WORCESTER, MA – Center Jordan Weal scored his fourth goal in two games to lift the Manchester Monarchs to a 5-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks at the DCU Center on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester (45-19-2-6) leads the Atlantic Division with 98 points. Worcester (32-31-4-2) is ranked fourth in the Atlantic Division with 74 points.
“I’m hoping this game in Worcester leaves an indelible mark on this season and the careers of the guys playing for us here in Manchester,” said Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris. “Finding the resolve and the consistent compete level was painfully evident after relinquishing an early lead. Our team responded and met the challenge with a big third period. The guys were able to find the focus necessary to right the ship and play the way we are capable of playing. Patrik Bartosak had another solid performance in net and our penalty killers came up big at key moments. With four games to go in our regular season, it’s important we continue to improve all aspects of our game. The response we showed tells me we have the character on this team to do some special things if we want it bad enough.”
Weal scored his 22nd goal of the season at 17:21 of the third period to give the Monarchs a 3-2 advantage.
Right wing Brian O’Neill sprung Weal and forward Michael Mersch on a two-on-one breakaway. Weal carried the puck down the right wing and opted to shoot the puck rather than pass it. Weal’s shot slipped under Sharks netminder Harri Sateri’s blocker for the go ahead goal.
Defenseman Brayden McNabb put the Monarchs on the scoreboard at 6:16 of the opening period. Forward Nic Dowd carried the puck into the Sharks zone along the right wing and held up along the half wall. Dowd briefly lost control of the puck and right wing Steve Quailer grabbed it. Quailer fed a pass over the McNabb at the left point. The defenseman fired a shot that beat Sateri five-hole for his eighth tally of the season.
The Sharks tied the game at 3:59 of the second period with center Travis Oleksuk’s 18th goal of the season. Center Freddie Hamilton fired a shot on net from the right wing half wall. The puck bounced through traffic to Oleksuk on the left doorstep for a one-timer that beat Monarchs netminder Patrik Bartosak. Right wing Eriah Hayes assisted on the tying goal.
Hamilton gave the Sharks a 2-1 lead at 8:34 of the middle frame. Hayes picked up the loose puck along the end boards and carried it around the Monarchs net from right-to-left. Attempting the wrap around, Hayes’ shot slipped through the crease and out toward the right face-off circle. Hamilton came streaking through the circle for the one-timer past Bartosak for his 21st goal of the season. Defenseman Adam Comrie assisted on the goal.
The Monarchs tied the game at 2-2 with a shorthanded goal by defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk. Left wing Andy Andreoff stole the puck away from a Sharks defenseman at the left point of the Monarchs zone and took off down the right wing. Andreoff slowed down in the right face-off circle as he looked for help from his teammates before driving to the net. Andreoff briefly fanned on a shot and sent a backhand pass the Bodnarchuk streak in from the left face-off circle. Bodnarchuk chipped the puck up and over Sateri for his eighth tally of the season at 12:06 of the second period.
McNabb picked up his second tally of the night and ninth goal of the season as he shot the puck into an empty net at 19:07 of the final frame.
Right wing Sean Backman was awarded a goal at 19:57 of the third period. Backman picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke into the Sharks zone all alone toward an empty net. A Sharks defender interfered and tripped up Backman before he could get a shot off. The referee awarded the goal to Backman due to the infraction preventing the Monarchs player from shooting into the open net.
Bartosak (2-1-0) earned his second consecutive win stopping 30-of-32 shots. Sateri (17-23-2) took his 23rd loss of the season with 38 saves on 41 shots.
Manchester was 0-for-5 on the power play. Worcester also went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
Notables: The Monarchs scored three shorthanded goals in a single game…Center Jordan Weal has scored four goal in his last two games…Defenseman Brayden McNabb tallied two goals in a single contest for the first time in his career…For the first time in Monarchs history, a goal was awarded to the team after a player was pulled down as he was breaking in on an empty net, not allowing him to get a shot off.
The Monarchs travel to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee to face-off with the Portland Pirates at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on Monarchs Radio Network WGIR AM 610, WGIRAM.com, and at manchestermonarchs.com presented by Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
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