MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Monarchs couldn’t extend their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchup, as they fell to the Adirondack Thunder, 3-0, Wednesday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
Despite finishing the regular season with the East Division title, the Monarchs could not keep pace with the Thunder throughout the entire series.
“We didn’t play the way we needed to play to win,” Head Coach, Rich Seeley, said. “There wasn’t enough compete out there on the ice. We just didn’t come to play, and it’s that simple.”
The Thunder struck first when Peter MacArthur scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs at 6:30 of the first period. Mitchell Heard started the play in the left corner and found MacArthur in the slot for a one-timer, that beat the stick of Monarchs goaltender, Doug Carr, to put the Thunder up, 1-0.
The Thunder extended their lead with a power-play-goal from Ryan Constant at 13:59 of the first period. Ryan Lomberg found Constant in the high slot where he wristed the puck past Carr stick-side, netting his 1st goal of the playoffs.
The Thunder took a 3-0 lead on Dana Fraser’s 1st goal of the playoffs at 11:32 of the second period. Constant took a shot from the left point and the rebound came to Fraser, where he put a backhander past Carr’s glove.
Despite putting 26 shots on net in the final two periods, the Monarchs could not beat Thunder goaltender, Ken Appleby.
With the loss, the Monarchs dropped the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, 4-1. The Thunder will face the winner of the South Carolina-Kalamazoo series in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
