Cleveland Monsters (0) at San Jose Barracuda (4)
Attendance: 8,046
Starters
Monsters
Gerbe-Vigneault-Schroeder
Austin-Cockerill
Zatkoff
Barracuda
Warning-Mashinter-Chartier
DeSimone-Middleton
Bibeau
Monsters Lines
T.Broadhurst-Dalpe-A.Broadhurst
Gerbe-Vigneault-Schroeder
Pendenza-Scott-Koules
Kessy-Thurkauf-Hodgson
Monsters Pairings
Austin-Cockerill
Gaunce-Collins
Somerby-Graves
Goal Recap
For the second night in a row, the Cleveland Monsters fell apart against a less than stellar team. For the past month, the San Jose Barracuda have been playing spotty hockey. Yet, they put their best skate forward for the past two meetings against the Monsters.
Like last night’s game, the Barracuda started out slow and a bit sloppy. By the second period, they were firing on all cylinders. Once momentum went San Jose’s way it never came back to Cleveland.
The Barracuda scored four unanswered goals to procure the shutout win over the Monsters.
The first goal of the night came 1:28 into the second period.
After a series of beautiful passes, Alexander True received the puck and fired it over Jeff Zatkoff’s blocker.
The Barracuda scored their second goal of the night 3:34 into the third period.
Manuel Wiederer decided to hang out between the hashmarks while everyone battled for the puck behind the net. John McCarthy saw Wiederer unattended in front of the net and tossed the puck his way. By the time the defense got to him, Wiederer scored.
Two minutes and six seconds later, the Barracuda extended their lead to 3-0.
Rudolf Balcers launched a rocket from outside the hashmarks. The puck banged off the left post and into the back of the net.
With a little under eight minutes to play in the game, the Barracuda scored their fourth and final goal of the evening.
Caleb Herbert fired a shot from the faceoff dot. Zatkoff managed to stop the puck with his pads. The puck trickled out of Zatkoff’s pads while he was looking to see where it went. Emerson Clark descened upon the puck and fired it into the net.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Madden needs to roll all four lines. By the time the middle of the second period comes around, the top six are enervated. Barely anyone can keep up with the opposition in the third period. He has to stop with the dump and chase on the 3rd and 4th line. The players on those lines have copious amounts of talent sitting inside of them waiting to be unleashed. Also, it’s time to shake the lines up. Cleveland isn’t making the playoffs. So, why not start playing with the lines a bit to see what all the guys have to offer. Put the first line on three different lines, bench a few of the turnover kings, and call it a day.
- Matiss Kivlenieks needs to start against the Stockton Heat. He’s more composed and, quite frankly, better than Jeff Zatkoff. There also seems to be less defensive breakdowns when Kivlenieks is in net.
- With Brett Gallant out, Kale Kessy brings much needed energy and aggression to the team. However, Kessy needs to be more disciplined with his hits. Leaving your feet to board someone is a complete no-no. He’s lucky the refs didn’t boot him from the game.
- Speaking of discipline, Zac Dalpe should have never fought Emerson Clark. Losing one of your best playmakers for the remainder of the game is less than ideal when you are down 4-0. Yes, scoring four goals in four minutes to tie it up is highly unlikely. However, one goal could be enough to help a team end the game on a high note and power them through to their next game.
- Garrett Cockerill was one of the few positives in tonight’s game. He is phenomenal at breaking up plays and stealing pucks. /
3 Stars
1st – Antoine Bibeau (23 shots faced, 23 saves, 59:36 TOI, SHUTOUT)
2nd – Alexander True (1g, 0a)
3rd – Rudolfs Balcers (1g,1a)
Game Stats
Captaincy Report
Alex Broadhurst, Nathan Gerbe, and Zac Dalpe all wore the “A” on their chest.
Penalty Book/Milestones
Antoine Bibeau earned his fourth shutout of the season. Two of them were against the Monsters.
What’s Next
The Monsters take on the Stockon Heat on Sunday, March 11th at 8pm est.
On March 13th, they head to the Ontario to take on the Reign.
They finally leave California on March 16th but only to head to Texas where they will play the Stars.
The trip finally ends on St. Patricks day against the San Antonio Rampage.