Live Blog: Manchester vs Utica, Game 1

Manchester Monarchs 3, Utica Comets 2
Final – Overtime

SOG: MCH – 37; UTI – 17
PP: MCH – 1/3; UTI – 1/3

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OVERTIME
18:35 – Monarchs kill off the Comets’ power play, but it got a little bit slippery late when Derek Forbort’s two attempts to clear the zone were disrupted – one of which was behind the net – maintaining some Utica zone time. The Comets registered zero shots on goal on the overtime portion of the power play.
16:49 – Timeout Utica, shortly after Andrew Bodnarchuk registered his fifth shot on goal. He has been very good.
15:50 – GOAL MANCHESTER. 3-2. Weal drives hard down the left wing, cuts to the front of the net, stuffs the puck past Markstrom. May have had help. Mersch? Either way, it’s a good goal after review. Manchester wins 3-2, leads series 1-0. Mersch credited.

THIRD PERIOD
19:23 – Andersson closes his glove on a mid-air puck and tosses it away from harm. Can’t do that! Monarchs back to the PP.
17:37 – POWER PLAY GOAL MANCHESTER. 2-1. On a second power play shift, Shore receives a puck from O’Neill and issues a beautiful diagonal pass through the low slot right onto the stick of Mersch, who redirects it from close range at the far post. Good situation by Mersch, good pass by Shore. Good play.
14:58 – More Manchester pressure. Bodnarchuk tried to go back to Mersch after passing up a shooting opportunity but couldn’t connect.
14:36 – GOAL UTICA. 2-2. Cory Conacher’s quick release from outside a quality scoring area near the right wing boards sneaks past Berube. Conacher may have clipped a stick on a follow through, but the shot didn’t appear to be deflected. Tough goal to allow after the Monarchs had claimed a third period lead.
8:55 – Miller is getting pucks through. After a blast from the right point sailed over the net on his previous shift, he skirts a puck near ice level to the front of the net. It remains out despite a brief scrum in front.
5:20 – Nice little drop pass by Nic Dowd to Derek Forbort on a breakout to calm a play down. Falls in line with the “little plays” he makes that we’ve heard about.
1:27 – High quality rush opportunity by Manchester denied by Markstrom. O’Neill, in the mid-slot, found Weal sneaking past the defense and got him the puck. Weal’s stickhandling was snuffed out by Markstrom, and nothing came from the follow-up chances.
0:35 – Penalty Manchester. Miller lifts the puck over the glass.
0:00 – To overtime we go.

J.R. SAYS: The Monarchs had several rush chances over the second half of the period and began activating defensemen but couldn’t find that third goal. With only five defensemen, they’ll be looking to end this one quickly (duh) with another game 19 hours from now.

SECOND PERIOD
18:58 – Comets kill off the penalty.
13:10 – Nice stick lift by Andrew Bodnarchuk denies Brandon DeFazio from releasing a shot on a three-on-two rush.
10:55 – Some nice razzle dazzle by Adrian Kempe, who drove wide and nearly cut in front of the crease to tuck the puck past Markstrom. No dice. Eventually received the puck back at the top of the left circle, fed LoVerde at the right point for a shot towards goal. Good shift by Kempe.
8:52 – O’Brien appears to have a good look at a whole lot of net off a rebound but can’t put the puck past Markstrom. Still 1-1.
8:10 – Good play by Kevin Gravel to kick the puck away from bodies in the crease and towards the corner. Calms down a developing Utica scoring opportunity.
7:15 – Weal spin-o-rama! Followed, more importantly, by a steady forecheck and good zone time.
5:43 – Shots on goal in the second period, to this point: MCH-10, UTI-1
4:53 – Utica penalty. Hooking on Biega.
2:45 – Peter Andersson denies David Van der Gulik’s attempt to generate a contested break. Good stick check, denies a shot.
2:14 – Outstanding Berube save on Grenier’s two-on-one wrister from the left circle. Flashy save. Probably his best this evening.
0:00 – Horn.

J.R. SAYS: The Monarchs outshot the Comets 12-3 in the second period but couldn’t break through. They have now outshot Utica 22-11 in a tied game. Sound familiar? There were fewer chances in the second period than the first; Zach O’Brien and Alexandre Grenier had the best looks but were denied by glove saves.

FIRST PERIOD
19:15 – Adrian Kempe gets things started by testing Jacob Markstrom from the right circle. Pad save.
18:57 – Zach O’Brien hits the post from the high slot. Good B-plus-type chance.
17:50 – Big Justin Auger hit on Cory Conacher in the Manchester zone. Had an attempt from in close at the other end. Good shift by the tall drink of water.
14:52 – Cal O’Reilly one-timer from outside the crease denied by J.F. Berube. Great save. Pass came from behind the net.
13:48 – Good job by Colin Miller and Jeff Schultz to deny Sven Baertschi any look at the net after a clean 1-on-2 zone entry. Puck ends in the right corner. I saw Baertschi repeatedly in junior hockey, and he was more or less the Pavel Datsyuk of the WHL.
13:30 – Schultz weathers a heavy hit on Utica’s forecheck. Haven’t seen him on the bench or on the ice since.
13:21 – Alex Friesen denied from close range. Berube’s best save tonight.
13:20-10:20 – THE DARK AGES. No internet. Frozen screen. Comets kill off a Monarchs power play.
10:15 – Flurry in front of Markstrom. Vincent LoVerde’s shot doesn’t get through. Some good Manchester pressure.
10:14 – 5:00 – THE DARK AGES REDUX. It is so very cold.
4:00 – GOAL MANCHESTER. 1-0. Brian O’Neill buries after the puck found him just outside the crease, to Markstrom’s right. Good toe drag by Jordan Weal to put the puck in a dangerous area, bringing the pressure closer to Markstrom.
3:12 – Goaltender interference, Auger. But would it come back to hurt the Monarchs?
2:59 – POWER PLAY GOAL UTICA. 1-1. Slick feed by Alexandre Grenier across the crease to Baertschi, who buries. Nothing Berube could have done there.
0:58 – Utica penalty. Alex Biega high stick.
0:37 – Best early chance on the power play goes to Nick Shore. Nice snapshot off the rush from the left side, but Markstrom fought it off.
0:00 – Fin. Not that Fin.

J.R. SAYS: While I battled internet gremlins, both teams had pressure and high quality chances. The reason this is a 1-1 game is because of J.F. Berube and Jacob Markstrom. From a pure entertainment standpoint, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if we saw several periods like this one, minus the Jeff Schultz casualty.

MCH starters: G J.F. Berube, D Vincent LoVerde, D Andrew Bodnarchuk, LW Michael Mersch, C Jordan Weal, RW Brian O’Neill
MCH scratches: G Patrik Bartosak, F Jonny Brodzinski, F Josh Gratton, D Nick Ebert, F Ryan Horvat, F Scott Sabourin, D Kevin Raine, D Alex Lintuniemi

UTI starters: G Jacob Markstrom, D Bobby Sanguinetti, D Peter Andersson, LW Cory Conacher, C Cal O’Reilly, RW Alexandre Grenier
UTI scratches: D Travis Ehrhardt, D John Negrin, F Nicklas Jensen, F Joseph LaBate, F Ludwig Blomstrand, F Jared McCann, F Darren Archibald, F Carter Bancks, D Andrey Pedan, F Curtis Valk, G Joe Cannata

Referees: #48 Garrett Rank, #10 Terry Koharski
Linesmen: #65 Trent Knorr, #7 Alex Stagnone

IMG_5899

Colin Miller, hydrating #CalderCup

A photo posted by Jon Rosen (@rambleonrosen) on

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