ORLANDO, Fla. – The Manchester Monarchs finished their Florida trip on Sunday afternoon, adding another disappointing result to a frustrating weekend.
Manchester took home an 8-2 loss to the Orlando Solar Bears, giving up the first goal just 2:04 into the contest.
That goal came off the stick of Akim Aliu, with Aliu adding another goal just under two minutes before the second intermission.
Aliu’s second goal brought the Solar Bears up to a 5-0 lead, with Nic Pierog finally answering Solar Bears goaltender Martin Ouellette with a power-play goal.
Manchester’s other goal came with 19 seconds left in the contest, another power-play goal, this time from Tony Cameranesi.
Ouellette stopped 40 other Monarchs shots on the day and the Solar Bears got more goals from Tayler Thompson, Mike Robinson and Zach Frye in the third period.
Alex Schoenborn, Corey Kalk, and Jackson Playfair also scored for Orlando.
With Worcester losing 6-3 to Tulsa, Manchester (27-24-1-1) still holds a tenuous two-point lead over the final playoff spot in the North Division.
The Monarchs return to action Wednesday, February 20 at 7 p.m., against Worcester at SNHU Arena.
