Today is the fifth week of the 2017-18 edition of “Throwback Thursday”. Before the season starts, I’ll review each series from the 2016-17 season. A few days out from the start of the season is a good time to give Monsters fans a refresher. Once the AHL season officially starts, I’ll throw it way back and bless you with Cleveland hockey history. The season is close. Can you feel it?!
Today, I bring you the 2016-17 Cleveland Monsters vs Manitoba Moose series.
Cleveland Monsters; 39-29-4-4, 86 points, .566 win%, 5th Central, 9th West
vs
Manitoba Moose; 29-37-5-5, 68 points, .447win%, 7th Central, 14th West
Series Record: 4-3-0-1 (H: 2-1-0-1; A: 2-2-0-0)
The Monsters and Moose kicked things off on November 3rd, 2016 in Manitoba.
Justin Scott kicked the scoring off a little over six minutes into the first period. However, the Moose would close the game with an empty-netter from Ohio’s own, Jack Roslovic. This would be the seventh goal of the evening for those in their win over the Monsters.
Two nights later, the Moose would come up big yet again beating the Monsters, 5-2.
The Monsters and Moose would reconvene in Manitoba at the beginning of December. This time the Monsters had the upper hand winning both games in the weekend series, 5-1 and 2-1.
Captain Ryan Craig stood out in the Monsters 5-1 win over the Moose scoring two of their five goals. Dean Kukan led the pack in assists with two.
In the Monsters 2-1 win over the Moose, Markus Hannikainen pushed the game into extra stanzas with his eighth goal of the season. Aaron Palushaj scored the game-winning shootout goal to give the Monsters the win.
The two teams wouldn’t meet again until February 10th and 12th in Cleveland. Both games would end up in a shootout. The Monsters and the Moose would split the weekend series with a shootout win each.
The final two games of the season for both teams would be against one another.
Game one of the weekend series was a battle of goals. Seven goals were scored in the second period.
Thanks to a quick-thinking Sam Vigneault, the Monsters were able to pull out the win.
The last game of the season was the most intense game of the season. There was a brawl between the Moose bench and the Monsters on the ice. The only goal scored came 14 seconds into the third period by Kyle Connor of the Manitoba Moose.
To add insult to injury, the Monsters needed to win this game to solidify a spot n the playoffs. This loss meant they had to depend on the Chicago Wolves to beat the Charlotte Checkers in regulation to make the playoffs.
Spoiler Alert: The Chicago Wolves and Charlotte Checkers game went into overtime.
The Monsters and Moose will see each other in Manitoba for the second and third game of the Monsters’ 2017-18 season. It should be interesting to see how many players hold a grudge from last season’s “fight night”.
Series Stats
Moose vs Monsters – Series Stats
| Moose | Stat | Monsters |
|---|---|---|
| 262 | Shots | 261 |
| 23 | Goals | 21 |
| 56/162 minutes | Penalties/Minutes | 51/133 minutes |
| 32 for 40 | Penalty Kills | 29 for 36 |
| 7 for 36 | Power Plays | 8 for 40 |
Goalie Matchup
Moose vs Monsters – Goaltender Stats
| Pavelec | Comrie | Stat | Korpisalo | Forsberg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 6 | Games Played | 5 | 4 |
| 1-0-0-1 | 3-2-0-1 | Record | 2-2-0-1 | 2-1-0-0 |
| 66 | 193 | Shots Faced | 144 | 127 |
| 63 | 177 | Saves | 130 | 116 |
| 124:42:00 | 367:53:00 | Time On Ice | 288:49:00 | 214:53:00 |
Leaders
Moose vs Monsters – Leaders
| Moose | Stat | Monsters |
|---|---|---|
| Connor, Howden, 3 | Goals | Craig, Hannikainen, 4 |
| Lipon, Czuczman, 5 | Assists | Kukan, Tynan, 4 |
| Lipon, 7 | Points | Kukan, Tynan, Broadhurst, Craig, Hannikainen, 5 |
| Lemieux, 21 | PIMs | Moutrey, 19 |