MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Monarchs defeated the Adirondack Thunder 3-1 in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals on Friday night at SNHU Arena.
The Monarchs beat the Thunder for the first time since February 12th to take a 1-0 series lead.
“I thought we were a little tentative to start the game, but we got things going towards the middle of the first period and found our stride,” Monarchs Head Coach Rich Seeley said. “You have to give them credit. They battled hard the entire game, and we expect a battle tomorrow night.”
Manchester opened the scoring at 9:54 of the first period when David Kolomatis scored his first goal of the playoffs. Matt Leitner skated along the right boards into the offensive-zone where he found Kolomatis in the high slot trailing on the rush. Kolomatis drifted into the left circle and wristed a shot over the glove of Thunder goaltender J.P. Anderson, to give Manchester a 1-0 lead.
The Monarchs extended their lead at 4:55 of the second period when Daniel Doremus notched his first goal of the playoffs. Daniel Ciampini gathered the puck behind the Adirondack net and skated to the bottom of the right circle where he sent a backhanded pass to Doremus in the slot. Doremus took the pass between the hashmarks and sent a one-timer past Anderson to give Manchester a 2-0 lead.
The Thunder cut into the Monarchs lead at 18:49 of the second period when Ryan Culkin scored on the power play, his first goal of the playoffs. Stepan Falkovsky circled behind the Monarchs net and sent a pass to the left point to Brett Pollock. Pollock then sent a pass along the blue line to Culkin who stepped into the top of the right circle before taking a wrist shot past the blocker of Monarchs goaltender Sam Brittain, to cut the Monarchs lead in half at 2-1.
The Monarchs sealed the deal when Quentin Shore potted an empty-net-goal at 19:53. Shore stole the puck on the defensive blue line and had nothing but open ice in front of him to put the game out of reach at 3-1.
The Monarchs continue their North Division Semifinals series on Saturday, April 15 at 6 p.m. when they play Game 2 against the Adirondack Thunder at SNHU Arena.
Notes: David Kolomatis scored his first goal since March 17… Sam Brittain recorded his first playoff victory… Quentin Shore recorded three points (1 goal, 2 assists)… Manchester managed only four shots in the first period.
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