Laval Rocket (5) at Cleveland Monsters (1)
Attendance: 8,688
Starters
Monsters
Milano-MacInnis-Letestu
Cross-Carlsson
Kivlenieks
Rocket
Scherbak-Vejdemo-Jevpalovs
Kulak-Fleury
Lindgren
Monsters Lines
Robinson-Dalpe-Bittner
Milano-MacInnis-Letestu
Abramov-Broadhurst-Gerbe
Stenlund-Thurkauf-Sherwood
Monsters Pairings
Cross-Carlsson
Simpson-Wade
Collins-Somerby
Goal Recap
After dropping two games in dramatic fashion, the Cleveland Monsters were on the hunt for a win. On the other side of the puck, the Laval Rocket came into tonight’s game riding a two-game win streak.
Alexandre Alain put the Rocket on the board after tipping a shot into the net 2:40 into the game.
Jake Evans gave the Rocket a 2-0 lead over the Monsters 5:45 into the second period. He went on a massive break away before lifting the puck into the net.
Ten minutes later, the Rocket extended their lead over the Monsters to 3-0. Scherbak faked out both Wade and Kivlenieks before firing the puck into the back of the net.
The Cleveland Monsters managed to hold the Rocket to zero goals in the second. They even were able to get on the scoreboard with 1.9 seconds left in the period. Sonny Milano scooped up Kevin Stenlund’s rebound and pushed it through Charlie Lindgren’s five-hole. This would be the Monsters one and only goal of the night.
The Rocket, on the other hand, had two more goals in them.
A little over three minutes into the third period, everyone witnessed the most unfortunate goal ever. Evans fired the puck from point blank range at Matiss Kivlenieks. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the puck bounced off the post. Unfortunately, the puck went in the direction of Kivlenieks’ bum and bounced into the net.
Forty-eight seconds later, Doyle Somerby accidentally passed the puck to Lukas Vejedmo. After receiving the puck, Vejdemo raced towards the net. As he got closer, he fired the puck through Kivlenieks’ five-hole.
The Monsters tried to get back in the game but were unable to score a goal before the horn sounded.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
· Tommy Cross and Gabriel Carlsson spent the first period making it very hard for the Rocket to exit the neutral zone.
· Matiss Kivlenieks was a little rusty tonight.
· Kole Sherwood and Eric Robinson played an incredibly aggressive game tonight. They both had no qualms defending themselves and laying big hits.
· The team on the ice the past three games has been significantly different than the team we saw at the beginning of the season.
“It seems like when we make a mistake it’s catastrophic. It’s an easy goal for them. I thought we dominated for stretches of that game where the team didn’t touch the puck. You can’t fall asleep in situations like that.” – Head Coach John Madden
· Despite the score, the Monsters looked better tonight than the past two nights. Hopefully, this means tomorrow will be an even better game.
“Overall we generated a lot of scoring chances. We didn’t give up much. They were fortunate to capitalize on the mistakes that we made.” – Head Coach John Madden
3 Stars
1st – Jake Evans (2g, 0a)
2nd – Charlie Lindgren (32 shots faced, 31 saves, 60:00 TOI)
3rd – Lukas Vejdemo (1g, 1a)
Game Stats
What’s Next
The Monsters and Rocket battle each other again on Saturday, November 10th at 7pm in Cleveland. It’s the Monsters’ “Salute to Service” night. Bring your military ID to the box office before the game to get a free ticket to the game.