Cleveland Monsters (4) at Utica Comets (3)
Attendance: 3,917
Starters
Monsters
Robinson-Dalpe-Bittner
Cross-Carlsson
Berube
Comets
Archibald-Kero-Boucher
Biega-Sautner
Kulbakov
Monsters Lines
Robinson-Dalpe-Bittner
Gerbe-Broadhurst-Stenlund
Abramov-MacInnis-Letestu
Scott-Vigneault-Sherwood
Monsters Pairings
Cross-Carlsson
Prapavessis-Simpson
Somerby-Collins
Goal Recap
Heading into last night’s game the Utica Comets and Cleveland Monsters were hungry for wins. Between the two of them, seven goals were scored. Yet, only one skated away victoriously.
Cleveland kick off the scoring with 9:26 left in the first period. Gabriel Carlsson passed the puck to Nathan Gerbe who was open near the red line. Gerbe popped the puck in the air toward Alex Broadhurst. After a short battle for the puck with Olli Juolevi, Broadhurst lifted the puck into the top corner of the net.
The Monsters and Comets score two goals a piece in the second period. The first half of the period was for the Monsters. The second half of the period was for the Comets.
Zac Dalpe scored the second goal of the night 3:19 into the second period. After a series of crisp, clean passes involving Carlsson and Paul Bittner, Dalpe was able to rush the net and push the puck behind Ivan Kulbakov.
Almost six minutes later, Cleveland extended their lead over the Comets to 3-0. Carlsson sat at the point scanning the ice for an open man. Mark Letestu skated by at just the right moment. Carlsson passed to Letestu who quickly fired the puck down the ice to the corner where Ryan MacInnis was located. Letestu rushed towards the net and received a pass from MacInnis as soon as he hit the top of the crease. Once the puck was on Letestu’s stick, he tapped it into the net.
A little over 10 minutes into the second period, the Comets scored their first goal of the game. Zack MacEwen descended upon a loose puck in the crease. He swatted at it a few times before it bounced off of Jean-Francois Berube’s pad. Jonathan Dahlen swooped in for the rebound goal.
With 3:40 left in the second period, the Comets cut the Monsters lead to one goal. Darren Archibald knocked a Cam Darcy shot out of the air and into the net.
Six minutes into the third period, the Monsters extended their lead over the Comets to 4-2. Doyle Somerby and MacInnis set up a beautiful play for Letestu. After receiving the puck from MacInnis, Letestu was able to one-time the puck down the open lane and into the net.
The Comets turned up the heat in an attempt to snatch a win from the Monsters. Reid Boucher managed to score a rebounded goal but it wasn’t enough to give the Comets a win.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Since being moved to the third line, Mark Letestu has been on fire. He finally looks as if he has settled in to the Cleveland system.
- Gabriel Carlsson did a lot of good things last night.
- Ryan Collins grew a lot over the summer. He’s faster, stronger, and starting to make smarter plays.
- The power play FINALLY looked like a power play. They didn’t score on the power play but the puck stayed in the o-zone for bulk of their man advantage.
- Yet again, the Monsters spent a lot of time on the kill. Due to this, their pk is in midseason form already. Maybe some shorties are coming their way soon.
- Doyle Somerby needs to control his cross-checking a bit this season. The refs are getting more aggressive with their cross-checking penalties this season.
- After last night, I’m unsure the Monsters are ready for the aggression of the East. They play a lot of nitty, gritty hockey full of hard hits and rumbles in the East.
- The Monsters need to start protecting Vitaly Abramov. The Comets tried to eat him alive last night. /
3 Stars
1st – Gabriel Carlsson (0g, 3a)
2nd – Mark Letestu ( 2g, 0a)
3rd – Darren Archibald (1g, 0a)
Game Stats
What’s Next
After the game, the Monsters hopped on the bus and headed towards Binghamton. They will play the Devils on Saturday, October 20th at 7:05pm.