WORCESTER, Mass. – The Manchester Monarchs took one step closer to the playoffs on Wednesday night, defeating the Worcester Railers 3-4 in overtime.
Both teams grabbed a goal before the first intermission, and it looked like that score would remain in place after a tumultuous second period that saw two Manchester misconduct penalties. Instead, Tim Shoup scored his first career goal with just under 90 seconds before the intermission, chasing Worcester goaltender Mitch Gillam from the game.
Pavel Jenys added another goal for Manchester moments after returning from the dressing room and it looked like Worcester’s season would be sealed.
Worcester did battle back, as Nick Sorkin provided the first Railers goal just over five minutes after Jenys’ score and Robert Powers’ wrister tied up the contest with just under four minutes left in regulation.
Daniil Miromanov took the game-winning goal 2:25 into overtime to conclude the contest.
Worcester (30-28-7-4) stays alive with the overtime point, but has no further margin for error, requiring three wins from their last three games and poor results from Brampton, Reading and Maine to have any chance of the post-season.
Manchester (37-29-2-2) has a much rosier picture, now needing just one more win to secure their place in the postseason.
The Monarchs will have a shot to do that at home on Friday against Newfoundland, followed by the regular season finale on Saturday night against Maine.