Friday Night On Ice: Worcester Sharks Vs. Manchester Monarchs
By Ryan Bayer
Worcester Sharks goaltender #35 Harri Sateri denies Manchester Monarchs forward #21 Dwight King during the December 31, 2012 contest at the DCU Center. Mandatory Credit: InGoalMagazine.
Tonight the Worcester Sharks open up a three game home stand against their rivals from the north the Manchester Monarchs. This will be the fifth time this season that the AHL Sharks play host to Manchester. Currently Worcester has a 5-3 season series lead over their New England neighbors. These two clubs last faced off against each other was back on January 18th in which Manchester defeated Worcester by a 3-1 final. In that contest, the lone goal scorer for Worcester was Jon Matsumoto, who recorded his 10th goal of the season and was helped out by Daniil Tarasov and Brodie Reid. As for the Monarchs, they received contributions from Linden Vey, Jordan Weal, and Tyler Toffoli.
For the Worcester Sharks they return home after completing their season long five game road trip in which they recorded a 3-2 record over that span. For the Manchester Monarchs over a stretch of five games, have posted a 1-3-1 record. In their most recent game, the Worcester Sharks were defeated by the Springfield Falcons by the final score of 3-1. As for Manchester they too are coming off of a loss courtesy of the Connecticut Whale who edged them out by a 3-2 final.
As of today, Worcester is 23-20-1-5 with a third place spot in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and ninth overall in the Easter Conference which includes 52 points to their credit. The Manchester Monarchs are in fourth place in the Atlantic just three points behind Worcester with a 22-24-2-3 record and 49 points. In addition, the Monarchs are sitting in 12th in the East.
Monarchs To Watch Report:
The Monarchs offense has been paced by two rookies, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson; both are enjoying great rookie campaigns. Toffoli’s team high 24 goals are the second highest total among all AHL skaters and highest amongst all AHL rookies. On the season Toffoli has posted 24 goals and 16 assists for 40 points in 48 games, his 40 points are also the second highest among rookies. Tanner Pearson, who is also enjoying a solid first season, has registered 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 50 games. Another Monarch to keep an eye on is Linden Vey the team’s leading scorer; Vey has tallied 13 goals and 30 assists for 43 points in 51 games.
***Monarchs Watch Report courtesy of the Worcester Sharks.***
Official Link: http://www.sharksahl.com/story.asp?story_id=3429
Tonight’s match up can be heard on WTAG News/Talk 580 and 94.9 FM and for AHL Live subscribers they can enjoy live televised coverage of the game at AHLLive.com.
LET’S GO WORCESTER!!!!!!!!
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