Cleveland Monsters (2) at Grand Rapids Griffins (1)
Attendance: 9,126
Starters
Monsters
T.Broadhurst-Dalpe-A.Broadhurst
Somerby-Kukan
Korpisalo
Griffins
Tangradi-Street-Puempel
Hronek-Lashoff
McCollum
Monsters Lines
T.Broadhurst-Dalpe-A.Broadhurst
Motte-Camper-Kurker
Bittner-Vigneault-Koules
Gallant-Scott-Thurkauf
Monsters Pairings
Gaunce-Ramge
Carlsson-Collins
Somerby-Kukan
Goal Recap
After a five-game drought, the Cleveland Monsters were able to walk away with a win tonight beating the Grand Rapids Griffins 2-1.
Monsters and Griffins fans had to sit through two periods of play before they saw the first goal of the night.
Cameron Gaunce put the Monsters on the board 1:01 into the third period.
The Griffins left Gaunce alone near the faceoff circle. Zac Dalpe saw this and backhanded him the puck which Gaunce fired into the net from the faceoff dot.
Three minutes and 24 seconds later, the Monsters extended their lead over the Griffins to 2-0.
Dean Kukan saw an unattended Carter Camper and quickly passed him the puck. After receiving the puck, Camper launched it towards the net. Tyler Motte deflected Camper’s shot into the net for the goal.
With 19 seconds left in the game, the Griffins would spoil Joonas Korpisalo’s shutout.
Filip Hronek lofted the puck from above the blue line. It picked up speed as it flew closer to the net. Korpisalo chest bumped the puck out of the air. Once it dropped, Dean Kukan raced to clear the puck. Kukan whiffed and Matt Puempel smacked the goal into the net.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Tyler Motte might be the hype man and fearless leader the Monsters have searching for this season. Every time he is sent down the players have pep in their step.
- From the moment the Monsters stepped on the ice you could tell they were hungry for a win. They fired a lot of shot in the vicinity of the net but it wasn’t until the third period when they were able to straighten them out.
- Joonas Korpisalo was on fire tonight. He did everything possible to stop shots from going into the net. /
- The penalty kill unit is normally the saving grace of Cleveland. Despite the fact they didn’t allow a goal, the penalty kill unit looked horrendous. The Griffins were able to fire off five shots during the Monsters’ first penalty kill. Up until that point, the Monsters held the Griffins to three shots on goal. Grand Rapids pretty much dominated during all of the Monsters’ kill. The best killer was Korpisalo.
- Calvin Thurkauf going toe-to-toe with Joe Hicketts is my new favorite thing. So much aggression between the two of them. /
3 Stars
1st – Joonas Korpisalo (36 shots faced, 35 saves, 60:00 TOI)
2nd – Cameron Gaunce (1g, 0a)
3rd – Tom McCollum (25 shots faced, 23 saves, 57:34 TOI)
Game Stats
Captaincy Report
Brett Gallant, Carter Camper, and Alex Broadhurst all wore the “A” in tonight’s game.
Milestones
Cameron Gaunce played in his 226th game as a Monster. This makes him the Monster with the most games played for the team.
What’s Next
The Monsters finally return home on Wednesday, January 17th and Friday, January 19th to take on the Rockford IceHogs.
January 17th is Blue Jackets/College ID Night. The Monsters will wear Jackets themed jersey. With a valid student ID, you can purchase $6 tickets at the box office.
January 19th is Cavaliers Tribute Night. The boys will rock the gold Cavs sweaters. As always, Friday night’s are 1-2-3 Friday. You can buy $1 Pepsi products, $2 Sugardale hot dogs, and $3 select 12-14oz beers.