Monarchs blank Thunder, close in on playoffs

MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Monarchs shut out the Adirondack Thunder, 5-0, Friday night at SNHU Arena.

The Monarchs (40-20-3-2) captured their seventh straight victory, 5-0, over the Thunder (37-22-3-4) and pulled within one point of clinching a playoff berth.

The Monarchs opened the scoring at 10:08 of the first period, when Spencer Watson scored his 22nd goal of the season. Watson stepped out of the penalty box and received a pass from Jake Wood, where he skated down the right wing and cut across the crease, backhanding a shot over the pad of Adirondack goaltender Olivier Mantha to make the score 1-0 in favor of the Monarchs.

Manchester scored just eleven seconds later, when Matt Schmalz scored his 22nd goal of the season at 10:19 of the first period. Schmalz brought the puck down the left side, ducked around an Adirondack defenseman and cut towards net, where he buried a shot five-hole to make the score 2-0.

The Monarchs increased their lead at the seven minute mark of the second period, when Watson scored his 23rd goal of the season and second of the game on the power play. Alexx Privitera gained control of a rebound in the slot and sent a pass to Watson, who was sitting at the far post, where he tipped the puck past the leg of Mantha to make the score 3-0.

Manchester lit the lamp yet again at 8:08 of the third period when Michael Doherty scored his 17th goal of the season. After gaining control of the puck in the neutral zone, Doherty skated in on a 2-on-0 with Schmalz, but saw an opening in the net and fired a shot over the blocker of Mantha to give the Monarchs a 4-0 lead.

The Monarchs finished the scoring at 11:25 of the third period on the first goal of the season by Ryan Lough, in his professional debut. Keegan Iverson sent a pass to Lough as he crossed over the blue line, where he skated into the slot and wristed a shot through the legs of Mantha to give the Monarchs a 5-0 lead.

The Monarchs are back in action Saturday night at 6 p.m. when they face off against the Adirondack Thunder at SNHU Arena with a chance to clinch a playoff berth.

NOTES: Matt Leitner played in his 150th ECHL game… Eleven seconds is the fastest two goals the Monarchs have recorded this season… Evan Cowley made 34 saves in his first shutout of the season.

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