Rockford IceHogs (2) at Cleveland Monsters (3)
Attendance: 3,897
Starters
Monsters
Koules-Vigneault-Thurkauf
Austin-Kukan
Thiessen
IceHogs
Highmore-Dauphin-Pelletier
Snuggerud-Dahlstrom
Berube
Goal Recap
After splitting this past weekend series with the Ontario Reign, the Cleveland Monsters were ready to take down the number one team in the division.
The first goal of the evening came at 13:45 of the first period from the Monsters. Joe Pendenza fired a rocket toward the net. The puck went just wide of the net bouncing off the backboard. Alex Broadhurst scooped the puck up from behind the net and snuck it through the back door.
“It was a huge goal for me obviously. I was goal-less coming into the game tonight. So, I was definitely stressing out about it a bit.” – Alex Broadhurst
The Monsters started the second out with a bang by scoring a goal 46 seconds into the period. Jordan Schroeder wobbled the puck while muscling through traffic in front of the net. Calvin Thurkauf picked up the puck and passed it to Sam Vigneault who was posted in front of Jean-Francois Berube. Vigneault fired but the puck bounced from one post to the other before exiting the crease. Thurkauf hopped on the rebound and slammed the puck home to extend the Monsters lead to two.
Eleven and a half minutes into the second the IceHogs closed the gap with their first goal of the night. Carl Dahlstrom accepted a pass from Luc Snuggerud just inside the blue line and launched the puck past Thiessen’s left leg.
With 42.1 seconds in the second period, the IceHogs tied things up. Darren Raddysh launched a shot towards the net. Tomas Jurco managed to grab a piece of it before it flew past Brad Thiessen.
The Monsters took the lead eight and a half minutes into the third period. There was a huge battle for the puck in front of Berube. Everyone was trying to either score a goal or clear the puck. Everyone except Paul Bittner. While trying to attack the net, Miles Koules noticed Bittner open and away from the massive pile in front of the net. He backhanded the puck to Bittner who fired it between Berube’s five-hole for the final goal of the night.
“It was just a battle in front. The boys were battling hard. Miles somehow batted it over to me. I was luckily there and I netted it home.” – Paul Bittner
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Sam Vigneault is very aggressive along the boards and knows how to get the puck away from the opposition.
- During the Monsters’ first penalty kill, Cameron Gaunce, and John Ramage threw their bodies around to stop the puck from going anywhere near the net.
- Terry Broadhurst is a skilled passer who uses his stick as an extension of his body. /
3 Stars
1st – Paul Bittner (1g, 0a)
2nd – Brad Thiessen (32 shots faced, 30 saves, TOI: 60:00)
3rd – Jordan Schroeder (0g, 2a)
Game Stats
Milestones
Alex Broadhurst scored his first goal of the season tonight during the first period. With that goal, he is six goals away from scoring 50 AHL career goals. Speaking of Broadhursts, tonight’s game was the first time Terry Broadhurst donned the Monsters sweater. The last time the Broadhurst brothers played together was in the 2013-14 season with the Rockford IceHogs.
In his 37th professional game, Paul Bittner finally tasted success. He scored his first professional goal in the third period.
Captaincy Report
Andre Benoit, Alex Broadhurst, and Carter Camper wore the “A” yet again tonight. It looks like the “A” will sit with the three of them for a bit longer.
What’s Next
The Monsters will spend the next two weeks on the road traveling to both Tucson and Iowa. They will play the Roadrunners on November 3rd and 4th. Then play the Wild on November 11th and 12th.