Today is the fourth week of the 2017-18 edition of “Throwback Thursday”. Before the season starts, I’ll review each series from the 2016-17 season. A week 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 Iowa Wild series.
Cleveland Monsters; 39-29-4-4, 86 points, .566 win%, 5th Central, 9th West
vs
Iowa Wild; 36-31-7-2, 81 points, .533 win%, 6th Central, 10th West
Series Record: 7-2-2-1 (H: 4-1-1-1; A: 3-1-1-0)
The Cleveland Monsters kicked things off against the Iowa Wild on the road. October 25th will be a day Markus Hannikainen always remembers. In the Monsters 7-3 win, he notched the ever impressing hattrick. Both Jordan Maletta and Dante Salituro tallied their first professional goal.
December 14th would be the next time the two teams met. This time it was in Cleveland and the Monsters were looking to extend their three-game win-streak to four.
Alex Tuch kicked things off for the Wild in the first ten minutes of the game. The Monsters fired back with three goals and ended the first with a 3-1 lead. We all know how scary those 3-1 leads can be in Cleveland. The Wild managed to push the game into overtime but T.J. Tynan was there to bring home the win.
Two days later, the Wild would push the game to a shootout and take home the win.
On February 3rd, Alex Stalock would put on a show while shutting out the Monsters. His diving cat-like save against Shawn Szydlowski deservedly made “SC Top 10”.
A few days later, the Wild would shut the Monsters out again. It wasn’t the best game. So, let’s just move on.
After dropping three straight games to the Wild, the Monsters turned things around winning the next two games of the series.
During February 8th’s 2-1 win, the “noted goons” on the Monsters proved they had a lot to offer the team. Oleg Yevenko and Brett Gallant had multiple shot attempts. As well as, created a few essential plays. However, Jaime Sifers was the one who shone the brightest scoring the game-winning overtime goal.
A few weeks later, Anton Forsberg stood tall blocking all 28 shots he faced in the Monsters win over the Wild.
On February 20th, we saw Jacob Graves and Blake Siebenaler playing forward. Even though the Monsters had a short bench they were able to keep up with the Wild for most of the game. They would fall to the Wild, 4-2.
If you thought Anton Forsberg stopping 28 goals was impressive, wait until you hear what happened on March 24th. In the Monsters win, 5-1, over the Wild Anton Forsberg stopped 51 of the 52 shots he faced. He stopped 51 shots. 51. In case you were wondering, 51 shots is a lot of shots to stop.
A few days later, Markus Hannikainen celebrated his birthday by scoring three points in the Monsters 4-0 win over the Wild.
As the end of the season came to a close, the Monsters and Wild had two more games to play. They would split the final two games of the series.
Brad Thiessen would earn a shutout in the April 2nd win. Zac Dalpe and T.J. Tynan would stand out above the pack scoring a goal each and using their grit to break up plays.
Heading into the last game of the series, the Monsters needed a win over the Wild to stay in fourth place. Unfortunately, the Wild would win it in overtime.
The Iowa Wild series was one of the more pleasant series to watch last season. Hopefully, it will be just as pleasant this season.
Series Stats
Wild vs Monsters – Series Stats
| Wild | Stat | Monsters |
|---|---|---|
| 361 | Shots | 358 |
| 20 | Goals | 32 |
| 31/68 minutes | Penalties/Minutes | 34/74 minutes |
| 19 for 29 | Penalty Kills | 26 for 27 |
| 1 for 27 | Power Plays | 5 for 24 |
Goalie Matchup
Wild vs Monsters – Goaltender Stats
| Michalek | Stalock | Stat | Forsberg | Thiessen | Korpisalo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 9 | Games Played | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 2-2-0-0 | 3-4-2-0 | Record | 5-1-1-0 | 2-1-1-0 | 0-0-0-1 |
| 100 | 253 | Shots Faced | 227 | 100 | 31 |
| 92 | 234 | Saves | 216 | 95 | 30 |
| 245:49:00 | 483:04:00 | Time On Ice | 420:29:00 | 243:10:00 | 64:48:00 |
Leaders
Wild vs Monsters – Leaders
| Wild | Stat | Monsters |
|---|---|---|
| Reilly, Pulkkinen, Mitchell, Graovac, 2 | Goals | Tynan, 5 |
| Reilly, Beck, 4 | Assists | Milano, Ramage, 6 |
| Reilly, 6 | Points | Hannikainen, 9 |
| Graovac, Warner, 9 | PIMs | Kukan, 12 |