(Note: These game recaps are copies of write-ups produced for the Monarchs discord, some content (mostly the pings of individual players) have been removed.)

Game #34 vs Chicago Syndicate: 8-7 OT Loss

Maybe if I back away slowly they won't see this loss... slowly...

(Oles scored another shorty.)

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Game #35 vs Tampa Bay Barracuda: 6-1 Loss

Hoang scores late in the 1st and then the game just falls to pieces.

Growing pains mean shifting lines, and we scramble our power play and take a long look at strategy to work our way to wins again.

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Game #36 vs. Montreal Patriotes: 7-1 Win

But first, a quick stop to Ft. Worth to mop up the Patriotes.

Meta Knight gets on the board early with a critical 1st minute goal, and that sets the early tone. Quickly, Jules Florsch and Binko Koivu get on-board.

In the 2nd, we take a generous break from scoring to exchange pleasentries with our opponents, and in the 3rd, we finish them off. Knight scores again. Florsch scores again. Kim, 3 assists in, finally gets on the board with a goal, and for good measure, Spack Jarrow gets aboard in the 17th minute.

It's no night off for Newman, who posts a .964 save percentage, but the true stars are Kim, who posts 4 points on the night, and the rookie Gibbles, who gets 3 assists of his own. A good cleansing game.

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Game 37 vs. Hamilton Steelhawks: 5-4 SO Loss

Oh boy a shootout.

At the Copps-eum, we start slow, and Hamilton gets ahead of us early with an Activity Check goal.

Mu Wisconsin gets a goal early in the 2nd, but Hamilton blitzes us for 3 quick goals in the 3rd, and just like that, it's a 4-1 deficit.

But we're nothing if not determined. Gordie Gibbles gets us one, and then Kevin Kim gets his just deserves for assisting on that with a goal of his own. Then, on a 17th minute PP, Spack Jarrow scores the last goal of the game again to tie it going to OT.

and when the OT solves nothing, to the Shootout we go.

Aleksandr Iskandrov ❌
Hai Nam Hoang ✅
Jani Manty ✅
Meta Knight ❌
Paul Koivu  ✅
Julian Florsch ❌

Aw, beans.

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Game #38 vs. Chicago Syndicate: 8-0 Win

Revenge. Revenge! REVENGE!

At the Throne, the warpath begins in the 1st, with Jules Florsch collecting goal #20. Midway through, Lazer Gato scores his 9th.

In the 2nd, Binko gets on board with a PPG, and Knight cashes in on a shorthanded break.

And in the 3rd, the damn dam breaks. Mu Wisconsin scores on the PP, Hai Nam Hoang scores 30 seconds later. Wisconsin scores late in the frame, and then on a PP, Jules cashes in for his 2nd of the game.

Ally Mathieson, solid though limited, needs just 21 saves to lock in her 2nd shutout of the season, and it's a big statement win over an old rival.

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Game #39 vs. Winnipeg Aurora: 5-2 Loss

This game ends at the end of the 1st, which is never a good time to end a game.

Nevek Kove starts us off hot with a goal 21 seconds in, and Binko Koivu scores 2 minutes later, but after that, we just lose it.

In a game where we wanted to do right by our new friends and get a win in Winnipeg, we can't manage a full 60 minutes, or even a full 20. One to forget, burn the tape.

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Game #40 vs. Texas Renegades: 5-0 Loss

Burn this tape too.

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Game #41 vs. Winnipeg Aurora: 7-3 Win

Time to nip this losing streak in the bud.

Nevek Kove scores first on the power play, but Poiklm, the rookie, scores one to tie the game. It looks to stay tied to end it, but Hai Nam Hoang scores a great goal with just six seconds left in the period.

In the 2nd, we can't get anything going, and Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson scores twice to get Winnipeg a lead going into the 3rd.

The lead lasts 4 minutes when Hoang scores again to tie it, then de Pengu, Gato, Jarrow, and Gibbles get on the sheet in the 3rd to seal a great comeback win.

It's a great team effort to never give up on this game, and we're rewarded with a big statement win against a divisional foe right when we needed a boost.

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Game #42 vs Chicago Syndicate: 7-4 Win

On Collin Gibbles' night, we look to get a win for our esteemed friend, and we come out fighting.

Binko Koivu scores on a power play midway through the first, and when the Syndicate score two later on, Koivu's there again to tie the game.

In the 2nd, the game gets away from us a bit, as Inactive Forever and Steve Harrington score two more to make it 4-2, and the game gets chippy and crazy. We even take a bench minor penalty.

And then Kevin Kim turns on the gas.

His first goal comes at 4:45 on the penalty kill assisted by de Pengu and Smokes. He scores 40 seconds later assisted by Gordon Gibbles, putting a finger up to the rafters where his name now rests. Meta Knight breaks up the naturalness of the effort with a shorthanded goal of his own, but with 1:07 of the 3rd, Kim scores into the empty net, a 3rd period hat trick. Not to be outdone, Knight scores his own empty netter.

But it's Kim's world and we're all living in it tonight. His effort almost overshadows the honor tonight has been to retire the jersey of a friend. Almost.

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Game #43 vs. Calgary Dragons: 6-4 Loss

This one burns a little. Get it? Eh? You get it...

Binko Koivu scores 1st again, and the popular theme continues of the Monarchs scoring first, tying the game up in the 2nd (with an Oles Kobliska goal), and lose their grip in the 2nd with 3 goals from the opposition.

The theme breaks down when we don't get off the mat in the 3rd. Although Jay O'Neal and Gordie Gibbles score midway through the period, it's not enough to recover, and Walter Melon scores a winner.

It's so tough when we could see victory in sight, but we're still competing. We can't panic about this game. Just one to forget.

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Game #44 vs. Edmonton Blizzard: 4-1 Win

It's time to fight against the Island of Misfit SHL Vets, including some former friends in JR Frankenstero, Jacques Hammer, Jeff Hunziker, and prospect Simo Jääskeläinen.

Ben Waters Jr. scores early to give the Blizzard a lead, but we've seen what this team can do and we're ready to respond. In the 2nd, Meta Knight capitalizes on a great feed from Adelie de Pengu and Spack Jarrow to tie the game

In the 3rd, we take control. Julian Florsch, Hai Nam Hoang, and Nevek Kove score to put the game away.

Jeff Newman is stellar for us after the 1st, shutting the Blizzard down for a .971 save percentage. The game puck goes to Adelie de Pengu, who has an  uncharacteristic burst of offense for 3 assists.

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Game #45 vs. Chicago Syndicate: 8-4 Win

Oh boy these guys again!

The 1st period is a madhouse of offense, as Meta Knight, Ryu Jones, Lazer Gato, and Gordon Gibbles score within 7 minutes of ice time. The Syndicate put one more in to make it 3-2 to end the period.

Anyone want more offense? No? Too bad! How about 3 shorthanded goals?! First goes to Oles Kobliska (who else), and when Harrington scores to get Chicago within one, Kevin Kim scores at even strength, and then Hoang scores a shorty a minute later. Finally, Cal Juice scores another to get them within two.

In the 3rd, we clamp down on the game, and Gordon Gibbles scores his 2nd of the game 2 minutes in, with Julian Florsch scoring another 2 minutes later.

It feels good to get the crowd behind us, knocking out a rival and making it look good.

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Game #46 vs. Chicago Syndicate: 3-2 Loss

Ugh, these guys again.

In Chicago this time, we look good to start, as Kevin Kim scores 6 minutes into the game, but it gets ugly quick. Kim goes for cross-checking. Leo Rose goes for cross-checking. Gibbles goes for high sticking. Smokes and Harrington pair off for a fight.

That fight changes the complexion of the game. Chicago ties it in the 2nd and keeps the pressure on. We're still fighting, though, as Binko Koivu gets #20 9 minutes into the 3rd. Unfortunately, we lose on two late goals. The 3rd is a bloodbath as well. This game had 52 minutes of penalties, and a majority happen in the 3rd. We have to keep our cool, and we don't this time. The Syndicate succeed in ticking us off.

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Game #47 vs. Edmonton Blizzard: 3-2 Win

It's time to put a streak together.

Hai Nam Hoang scores a minute and 12 seconds in, and that sets the tone. We put 52 shots on net in the game, and only lodge 3 goals. Dwayne Swanson ties the game in the 1st, but it's Mu Wisconsin, the vet, who gets us ahead with just 3 seconds left in the 1st.

Jeff Hunziker, former Monarch, scores 7 minutes into the 2nd, but late in the period again, Nevek Kove scores another last-minute goal, breaking the back and confidence of the team.

We keep control of the game in the 3rd, and Jeff Newman is the happiest man in Rogers Place when the horn sounds. He stops 27/29 for a .931 save percentage, and the captain has found the back of the net. It feels like a big win to build on.

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Game #48 vs. Texas Renegades: 6-4 Win

We start sleeping against our division rival, and then we wake up.

Chris Valentine and our boogeyman, Marton Diehm, score early in the 2nd. We don't give up, though, as a power play gives Koivu a goal to get us within one.

In the 2nd, Hai Nam Hoang scores 41 seconds into the 2nd to tie the game, and Jules Florsch scores a shorthanded goal to take the lead, but the Renegades respond with a shorty of their own.

In the 3rd, our defensive players go to work. Lazer Gato scores his 12th of the season with a blast from the point, Jules gets on the board again, and when Dion scores another shorthanded goal, it's Mu Wisconsin with the empty netter to clinch it.

It's not pretty but we get it done against a team we have to win games against to recover ground in the division. Right now, we're 10 points out from home-ice advantage in a series.

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Game #49 vs. New England Wolfpack: 4-1 Win

We go to Boston to officially turn this from two-in-a-row to a winning streak.

And there's Binko Koivu scoring early on the power play, his 22nd.

In he 2nd, the game gets close and gritty. All the offense comes from the PP, where Koivu scores his 2nd of the game, and Bruno Tooyo gets one back.

But in no way are we letting this one slip away. We lock it down in the 3rd, and Kevin Kim scores to make it 3-1. Meta Knight finds the back of the net, snapping a small scoring drought, and we leave TD Garden a happy bunch with 3 wins under our belt.

(Word Count: 1930)