Monsters Mash: Shootouts and Sweeps

Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ryan Craig, and Anton Forsberg represented the Cleveland Monsters at the 2017 AHL-All Star Classic on January 30^th and 31^st. Anton Forsberg stood tall in two shootouts to help the Central Division win the All-Star Challenge.

After the All-Star break, the Monsters were swept by the Iowa Wild. To make matters worse they were shutout both nights causing the Wild to jump the Monsters in the standings.

Transactions

Markus Hannikainen was recalled by the Blue Jackets for the 8^th time this season on Saturday. He was reassigned to the Monsters on Sunday. In 11 games with the Jackets, Hannikainen has one goal.

Forward Joe Devin was signed to a PTO contract. This is not his first stint with the Monsters. Last season, Devin played 16 games for the Monsters scoring five goals and seven assists.

Rankings

After being swept by the Iowa Wild, the Monsters dropped from the number four spot in the division to the number five.

Team Leaders

Point Scorers

1. T.J. Tynan; 25
2. Sonny Milano and Alex Broadhurst;  22
3. Oliver Bjorkstrand; 21

Goal Scorers

1. Oliver Bjorkstrand; 12
2. Markus Hannikainen, Sonny Milano,  Justin Scott, Alex Broadhurst; 9
3. Daniel Zaar; 8

Assists

1. T.J. Tynan; 20
2. Sonny Milano, Alex Broadhurst; 13
3. John Ramage

Penalty Minutes

1. Brett Gallant; 79
2. Oleg Yevenko; 49
3. Jordan Maletta; 39

Weekly Stats

Shots For	45
Shots Against	36
Goals For	0
Goals Against	4
Penalties/Minutes	6/12 minutes
Penalty Kill	6 for 6
Power Play	0 for 6

Thiessen		Forsberg
1	Games Played	1
0-0-1	Record	0-1-0
24	Shots Faced	12
23	Saves	9
63:37:00	Time On Ice	57:06:00

Around the AHL

Transactions

February 1^st, 2017

Minnesota Wild traded Marc Hagel to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for future considerations

The Dallas Stars traded Brendan Ranford (F) and Branden Troock (F) to the Arizona Coyotes for Justin Peters (G) and Justin Hache (D).

The Edmonton Oilers traded Mitch Moroz (F) for Henrik Samuelsson (F).

Milestones

Tom Kostopoulos scored his 500^th career point against the Binghamton Senators on January 28^th. A week later,  he appeared in his 600^th game with the WBS Penguins.

On February 3^rd, Maxime Fortunus became the 38^th player to play in 800 regular season games.

Player Awards

Jordan Weal was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month after scoring 14 points in the month of January. He finished the month with an eight-game scoring streak.

Lucas Wallmark was named the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month after notching nine points over 13 games in January. He had two two-goal games during the month.

Jhonas Enroth was named the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month after winning all six of his appearances during the month of January.

Announcements

The Professional Hockey Players' Association announced plans for celebrating it's 50^th anniversary during the 2017-18 season.

The AHL announced that the Albany Devils will be moving to Binghamton to start the 2017-18 season.

Akron/Cleveland Connection

In an attempt to grow girls hockey in the Cleveland area, the Cleveland Lady Barons and Gilmour announced a merger for the 2017-18 season.

The Baron Cup starts February 6^th at 4:30pm and ends February 12^th at 5:30pm. You can find a complete breakdown of the schedule here.