MANCHESTER, NH – Manchester Monarchs Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations, Rich Seeley, announced Tuesday that Zac Lynch and Thomas Schemitsch have been assigned to the Monarchs by the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
The Monarchs are the ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings.
Lynch, 25, returns to Manchester after playing five games on his most recent recall to Springfield. On the season, Lynch scored four points on three goals and one assists in 21 games for the Thunderbirds.
The 6-foot, 190-pound native of Pittsburgh, Pa., played 34 games for the Monarchs this season and scored 34 points on 18 goals and 16 assists in his rookie season.
Schemitsch, 20, returns to the Monarchs after a Mar. 1 recall to the Thunderbirds. With Springfield this season, Schemitsch scored four points on one goal and three assists in 37 games, while adding six penalty minutes and a +2 rating.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound native of Thornhill, Ontario, played 17 games for the Monarchs this season where he scored eight points on one goal and seven assists. Schemitsch was drafted in Round 3 (#88 overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers.
Lynch, Schemitsch and the Monarchs return to the ice Tuesday, Apr. 18 (7 p.m.), when they travel to the Glens Falls Civic Center for Game 3 of their North Division Semifinals matchup with the Adirondack Thunder. The Monarchs lead the series, 2-0.
GAME DAY CAPSULE
MONARCHS POINTS LEADERS
- Quentin Shore: 5 points (2g, 3a)
- Matt Leitner: 4 points (2g, 2a)
- Daniel Ciampini: 3 points (3a)
MONARCHS GOALTENDING LEADERS
- Sam Brittain: 2-0, 1.50 GAA, 0.939 save %
- Charles Williams: 0-0, 0.00 GAA, 0.000 save %
THUNDER POINTS LEADERS
- Brett Pollock: 3 points (3a)
- Alex Wall: 2 points (2g)
- Stepan Falkovsky: 2 points (2a)
THUNDER GOALTENDING LEADERS
- J.P. Anderson: 0-2, 2.55 GAA, 0.900 save %
- Connor Hicks: 0-0, 0.00 GAA, 0.000 save %
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Monarchs grabbed a 2-0 series lead with a 4-2 victory Saturday night at SNHU Arena, and now head to Glens Falls, N.Y. for the remainder of the North Division Semifinals. A key to the Monarchs success has been their ability to keep pucks away from their net. Through two games this series, the Monarchs have held the Thunder to 24.5 shots per game, after allowing 32.22 shots per game over the course of the regular season. Of the 16 teams in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Monarchs rank third in shots against, compared to 14th in the regular season.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
With the Monarchs claiming the first two games of the North Division Semifinals, the odds of winning the series are certainly in their favor. In the history of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 84.8% of the time (78-of-92). Last season, six teams jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, with five of those teams eventually winning their respective series. Of the winning clubs, none of them lost more than one game on their way to clinching the series.
SIN BIN
The Monarchs have found themselves in the penalty box more than they would like this series, having spent 41 minutes in the bin through two games. The 20.50 average in the box is a far cry from the 11.88 minutes per game the Monarchs averaged during the regular season, when they were the fourth fewest penalized team in the ECHL.
CLOSING TIME
The Monarchs have closed games to this point in the North Division Semifinals, having outscored the Thunder, 3-0, in the third period. The +3 differential is a big one, considering the Monarchs are one of two teams in the playoff structure (Utah) that had a negative third period scoring differential in the regular season. The Monarchs finished the regular season -6, while the Grizzlies finished -19.
