Rookie David Meckler scored twice and assisted another as the Monarchs took hold of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 victory over the Springfield Falcons last night.
"Every game matters. It's do or die time," said Meckler.
To the delight of the 5,359 in Verizon Wireless Arena, the Monarchs never trailed, extending their unbeaten streak over Springfield in this building to 10 games. The Falcons last beat the Monarchs in the Big V on April 5, 2006.
The Monarchs (32-29-5-4, 73 points), who have never missed the playoffs, have won two in a row and climbed into playoff position by earning points in six of their last seven games. They have 10 games left, half of those against teams ahead of them in the standings.
"Our guys worked hard for it and we've battled back from a lot of points behind in the standings so it feels pretty good right now," said Monarchs coach Mark Morris. "We'll relish the fact that we're back in the hunt."
UnionLeader.com - New Hampshire news - Monarchs climb into playoffs with victory over Springfield - Monday, Mar. 24, 2008