Superheroes were roaming the halls of SNHU Arena last Saturday night, but the Monarchs forgot to turn on their super powers. Unfortunately, that’s something that’s happened on and off throughout the season.
It’s January 25, 2018. Here’s your Manchester Monarchs Week in Review.
Game Recap
Thanks to Marvel Comics Night, the Monarchs got their third highest home attendance so far this season, replete with “Incredible Hulk” jerseys. Perhaps the gamma rays needed some time to kick in, as the following day’s performance was as dynamic as Saturday’s effort was anemic.
While the visiting Jacksonville Icemen scored four goals in both contests against the Monarchs, Manchester barely registered two goals on Saturday while they got a franchise record ten goals on Sunday.
Perhaps Sunday’s response was a matter of personal pride for the Monarchs, but perhaps the more pertinent question was where why that spirit didn’t show up on Saturday, and didn’t return after a quality performance on Friday night against Wheeling.
For Monarchs head coach Rich Seeley, that’s the big question that needs to be answered. He has an incredibly talented team near the top of the ECHL standings that occasionally just can’t switch on that talent.
“It’s a mental game. Our team that we’ve dressed tonight played completely different last night, (they) played hard, played for each other, (had) attention to detail. Tonight, we didn’t from the drop of the puck and it was evident,” said Seeley on Saturday. “We’re not mentally capable of doing that on a consistent basis right now.”
While Seeley would characterize team fatigue as an excuse, there’s a fine line between excuses and explanations and fatigue is probably the closest thing to a tangible explanation as to why that higher level just doesn’t show up on occasion.
However, a correlation is hard to ascertain even when looking at the denser parts of the Monarchs’ schedule to date.
In games where they had a game the previous day, they’re 10-8, versus 14-6 in games where they’ve gotten at least one day of rest.
Three Stars
Top Star: Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman – After the loss of Joel Lowry, the Monarchs main goal scoring threats have been Zac Lynch and LaVallee-Smotherman, but the latter took the prize this week.
He was the only Monarch with a goal in each game this week, also contributing four assists.
Second Star: Spencer Watson – Watson came close to joining LaVallee-Smotherman, but couldn’t quite grab a goal on Friday despite four shots. If it wasn’t for that Friday game, he’d be sitting on a six-game point scoring streak right now.
Third Star: Colton Saucerman – The Monarchs’ gritty defenceman also came close to registering a point in each game this week, recording two assists on Friday and again on Sunday. He couldn’t find the scoresheet on Saturday, but he’s been a spark plug for Manchester this year, providing oomph off the Monarchs’ second defensive line.
Beyond the Blue Lines
This week saw the appearance of two new Monarchs: Jake Wood and Joe Spagnoli.
Spagnoli comes as an emergency replacement following the sudden return of Charles Williams to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the AHL, not having played a professional game at any level in three years.
Williams had been one of the top goaltenders in the ECHL this season, platooning with Evan Cowley during the few weeks of the season and Brandon Komm since mid-December.
As of Thursday, it appears that Spagnoli’s time with the Monarchs has concluded and Williams has returned while Komm has been sent up to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, the Monarchs’ most frequent transaction partner.
It remains to be seen what will become of Manchester’s goaltending rotation, as Cowley and/or Komm may return depending on Roberto Luongo’s injury on Springfield and other Florida Panthers minor league affiliates.
Wood’s loan status is slightly less complicated. Currently in his rookie year, the Ontario native recorded six points in 17 games for the Southern Professional Hockey League’s Fayetteville Marksmen so far this season.
“He comes as advertised. A hard worker, a little undersized, but he skates well and finishes checks,” said Seeley on Wood.
In other news, Jonathan Racine didn’t suit up on Saturday or Sunday and Francois Beauchamin returned from Springfield on Sunday. There’s also no news on the return date of Matt Leitner, with Leitner last appearing for Manchester on Dec. 30.
Coming Up
The Monarchs head to Wheeling, West Virginia this weekend for a two-game set against the Nailers before returning home for a 7 p.m. showdown against Brampton on Wednesday.