BRAMPTON, Ontario – The Manchester Monarchs took a huge step toward a playoff berth on Wednesday morning with a 1-0 victory over the Brampton Beast.
Pavel Jenys provided the contest’s only goal, wrapping a wrister from a spot between the tops of the faceoff circles toward a vector just south of the crossbar.
That goal came 4:20 into the first period and Charles Williams frustrated the Beast for another 55 minutes and change, stopping 28 shots in total.
Manchester put 32 shots on net, including seven from Chris Carlisle.
With the win, the Monarchs (36-27-2-2) leapfrog over Adirondack for second place in the ECHL’s North Division. Assuming Brampton remains in the division’s final non-playoff spot, Manchester currently needs eight more points in their final five regular season games to seal a playoff berth.
That number could decrease if Brampton loses any of their remaining six games. The rest of the division’s teams could also impact potential playoff scenarios, as Manchester remains closer to seventh-place Reading (68 points) than first-place Newfoundland (88 points).
However, the Monarchs will have a chance to narrow that gap slightly as they head to St. John’s for a two-game set that will continue their Canadian road trip.
The first game of that two-game series begins at 5:30 p.m. on Friday night.
