Weal leads Monarchs in 6-3 win over Penguins

MANCHESTER, NH – Jordan Weal scored two goals and added two assists as the Monarchs beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 6-3 on Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

The four-point performance matched Weal’s season high for the third time this season (last, Jan. 10 vs. BNG).

The Monarchs (35-14-5-2) have now beaten Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (32-19-2-4) in all three meetings this season, outscoring the Penguins 13-6 in those contests.

“All-in-all, I thought we played a really good game,” Head Coach Mike Stothers said.  “I thought it was a good game for us, but we have to get ready for tomorrow afternoon.”

The Monarchs opened the scoring when Weal stole a Taylor Chorney pass in the slot and beat Jeff Zatkoff at 6:44 in the first.

Brian O’Neill added to the Monarchs’ lead at 10:31 in the first period with his team-leading 19th goal of the season.

The Penguins cut into the Monarchs lead on the power play when Scott Harrington’s slap shot beat J.F. Berube, making the game 2-1 at 13:27 in the first.

Colin Miller notched his team-leading ninth power-play goal of the season and 15th goal overall at 16:31 in the first. Weal added his second assist of the night on the goal.

Vincent LoVerde extended the Monarchs’ lead on the power play at 5:35 in the second period, beating Zatkoff with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton made the game 4-2 when Chorney scored on the power play at 18:39 in the second.

Manchester pushed the lead back to three just a minute later when Justin Auger tipped a shot from the point by Andrew Bodnarchuk at 19:39 in the second.

Dominik Uher made it 5-3 at 1:58 in the third, but Weal’s second goal of the game gave Manchester a three-goal lead again at 6:28.

The Monarchs continue their three-game weekend at the Verizon Wireless Arena with matinee games on Saturday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (3 p.m.), and Sundayagainst Hartford (3 p.m.).

Notes:

• Jordan Weal (2 goals, 2 assists) moved into sole possession of fourth place on the Monarchs’ all-time assists list (104) and tied Linden Vey (158) for 8th place all-time in points.
• Brian O’Neill (goal, assist) has at least one point in 11 of his last 13 games beginning on Feb. 4, tallying eight goals and eight assists in that stretch.
• Today marked Zach O’Brien’s seventh multi-point game of the season, registering two assists.
• The Monarchs are undefeated in 18 games at home this season when leading after two periods.