronger as they beat Manchester 2-0.
The first period started out with both teams struggling to get the puck anywhere near the offensive zone. Both defenses were rock solid and barley let any shots through to either Monarchs goalie Cedrick Desjardins or Walleye netminder Jeff Lerg. They were evenly matched and couldn’t find consistent rushes while shots only trickled through on net and even those were not an issue. The first period ended with the teams tied at zero and the shots even at five apiece.
The second period though was a different story. The Walleye came out flying, taking it right to the Monarchs and dominating them throughout the frame. Desjardins was forced to make save after save just to keep the game tied. The Walleye continued to come at the Monarchs, pinning the visitors in their own end with seemingly no way out.
Half way through the period, the Walleye struck for a goal from Alden Hirschfeld assisted by Dominic Zombo. The Walleye continued to take it to the Monarchs as the period got into the later stages. When Stefan Legein went off for unsportsmanlike conduct, the Walleye went on the power play and Zombo extended the lead when he scored assisted by Joel Chouinard and Tyler Sikura. The second period ended with the Monarchs trailing 2-0 and the shots 19 to 7 in favor of the Walleye.
Manchester came back out for the third looking to pick their game up and even the score. The Monarchs were able to play better then in the first two periods but a rested Lerg was rock solid in net. Toledo’s defense was allowing Manchester a minimal number of chances on the Walleye goal and none of them found their way into the back of the net.
The teams went back and forth trading chances as the game wore on, but the score remained the same. The game ended with the Monarchs losing 2-0 and the final shots 23 to 15 for the Walleye.
Third star in the game went to Toledo’s Hirschfeld who scored the game’s first goal for the Walleye. Second star was awarded to Walleye goalie Lerg who finished with 15 saves for the win and the shutout. First star for the night was Toledo’s Zombo with a goal and an assist for the Walleye in their victory.
The Monarchs are now off for the Christmas break. They will take on the Adirondack Thunder on December 26th in Glens Falls.
Contact the author at james.mcgowan@prohockeynews.com
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