This divisional recap summarizes the North Division teams in the ECHL, focusing on their standings, recent game results, player milestones, and key statistics. In a shortened week 11, we had a lot of fun matchups. Here’s how all seven teams in the North Division fared during week 10 of the ECHL Regular Season.
Wheeling Nailers (21-5-1-0, 43pts, 1st Place)
The Nailers would get back on track last week as they took all three games of the weekend as they beat the Cincinnati Cyclones on Friday, then would take both games against the Iowa Heartlanders on Saturday and Sunday. Sergei Murashov continued his strong play as he’s won his last 12 starts, becoming just the seventh goalie in ECHL History to have a winning streak of at least 12 games. Wheeling will host Reading on Friday before heading down for two games against the Norfolk Admirals.
Trois-Rivieres Lions (18-4-3-0, 39pts, 2nd Place)
The Lions would have one of the easier weeks you’ll see on an ECHL schedule, as they played at home on Friday and Sunday while having a rare Saturday off. Trois-Rivieres would make easy work of both the Thunder and Mariners, putting up six goals and each of the two games on the weekend. At home this season, the Lions are 9-1-3 while outscoring opponents 47-29. Tommy Cormier would extend his point streak to five games (5G,1A). The Lions will play four games next weekend as they start the week on the road in Maine on Tuesday and Adirondack on Friday before hosting the Thunder on Saturday and Sunday.
Norfolk Admirals (18-8-3-0, 39pts, 3rd Place)
It would be a tough weekend for the Admirals as they would suffer their first two regulation losses on the road during the season, losing to the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Friday and the Atlanta Gladiators on Saturday. On Sunday, Norfolk would be able to salvage the weekend with a 6-3 win vs Atlanta. Denis Smirnov would finish the weekend with five points on the weekend (3G,2A). Norfolk will finish off its Southern road trip on Tuesday as they visit the Greenville Swamp Rabbits before returning home for two games vs Wheeling Nailers.
Adirondack Thunder (13-12-0-1, 27pts, 4th Place)
The Adirondack Thunder not only had a three-game road trip in three different cities but would have to do it without Pete MacArthur and Mike Bergin, who both missed the weekend due to personal reasons. MacArthur’s wife would end up having a baby boy over the weekend. It would be a tough start to the weekend as Adirondack would drop Friday’s contest in Trois-Rivieres by a score of 6-2 in a game that lasted close to three hours with multiple ice delays. Despite short rest, the Thunder would bounce back with wins in Worcester and Maine as Glenn Merkosky, who was the interim Head Coach, picked up his first two ECHL wins and his first professional wins since the 1998-1999 season. Adirondack will have a busy week as they will host the Railers on New Year’s Eve with a 3 pm puck drop and the Lions on Friday at 7 pm before heading back out to Trois-Rivieres for games on Saturday Night and Sunday afternoon.
Armand Klisivitch’s Friday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Saturday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Sunday Afternoon Recap
Worcester Railers (11-17-1-2, 25pts, 5th Place)
Worcester would finish the week with two of a possible six points after splitting the home-and-home series vs Reading Royals before losing to Adirondack on Sunday afternoon at home. Anthony Repaci would become the Worcester Railers franchise leader in games played (193) and pick up his 200th career point on Sunday. Goaltender John Muse announced his retirement after Saturday’s win as he’s going overseas to pursue a coaching gig. Worcester will head to Glens Falls on Tuesday before hosting the Royals on Saturday and Sunday.
Reading Royals (10-16-4-0, 24pts, 6th Place)
Reading would play the Railers in a home-and-home weekend series as they picked up a 2-1 win in Reading as Vinnie Purpura has made the most of his opportunity this year as he improved to 4-2 on the season as he made 32 saves in Friday’s win. On Saturday, the Royals had a chance to pick up their third straight win for the first time since the beginning of the season as they held a 3-2 lead heading into the third as they were 8-0 when leading after 40 minutes this season. However, the Railers scored two goals in 13 seconds to salvage the split against Reading. The Royals will finish off their four-game road trip this week as they head to Wheeling on Tuesday and then finish the road trip with games against Worcester on Friday and Saturday.
Maine Mariners (10-14-2-0, 22pts, 7th Place)
The Maine Mariners would drop both games this weekend as they had their first home game since December 8th. Maine would lose Saturday’s game in a tightly contested 2-1 game but would have the largest crowd in franchise history with 6,076. On Saturday, Maine would get off to a slow start, allowing a goal in the opening minute, but the Lions would put up five goals in 8:22 as they skated away with a 6-2 victory. The Mariners will begin a six-game homestand as they will host the Lions on New Year’s Eve and the Tahoe Knight Monsters for a three-in-three weekend series.
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