Recap: Monsters Make Wild Look Mild

Cleveland Monsters (4) at Iowa Wild (0)

Attendance: 5,161

Starters

Monsters

Wild

Goal Recap

The Monsters had a strong showing in tonight’s game scoring four unanswered goals against the Wild.

With four and a half minutes left in the first period, Daniel Zaar fed Zac Dalpe the puck from the top of the faceoff circle. Dalpe was able to tap the puck into the net giving the Monsters the first goal of the night.

As time ran out in the first period, T.J. Tynan was able to fire one over Steve Michalek’s blocker to extend the Monsters lead to two.

The Monsters battled hard the next periods to put another biscuit in the basket. They would get their chance when the Wild pulled Michalek with a little over four minutes to play in the game.

Moments later, John Ramage would block a shot that Markus Hannikainen would take off with down the ice. He would pass to Justin Scott who would fire the puck into the empty net.

The Wild would put Michalek back in but it was too late. The Monsters were fired up.

Thirteen seconds later, Nick Moutrey would score one off the draw and over Michalek’s pad.

But Wait! There’s More

Quick Thoughts

• Tonight was Superhero night in Iowa. It was only fitting that Jaime Sifers and Tyler Graovac used their superhuman strength to accidentally break the glass during the first period.   /

Play has resumed and GIFS have been made pic.twitter.com/QagRrTny0I

— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) April 2, 2017

• The Monsters are working with a few hot streaks on the squad right now. T.J. Tynan’s first-period  goal put him on a three-game point streak.  Zac Dalpe is on a four-game point streak. Since starting with the Monsters, Dalpe has played against his former teams, Iowa Wild and Charlotte Checkers, five times. He’s notched five points over the span of those five games. There is no doubt Dalpe was a great pickup for the Monsters.
• Speaking of Dalpe, he and Milano have this magical ability to create something out of nothing. They  purposefully look for odd angles to shoot the puck off of and create weird re-directions for their linemates. This kind of play boggles the minds of their opponents.
• Brad Thiessen didn’t falter once during the game. There were times Thiessen left the crease but his eyes knew where the puck was at all times. Keeping Thiessen fresh is going to help the Monsters in the long run.
• Kole Sherwood may not have scored a goal or notched an assist but he shone bright tonight. He’s  wonderful at clearing the puck during a line change. It’s an underrated skill to have. Sometimes people forget how important it is to have players on your team who can clear the puck without the opponent picking it off during a line change. Sherwood can read opponents quite well which is why he excels at this specific skill. He  also knows how to lay a clean, heavy hit on his opponent. A player who knows how to use their body properly is a dream to have on a team. I would guess Sherwood will have a goal within the next two games. He had two shots on goals and a few shot attempts. When  Sherwood is hungry for a goal, he will find a way to score 1 to 5 of them. I’m glad he brought that hunger to the AHL.   /

3 Stars

1^st  –  Brad Thiessen (19 saves, 19 shots faced, Shutout)

2^nd – Zac Dalpe (1g, 0a)

3^rd – T.J. Tynan (1g, 0a)

Milestones

Kole Sherwood had two shots on goal in his professional debut.

What’s Next

The Monsters and Wild will battle one another for the final time this season on Tuesday, April 2^nd at 8pm est in Iowa.