San Antonio Rampage (3) at Cleveland Monsters (6)
Attendance: 11,226
Starters
Monsters
Naas-Thurkauf-Schroeder
Austin-Cockerill
Zatkoff
Rampage
Agozzino-Vogelhuber-Blais
Geertsen-Meloche
Martin
Monsters Lines
Naas-Thurkauf-Schroeder
Bittner-Scott-Koules
Besse-Kujawinski-Lane
Kessy-Dahl-Hodgson
Monsters Pairings
Austin-Cockerill
Gaunce-Graves
Carlsson-Collins
Goal Recap
After a five game roadie, the Cleveland Monsters arrived home to take on the San Antonio Rampage. The fans were excited to be back in the Q to watch some hockey. Boy, did they get to watch some good hockey.
The Monsters kicked things off 50 seconds into the game.
After receiving a pass from Cameron Gaunce, Grant Besse swiveled and fired the puck from the wall near the top of the right faceoff circle. Spencer Martin was able to stop the puck with his leg. However, the puck had a mind of it’s own and trickled under Martin’s pad into the open crease. Ryan Kujawinski flew full force into the crease and knocked the puck into the net.
The Rampage tied the game 4:32 into the first period.
Klim Kostin noticed the Monsters had left Turner Ottenbreit alone at the blue line. Ottenbreit wound up before launching the puck into the back of the net.
With 4:20 left in the first period, the Rampage took the 2-1 lead over the Monsters.
Alex Belzile was posted next to the net without a shot to make. He quickly passed the puck off to Jesse Graham who was open at the top of the left faceoff circle. Graham looked around for a few seconds but couldn’t find an opening. When Graham looked back at Belzile, he noticed his teammate was left unattended. He quickly passed the puck back to Belzile who pounded it home from the goal line.
Three minutes later the Monsters tied the game at two.
Ryan Collins fired off a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle before Paul Bittner tipped it into the net.
Both teams entered the second period on even ground ready to take the other down.
The Rampage broke the tie 3:56 into the second period.
Kostin tossed the puck across the ice to Andrew Agozzino who broke away from the pack before backhanding the puck into the net.
After Agozzino’s goal, the Monsters went balls to the walls scoring four unanswered goals in the span of seven minutes.
A little over four minutes into the second period, the Monsters tied the game at three.
Besse forced a turn over near the blue line. He then fired the puck across the ice to Jacob Graves who fired it through Martin’s five-hole from the top of the right faceoff circle.
Four minutes later, the Monsters took the 4-3 lead over the Rampage.
Calvin Thurkauf skated around the back of the net to grab the puck. Martin got to the puck before him and cleared it. Jordan Schroeder snatched the puck up and fired it towards the crease where Thurkauf had opened up shop. This allowed Thurkauf to redirect the puck into the net.
With 10:39 to play in the second period, the Monsters extended their lead over the Rampage to 5-3.
Brady Austin fired the puck from the left faceoff circle towards the net. Jefferson Dahl lept in the air and whacked it into the net with his stick.
The final goal of the night came from Kujawinski with 8:45 left in the second period. It was a beautiful topshelf snipe.
The third period came and went without either team scoring. After a frustrating Wednesday, the Monsters skated away the victors of this Friday night tilt.
But Wait! There’s More
Quick Thoughts
- Both teams laid an abundance of massive hits. It’s amazing no one flew threw the glass last night.
- Not only is Ryan Kujawinski a phenomenal player but he is incredibly humble. During the post game presser, he made sure to toot Grant Besse’s horn for setting up both of Kujawinski’s goals.
- The Monsters were a hot mess on Wednesday night. They were missing passes and flubbing shots. The team which took the ice last night was a completely different team. They were confident and strong. Their hits were heavy and their passes had meaning. Cleveland was the better team last night and the scoreboard reflected this fact.
- “We capitalized on our chances. We didn’t turn many pucks over early. The penalty kill was good early and it kept us in the game. Zats (Jeff Zatkoff) played really well for us. We played a complete game.” – Head Coach John Madden/
3 Stars
1st – Ryan Kujawinski (2g, 0a)
2nd – Jefferson Dahl (1g, 0a)
3rd – Grant Besse (0g, 3a)
Game Stats
Captaincy Report
Cameron Gaunce, Jordan Schroeder, and Justin Scott wore the “A” on their sweater tonight.
What’s Next
The Monsters and Rampage meet again on Sunday at 3pm. If you love puppies, you’ll love this game. It’s Pucks and Paws night. .
Then they have a few days off before taking on the Manitoba Moose on Thursday, April 12th and Friday, April 13th.
Friday’s game is the last home game of the season. During the game take the time to send out thank you posts on twitter and instagram. Be sure to tag them with #ThankYouMonsters and #CLEMonsters!
The last game of the season will take place in Grand Rapids against the Griffins at 7 pm on Saturday, April 14th.