Cleveland Monsters (4) at Binghamton Devils (5)
The Cleveland Monsters headed into last night’s game against the Binghamton Devils high on a big win. Beating the Devils would help put the Monsters back on the right path.
During the first 2:03 of the game, both teams had momentum taken from them due to a clock malfunction. Once game operations figured out the clock problem, the Monsters and Devils spent the period trading momentum back and forth.
The Devils were the first to notch a goal with 6:28 left in the opening period. Marian Studenic skated through the blue line before passing the puck off to Egor Sharangovich. Studenic skated backwards towards the net keeping an eye on his linemate. When Sharangovich fired the puck, Studenic was in the right position to bunt the puck into the net.
Two minutes later,Adam Clendening and Kurtis Gabriel got into a slight shoving match. Brett Gallant slowly skated over to see what the drama was all about. When Clendening turned down the Gabriel’s fight request, Gallant dropped the gloves and accepted for him.
The fight breathed new life into the Monsters. They began attacking the net like mad men.
Then, fortune shined in their favor.
With 2:17 left in the period, Speers upended Eric Robinson who was in the crease getting ready to receive the puck from Clendening for a shot attempt. The refs immediately blew the whistle and sent Speers straight to the box.
On the very first play of man advantage for the Monsters, Dan DeSalvo launched a rocket of a shot from the top of the left circle to tie the game at one.
The Monsters had a pep in their step at the end of the first. However, the pep didn’t last long. They played a bit of a sloppy game which allowed the Devils to score four goals.
Almost eight minutes into the second period, Nathan Bastian broke away from the pack and fired a shot past Jean-Francois Berube.
A little over 14 minutes into the period, Nick Saracino was triple teamed by Mark Letestu, Adam Clending, and DeSalvo. Dillon Simpson quickly swooped in from the front to try and steal the puck from him. Unfortunately, Saracino outskated all of them before passing the puck off to Studenic. When Studenic saw Sharangovich open on the other side of the crease, he tossed the puck to Sharangovich who slammed it home for the goal.
With 4:35 left in the second, the Devils extended their lead over the Monsters to 4-1.
Blake Speers skated through the Monsters’ lineup like each player was a traffic cone. While the Monsters were reeling from this display of skill, Colton White received the puck from Speers. White immediately fired a shot towards Berube but was quickly stopped by his closing five-hole. A huge scramble broke out in front of the net causing Berube to los sight of the puck. Brian Ward found the loose puck first and poked it across the goal line.
Thirty seconds later, Sarancino picked up his own rebound to give the Devils the 5-1 lead.
So, as you can see, the second period was a bit of a disaster.
The third period, on the other hand, was a lot better. Whatever was said in the locker room lit a fire beneath the Monsters.
DeSalvo forced a turnover near center ice 1:38 into the third. He took of down the ice and lofted the puck over Evan Cormier’s shoulder.
A minute and a half later, the Monsters closed in on the Devils, 5-3.
Ryan MacInnis had a slight breakaway down the ice. When he saw Gabriel coming in for the hit, MacInnis quickly tossed the puck down the ice to Maxime Fortier. From across the crease, Fortier passed the puck to Vitaly Abramov who batted it into the net.
With 2:07 left in the game, Justin Scott shot the puck off of Cormier to put the Monsters within one of the Devils, 5-4.
The Monsters were firing on all cylinder and ready to push this game into overtime. Unfortunately, the horn sounded without the tying goal.
3 Stars
1st – Nick Saracino (1g, 1a)
2nd – Dan DeSalvo (2g, 0a)
3rd – Brian Ward (1g, 0a)
Game Stats
Monsters Lines
Broadhurst-Letestu-Korostelev
Robinson-Scott-Abramov
Fortier-MacInnis-Sherwood
Gallant-DeSalvo-Somerby
Monsters Pairings
Cross-Siebenaler
Simpson-Clendening
Prapavessis-Collins
What’s Next
The Monsters continue their roadie with back to back games against the Laval Rockets.
January 18th @ Laval Rocket – 7:30 pm
January 19th @ Laval Rocket – 3pm