Thread: Monarchs boost playoff chances, top Bears, 5-1 (Union Leader)

The Manchester Monarchs skated one step closer to securing a playoff spot with a 5-1 win over Hershey in front of 7,501 fans at Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Monarchs improved to 38-32-5 for 81 points, leaving them in seventh place (and in the playoffs) in the Eastern Conference heading into Saturday night's AHL slate. A win Sunday at home against St. John's (3 p.m.) would put Manchester into the postseason for certain.

Manchester could hold onto the seventh seed with a win and losses from No. 9 Syracuse Saturday night (against Connecticut) and Sunday (at Albany). No. 8 Portland (36-30-9, 81) is the other team to watch. The Pirates play today at Providence and if Manchester loses but Portland also loses, Manchester would have the tiebreaker advantage thanks to more non-overtime wins.

But the bottom line for the Monarchs is win Sunday and they're in.


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