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Recap: Monsters Battle Hard But Could Not Come Away With Win

Cleveland Monsters (0) at Milwaukee Admirals (1)

Attendance:  3,834

Starters

Monsters

T.Broadhurst-Camper-A.Broadhurst

Ramage-Carlsson

Korpisalo

Admirals

Zolnierczyk-Smith-Butler

Carrier-Oligny

Saros

Monsters Lines

T.Broadhurst-Camper-A.Broadhurst

Scott-Kirkpatrick-Kurker

Thurkauf-Vigneault-Koules

Gallant-Maletta-Bittner

Monsters Pairings

Somerby-Siebenaler

Carlsson-Ramage

Gaunce-Collins

Goal Recap

Only one goal was scored tonight. It came courtesy of the Milwaukee Admirals’ Trevor Murphy.

A little over eight minutes into the second period, Murphy rebounded Frederick Gaudreau’s shot. Murphy gingerly skated to the right faceoff circle where he would launch the puck into the net past Joonas Korpisalo.

But Wait! There’s More

Quick Thoughts

  • With the loss of players to injuries and Columbus, there were a few changes to the lines. Justin Scott played with new guys  Michael Kirkpatrick and Sam Kurker. They acted like they have been playing together their whole life. I was shocked at how well they were able to read one another. Carter Camper centered the Broadhurst brothers tonight. They looked great and were able to drum up a lot of offensive opportunities. There was a lot less hesitation coming from Camper while on this line.
  • Tonight was the first time all season the defense played a  sound game. They quickly descended upon any loose puck in front of  Korpisalo, picked up rebound after rebound, and raced down the ice at top speed to stop Admirals who were on a breakaway.
  • Doyle Somerby battling for the puck along the boards is one of my favorite things. He will do just about anything to win the battle.
  • Calvin Thurkauf has turned up his physicality the past few games. In the third period, he saw an Admiral hanging out in  Korpisalo’s crease for too long. Thurkauf skated up to the Admiral with meaning and chest-bumped him. The guy immediately skated away.  He also got into it with Trevor Murphy in the third. Murphy had been antagonizing Thurkauf, both mentally and physically, all game.
  • Twice Paul Bittner was sitting on the doorstep with the puck and Saros accidentally bumped the net off the moorings. Either something needs to be fixed during the setup of the net or these were “accidents”.
  • The Monsters dominated on the penalty kill tonight. Not so much on the power play. The absence of Dean Kukan hurts and it shows. I’m at the point where I’d rather watch the Monsters on the 2-man disadvantage than the man advantage.
  • Despite tonight’s loss and the fact they still sit in last place in the league, the way the Monsters played tonight gave me hope for the rest of the season. They are playing less tentative hockey. The defense has awoken from their slumber. The team as a whole  constantly created scoring chances tonight. They looked confident and energized. Think about this, the Admirals brought the same level of compete and passion to tonight’s game as they did in the last two games against the Monsters. The Admirals were only able to score a  goal against the Monsters tonight. In the last two meeting, they Admirals beat the Monsters by scoring five goals each game. When you think about that fact, it’s pretty impressive the Monsters were able to leave the game with one goal scored against them.   /

3 Stars

1st –  Juuse Saros (27 shots faced, 27 saves, 60:00 TOI, Shutout)

2nd –  Trevor Murphy (1g, 0a)

3rd –  Joonas Korpisalo(30 shots faced, 29 saves, 58:21 TOI)

Game Stats

Captaincy Report

Carter Camper, Brett Gallant, and Alex Broadhurst wore the “A” on their sweaters tonight. With Andre Benoit being scratched, the “A” returned to Broadhurst.

Milestones

Tonight’s Admirals shutout win was Saros’ 6th career shutout.

Michael Kirkpatrick played in his first AHL game wearing number 11 for the Monsters. He finished the game with two shots on goal.

What’s Next

The Monsters end their road trip in a back-to-back weekend series against the Grand Rapids Griffins on January 12th and 13th.

They finally return home on Wednesday, January 17th to take on the Rockford IceHogs.