Jordan Weal contributed a pair of goals in the Monarchs 5-2 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 2 of their second round playoff series on Thursday night. We’ll have full analysis and highlights up later. For now, here is what Weal had to share immediately after the game…
On the win, putting Manchester up 2-0 in the series:
“I thought it was a 60 minute effort. Right from the first shift, we were getting on them. We kept that going through the first and the second – you saw that from the shots on goal. We didn’t give them much offensively. When we’re playing good defensive, and we’re not spending a lot of time in our end, that’s when we’re at our best. I think we did that tonight.”
On his personal game:
“I thought all three of us were going. We were battling. We were getting in on pucks. Some of our plays might not have been the smoothest, but we were really battling and grinding it out, and creating second opportunities, especially on O’Neill’s goal. We were just grinding in the corner, and it popped out to him, and he made a great shot. We just have to keep that up, and good things will keep happening.”
On what the team needs to do to win on the road:
“It’s a tough building to play in. I think we learned a lot from the first series we played in. You get those first two wins, but you’ve got to be ready for that third one, because teams are a lot different at home. We’ve learned from that, and I think it’ll be a different game on Saturday.”
On if the grinding his line did helped his game:
“I think it’s more of a work-ethic mentality. When you work and never give up on plays, you can create a lot of quick opportunities out of the corner to the net. All three of us are very capable of that, and we showed it tonight.”
On how his legs felt after the triple OT game the night before:
“It was a long one. I’ve gone to two [overtimes], not three. The body was beginning to shut down in that third one. It was a weird feeling. Your body just feels weird. It was great to get that win. O’Brien made a great shot. Hopefully we can keep that going in Game 3.”
On having a day of rest before Saturday’s game:
“It will be nice. We just have to make sure we’re getting nutrition in us and hydrating a lot, because it’s a quick turnaround. It’s going to be a good game Saturday.”
On if he remembers coach Mike Stothers’ game plan against him and the Regina Pats in juniors:
“Oh yeah. I remember it a lot. We played them about eight times, and then the last year, we played them five more times in the playoffs. They had a lot of big guys on their team They were a big, physical team. It was never a fun game playing against them, because he definitely sent a message to his team that we were going to hit this team. They came out hitting a lot. When they had the size they did, it was tough to handle.”
UPDATE: Full game analysis, line combos, and video highlights have been posted here.
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This man needs to be in the NHL, preferably on our team.