In a rough end to a weird series, Manchester blew a 2-0 lead last night, lost in overtime and got swept by Providence in the first-round AHL series. Don Fulton did a recap and also caught up with Monarchs coach Mark Morris this morning…

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Manchester lost last night, 3-2 in overtime, dropping its series to Providence in four games.

The Monarchs held a 2-0 lead heading into the third period on goals from David Meckler -on an assist from Oscar Moller, his first point in the AHL – and a late second period goal from Brady Murray. But the Bruins scored two goals in the third to tie the game, and tallied the game-winner only 46 seconds into overtime to end Manchester’s season. Jonathan Bernier took the loss for Manchester, stopping 24 of 27 shots.

Three of the four games in the series were decided in overtime.

Coach Mark Morris spoke this morning about the series and the season…..

On Providence:

“We certainly faced a formidable opponent in Providence and we found out why they are a first place team. They are very thorough. We found out that their experience on the back end and their quickness were the difference-makers in the series.”

On the reality of losing the series:

“I think my son put it best when he called me after the game and said, ‘Dad, come to the realization that you’ve lost three overtime games to the first place team in the American Hockey League,’ and at that point it really starts to sink in and you start to accept losing. By the same token I thought our team came a long way this year. Looking at the youth in our lineup and the progress that we made.”

On getting into the post season due to the efforts of young players:

“One of our key guys that got us into position, Brian Boyle was not with us when we needed him most. He was such a big factor on power plays and was our top center. That had some barring on the series. He had a great season, as did Ted Purcell and Matt Moulson and Gabe Gautier. Those guys were our front runners, and quietly David Meckler contributed 23 goals. We you see that kind of production from first and second year players, you know you are headed in the right direction.”

On the residual sting of the Game 3 loss:

“We had those two goals taken away the other night, and in our opinion they were both legit. The fact of the matter is we weren’t credited with them and we spent a lot of time in the penalty box, and we withstood the barrage and still we were right there when the game was on the line, but it just didn’t work out for us.”

On the playoffs and the season:

“If you left it out on the ice you can hold your head high. From the standpoint of helping the Kings getting their organization moving in the right direction I think we made strides toward that end, but nobody likes to lose. It has been a very rewarding year in a lot of ways, we turned a lot of heads. Every game was a struggle both physically and mentally, but our guys battled every night.”