MANCHESTER, NH – Sean Backman scored two goals and Patrik Bartosak made 34 saves as the Manchester Monarchs beat Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 5-2 on Feb. 14 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
For Backman, it was his first multi-goal game of the season and his three points (2 assists) matched his season high (also, Oct. 24 vs. POR).
The Monarchs (31-11-4-2) have now beaten the Sound Tigers (21-23-5-1) twice in two games this year, both at Manchester.
“I thought our finish was better than our start,” Monarchs Head Coach Mike Stothers said. “We had to generate our own energy and that shouldn’t be the case, but the good thing was we responded the way we needed too.”
Bridgeport started the scoring at 17:45 in the first period when John Persson beat Bartosak. Alan Quine found Persson alone in front of the net, and Persson stuffed the puck in.
Brian O’Neill evened the score early in the second period when he scored his 15th goal of the season on the power play. The goal extended his point streak to five straight games beginning on Feb. 4 (4 goals, 4 assists).
Michael Mersch gave the Monarchs the lead at 10:44 in the second, with a 5-on-3 power play goal.
The Monarchs added to their lead when Jordan Weal scored at 16:50. While both teams had a player in the box, Weal circled the zone and wristed his 13th goal of the season past Leggio.
Bridgeport cut the lead to 3-2 with a goal from Kael Mouillierat at 4:28 in the third.
Backman’s ninth goal of the season gave the Monarchs a 4-2 advantage at 6:57 in the third.
With under a minute left, Backman finished off the Sound Tigers with an empty net goal.
The Monarchs take the ice next on Monday in Providence for a 3:05 p.m. game against the Bruins.
Notes:
- Manchester went 2-for-5 on the power play today and has scored power-play goals in five straight games, the longest streak of the season.
- Patrik Bartosak recorded his eighth win of the season, his first since Jan. 17.
- Manchester is now 12-0-0-0 overall when scoring five or more goals this season.
- The Monarchs extended their winning streak at home to five straight games.
