The Monsters walked away with seven of eight possible points this week.
Three of their four games were pushed to overtime and two of those had to be decided in a shootout.
After missing 12 games, Daniel Zaar returned to the Monsters lineup on Tuesday notching an assist on one of Oliver Bjorkstrand’s two goals. Bjorkstrand and Sonny Milano scored two goals each in Tuesday’s win over the Milwaukee Admirals.
The boys had to hop on the bus after the Admirals game and drive through the night to Iowa where they would take on the Wild on Wednesday. Despite the tight turnaround, the Monsters were able to take down the Wild in overtime.
They would get one day of rest before returning home to take on the Manitoba Moose on Friday and Sunday. Both nights ended in a four-round shootout. Friday night’s win was thanks to a shootout goal by Daniel Zaar.
The Monsters fell to the Moose on Sunday. Jordan Maletta had the lone goal for the squad.
Transactions
For the third time this season, Oliver Bjorkstrand was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 8th. He was returned to the Monsters on February 10th.
Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo flipped spots for a few days this week so Korpisalo could shake some of the rust off of his skates.
Mike Brown was released from his 25 game PTO on Sunday. In the same day, Akim Aliu was signed to a PTO contract.
Rankings
Record: 23-18-2-4; 52 points; .553 pct; 5th Central; 9th West
Even after picking up seven points last week, Cleveland is still chasing the fourth spot in the Central Division. This time there is only .5% standing in the way of the Monsters and the four spot. The Monsters will face the Wild two times this coming week. Winning both games in regulation will give the Monsters the bump they need to get into the playoffs.
Team Leaders
Point Scorers
- T.J. Tynan, Oliver Bjorkstrand; 26
- Sonny Milano; 25
- Alex Broadhurst; 23
Goal Scorers
- Oliver Bjorkstrand; 14
- Sonny Milano; 11
- Markus Hannikainen; 10
Assists
- T.J. Tynan; 21
- Sonny Milano, Alex Broadhurst, Daniel Zaar; 14
- Dean Kukan; 13
Penalty Minutes
- Brett Gallant; 89
- Oleg Yevenko; 51
- John Ramage; 43
Weekly Stats
| Shots For | 129 |
| Shots Against | 57 |
| Goals For | 10 |
| Goals Against | 6 |
| Penalties/Minutes | 20/54 minutes |
| Penalty Kill | 3 for 15 |
| Power Play | 9 for 11 |
| Thiessen | Forsberg | Korpisalo | |
| Games Played | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Record | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-0 | 1-0-0-1 |
| Shots Faced | 18 | 39 | 62 |
| Saves | 17 | 38 | 59 |
| Time On Ice | 60:22:00 | 60:00:00 | 129:37:00 |
Around the AHL
Notable Transactions
The Detroit Red Wings recalled Jimmy Howard from his conditioning stint with the Grand Rapids Griffins this week. The Griffins brought Cal Heeter up from the Toledo Walleye to replace Howard.
Mike Reilly and Alex Tuch have been called up to the Minnesota Wild and reassigned a few times in the past week.
Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros swapped spots this week. Saros was returned to the Admirals while Mazanec was called up to the Predators.
The Toronto Marlies released netminder, Karri Ramo, from his PTO contract with the squad.
Player Awards
Frederick Gaudreau of the Milwaukee Admirals was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week. During the first week of February, Gaudreau recorded a hat trick for the second time during his AHL career. Over the course of two games, he scored four goals and one assist.
Story Lines
There are some great stories coming out of the AHL right now.
Sam Anas and his mother, Demetra, chat with Tom Witosky about how breast cancer affected their lives.
Jhonas Enroth is adjusting to life in the AHL after spending years in the NHL.
Daniel Fink shines light on the development of Jack Roslovic this season. http://theahl.com/ahlotb-roslovics-development-takes-center-stage
Akron/Cleveland Connection
The 46th Baron Cup took place last week in Cleveland.
The Shaker Heights Raiders won the Baron Cup I Championship for the second year in a row.
Olmstead Falls defeated #1 seed, Avon, to take up the Baron Cup II Championship.
The Baron Cup III Championship was a true tale of underdogs. Yes, I said underdogs. Both teams in the championship were not expected to end up this far in the tournament. CVCA(#4) pushed Aurora (#3) into overtime where the Royals would score the game winner 2:16 into the game.
NEO Sports Insider did an incredible job covering the tournament this past week. If you want to read more articles about the Baron Cup head on over to neosportsinsider.com.
State tournaments start today.