Iowa Wild (1) at Cleveland Monsters (5)
Attendance: 11,743
Starters
Monsters
| Craig | Dalpe | Tynan | |||
| Kukan | Sifers | ||||
| Forsberg | |||||
Wild
| Tuch | Graovac | Bertschy | |||
| Reilly | Fortunus | ||||
| Michalek | |||||
Goal Recap
The first goal of the night came on a two-man advantage for the Monsters. Milano banged home his own rebound to put the Monsters on the board first.
During the first intermission, T.J. Tynan was credited with the goal. I say it was Milano’s goal. What do you all think? Roll that beautiful hockey footage.
The Monsters then went on to score three unanswered goals in the second period. Three minutes into the period, Nick Moutrey tapped the puck through Michalek’s five hole and then gave it a little nudge for good measure.
“It was a good play by Maletta. Then it went back to Ramage. He got a quick shot off and lucky I was in front of the net by myself.” – Nick Moutrey
Not even a minute later, Sam Vigneault passed the puck to an open Dean Kukan who fired the puck through Michalek’s five hole.
At this point, the Wild decided it was time for a goalie change.
With three minutes left in the second, Moutrey came up big with his second goal of the game. He had a bit of a breakaway and fired from the right faceoff circle dot through Stalock’s five hole to put the Monsters up, 4-0.
“It was a good defensive play by Scott. I shot it from a good angle and lucky enough it went in.” – Nick Moutrey
Around the eight minute mark of the third period, Joe Pendenza out muscled Gustav Olofsson to create a turnover. He took off towards the net and fired the puck from the right faceoff circle to extend the Monsters lead to five.
Sam Anas would break Forsberg’s shutout mere moments after the Q celebrated his career high of 45 saves.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Joe Pendenza had a beauty of a no-look pass which led to the first goal of the night for the Monsters.
- Dean Kukan played well tonight. He knocked guys out of the crease, completed passes, broke up plays, and scored a goal. We have been waiting for this Kukan to make an appearance. It’s nice of him to come out at the right time. /
“We try to get on him to shoot the puck more. He has a great has a great shot. He doesn’t shoot 100 mph but he can put it on net and put it in a spot for our guys to get good rebounds.” – Coach John Madden
- There is no doubt Nick Moutrey brings something extra to the Monsters. Moutrey was out for a little over a month with a concussion and came back with a fire in his bones. /
“I worked with Lee Harris, the Columbus skating coach. I thank him for keeping me in shape. I I had to take a week off for the concussion but after that got back to work. I’m excited to be back with the guys.” – Nick Moutrey
- The Monsters were great at whacking rebound out of the crease tonight. This is another thing Madden has been preaching all season.
- Tonight’s game was a rather chippy one and I don’t see Sunday’s game being any different. Zach Palmquist spent most of the game trying to get under Jordan Maletta’s skin. Cooler heads prevailed. Which is good because I don’t think Palmquist is prepared for angry Maletta.
- For the most part, the Monsters played well tonight. However, they didn’t stand up when it was needed to give Forsberg the shutout he deserved. /
“It’s a shame Fors didn’t get the shutout. If you stop playing, things like that happen.” – Coach John Madden
- Over the past two games, the Monsters have let their opponents fire off 96 shots on goal. While it’s nice to have good goaltending, the team needs to make sure Thiessen and Forsberg don’t work harder than they should. /
“Sometimes you can’t do anything if they are firing outside of the dots. I’m more concerned with the quality of chances they had tonight. Most of them were in the third period.” – Coach John Madden
3 Stars
1st – Anton Forsberg (51 saves, 52 shots faced)
2nd – Nick Moutrey (2g, 0a)
3rd – Dean Kukan (1g, 0a)
Milestones
Ryan Craig played in his 700th AHL game.
Joe Pendenza played his 150th AHL game tonight, as well. He scored the Monsters’ fifth goal on his only shot of the night.
Nick Moutrey’s first goal of the night was his 25th AHL point.
Sam Vigneault scored his first AHL/professional point and assists on Dean Kukan’s second period goal.
The Iowa Wild’s Sam Anas scored his 25th AHL point after scoring the lone Wild goal of the night.
Luke Kunin played in his first AHL and professional game tonight. He had seven shots on goal and four penalty minutes for the Wild.
What’s Next
The Monsters and Wild will meet for an afternoon game at 3pm on Sunday in Cleveland. There’s no doubt this game will be filled with action and intensity.
The Monsters will then face the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday and Thursday in Cleveland.
“We’ve got a lot to lose. We hold our destiny in our own hands. If we don’t win hockey games against Iowa and Charlotte coming up, then we lost. We win those games and we are in.” – Coach John Madden