Cleveland Monsters (1) at Rockford IceHogs (4)

Attendance: 3,735

Starters

Monsters

IceHogs

Goal Recap

Three minutes into the game Evan Mosey was able to tap the puck into the next from the back door putting the Rockford IceHogs on the board first.

Less than three minutes later, Jeremy Langlois scooped up a rebound to put the IceHogs up 2-0.

About halfway through the first period, Marc-Andre Bergeron set up a play which led to a scramble in front of Lars Johansson. Thanks to Daniel Zaar and Dean Kukan, Markus Hannikainen was able to push the puck into the net.

A little over 13 minutes into the second period, Langlois redirected a Martin Lundberg transition shot from the top of the circle. IceHogs were now leading the Monsters, 3-1.

Forty seconds later, Spencer Abbott extended the IceHogs lead, 4-1, after firing a shot that sailed over the stick side of Forsberg.

But Wait! There’s More

Quick Thoughts

• It’s nice to have Bergeron back with the Monsters. Tonight he was poke checking like a fiend, firing heavy handed slapshots at the net, and was speeding around the ice like a race car driver. Bergeron even helped set up the play which led to Hannikainen’s goal in the first period.
• Alex Aliu and Jordan Maletta  spent the first part of the second period diving all over the place to stop shots from becoming goals. Unfortunately, once they stopped the IceHogs were able to tally two more goals in the game.
• One of the biggest issues plaguing the Monsters is their inability to attack the blue paint on a  consistent basis. They aren’t blocking the goalie’s line of sight nor are they picking up as many rebounds as they could. The lone goal of the night happened when the Monsters took away Johansson’s vision by planting bodies near the crease and attacking the net./

3 Stars

1^st – Jeremy Langlois (2g, 0a)

2^nd – Lars Johansson (35 saves, 36 shots faced, TOI: 60:00)

3^rd – Evan Mosey (1g, 1a)

What’s Next

After a day off, the Monsters head to Des Moines to take on the Iowa Wild in back to back games. Sunday’s game will be at 4pm est.