Cleveland Monsters (5) @ Milwaukee Admirals (2)

Attendance: 2.174

Starters

Monsters

Admirals

Goal Recap

With a little under five minutes to play in the first period, Sonny Milano fired a no-look pass towards Justin Scott who was lurking at the back door. Scott fired at the posts and was able to get the puck in the back of the net giving the Monsters the 1-0 lead over the Admirals.

Nine minutes into the second period, Paul Bittner passed the puck to Oliver Bjorkstrand who patiently waited for the right moment to connect with Alex Broadhurst. Not far from the net, Broadhurst was able to score on Marek Mazanec to extend the Monsters lead over the Admirals to 2-0.

The Admirals cut the lead in half six minutes later. Forsberg thought he had covered up the rebound but it spilled out in front of him. Aberg quickly descended upon the puck and tapped it into the net.

Not even 90 seconds later, the Monsters responded with another goal. John Ramage fired a heavy-handed shot towards the net. Bjorkstrand deflected the puck into the net giving the Monsters the 3-1 lead.

With 13 seconds left in the second period, Shawn Szydlowski forced a turnover which turned into a goal. This would be Szydlowski’s first AHL goal and the Monsters fourth goal of the evening.

The Admirals didn’t allow a 4-1 deficit defeat them. They were playing in their barn and wanted to give their fans a win. They came out hot in the third period. Aberg was the hottest of them all. Thirty-one seconds into the period he fired a wrister from the top of the circle beating Forsberg on his stick side to put the Admirals within two (4-2) of the Monsters.

The Admirals were given a new lease on the game. They were in it to win it and nothing would stop them.

Nothing except Jordan Maletta.

With 12 minutes left in the period, Maletta intercepted a feed at his own blueline and sped down the ice before finishing glove side for the fifth goal of the evening. Monsters would end the game 5-2.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE

Quick Thoughts

• Joe Pendenza was quite the presence on the ice. He skated like he was on a mission to destroy his former team. I’d like to see more of this fierce style of play from Pendenza on a regular basis.
• The line of Milano, Scott, and Maletta is pure poetry. They always seem to know where the other is located.
• Jacob Graves played well as a winger in Tuesday night’s game. I’d prefer him on the defensive side of things but it’s good to know Graves can help out in an emergency.
• The powerplay is still a bit dicey. During their first power play of the night, the Monsters were unable to fire off a single shot. They need to take the crisp style of play they use on the penalty kill and apply it to their power play.
• Oliver Bjorkstrand is an incredibly smart player. Knowing he was surrounded by Admirals, Bjorkstrand waited until Oligny was out of play before passing to Broadhurst.    There likely would have been a turnover had he not waited for the play to unfold.
• During the third period, Bjorkstrand was accosted by Oligny. No one came to his aide. Gallant couldn’t do anything about it because he was in the box after fighting Mike Liambas at the end of the second period. When the enforcers are not on the ice, other players need to step in and protect their teammates. The finesse players have to know they will be able to do their job without fear of being attacked. /

3 Stars

1st – Oliver Bjorkstrand (1g, 1a)

2nd – Jordan Maletta (1g, 0a)

3rd – Pontus Aberg (2g, 0a)

Milestones

• Oleg Yevenko notched his first point of the season assisting Scott’s goal.
• Szydlowsi scored his first AHL goal. /