MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Monarchs fell to the Norfolk Admirals, 5-4, in a shoot-out Jan. 17 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
The Monarchs (22-12-1-4) extended their home point streak to five games after grabbing a point from the Admirals (17-23-1-1) in back-to-back games.
“I thought we played really well in the first part of the game,” Head Coach Rich Seeley said. “Again, our resiliency showed in coming back to score three consecutive goals after giving up the first one. The effort was there, but we just didn’t get the result we were looking for.”
The Admirals opened the scoring in the first period when Devin Mantha scored his fourth goal of the season at 6:15. Steven Whitney started the play with a shot from the point which Mantha picked up in the slot and slid it in five-hole past Monarchs goaltender, Doug Carr.
The Monarchs bounced back just over a minute later to tie the game at 7:33 in the first. Michael Boivin set up Danick Paquette who skated into Norfolk’s zone and put a slap shot through Norfolk goaltender, Nic Riopel, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
The Monarchs took a 2-1 lead at 1:25 in the second period when Derek Arnold netted his ninth goal of the season. Arnold batted in a rebound past Riopel stick side off a shot from Matt MacKenzie.
Maxim Kitsyn gave the Monarchs a two-goal lead at 6:08 in the second period. Austin Block and Matt Harlow both battled in front of Riopel’s net to find the rebound off a shot from the point, but it was Kitsyn who found the puck and beat Riopel top-shelf, scoring his 14th goal of the season.
The Admirals cut into the Monarchs lead, capitalizing on a 5-on-3 power play, scoring at 12:38 of the second period. Steven Whitney one-timed a pass from Gabriel Verpaelst which deflected off of Yann Sauve, beating Carr.
The Admirals tied the game with a power-play-goal at 16:09 of the second period. Alexis Loiseau netted his eighth goal of the season when he put a shot past Carr, top-shelf.
Boivin netted a 4-on-3 power-play-goal to give the Monarchs the lead again at 19:19 in the second period. Boivin fired a one-timer past new Admirals goaltender, Ty Rimmer, high glove side, for his sixth goal of the season.
The Admirals tied the game at 16:41 in the third period. Jordan Hill took a shot from the left point and beat Carr high stick side, scoring his fourth goal of the season.
The game could not be decided in regulation and headed to overtime for the second game in a row.
After a scoreless first round, Scott Allen netted the eventual game-winning goal, sending Norfolk home with two wins.
The Monarchs hit the road for a game against the Adirondack Thunder on January 22 (7 p.m.) and return to action at the Verizon Wireless Arena on January 23 (7 p.m.) for Law Enforcement Night, playing the Adirondack Thunder for the start of two at home. Click here for tickets.
About Law Enforcement Night: The New Hampshire Police Association and the Manchester Monarchs are teaming up for Law Enforcement Night in the Jungle. You’ll have the chance to bid on special NH Police jerseys! PS: Don’t forget a canned good for the New Hampshire Food Bank as all donors can enter to win a prize at the door!
Notes
- David Kolomatis played in the 350th game of his professional career
- Matt MacKenzie played in the 200th game of his professional career
- Danick Paquette returned from an 8-game suspension to score his first goal since scoring twice at Fort Wayne on Dec. 18
- Norfolk goaltender, Nic Riopel, was pulled at 6:08 in the second period
WHERE WE STAND
The Monarchs are tied for first place in the East Division with 48 points, tied with Adirondack (48 pts.) and seven points ahead of Reading (41 pts.) for the division lead. Manchester’s 48 points are good for a third place tie in the Eastern Conference, nine points back of the conference leading Florida Everblades (57 pts.).
