Only four more regular season home games left! It’s March 21, here’s your Manchester Monarchs Week in Review.
Game Recap
The Monarchs swept their season series with the Utah Grizzlies after last weekends action, following up on three wins in Utah by two overtime wins against the Grizzlies on Friday and Saturday.
Perhaps the hallmark of a good team is performing when things are not at their best and the Monarchs struggled at times in each game, appearing sluggish at random moments.
But, they did get those wins and they did maintain the catbird seat in the ECHL North Division, despite a second AHL hiatus for Colton Saucerman.
Three Stars
Top Star: Eric Shurhamer – Both Shurhamer and Matt Marcinew could get the nod here for their work on Friday, but Shurhamer also added an assist on Saturday, leading the Monarchs’ back line.
Second Star: Matt Marcinew – Like Shurhamer, he ended the weekend with three points, including the game winning goal on Friday.
Third Star: Spencer Watson – Watson had goals in both games, including the game winner on Saturday, but in some way he’s a victim of his own success and that of line mate Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman.
Goals in consecutive games is definitely a quality outing for any skater, but Watson’s already done it several times for Manchester this year. Still, it’s a sign of this team’s quality that the bar has risen so high.
Beyond the Blue Lines
In addition to Saucerman’s brief departure (he returned today), the Monarchs also added Ryan Lough and rookie Jared Kolquist.
Kolquist notched an assist during his debut on Friday.
“(Kolquist) was kind of thrown in the fire there to be honest,” said Monarchs head coach Rich Seeley. “It’s not an easy thing to do in your first pro game, I was happy to see him contribute.”
Coming Up
The Monarchs final homestand of the year wraps up this year, as Manchester plays Reading tonight, followed by games against Adirondack on Friday and Saturday.
They have seven games after that, all on the road excluding April 7 against Worcester.