Cleveland Monsters vs Rockford IceHogs Opening Night Game Recap
The Cleveland Monsters faced Rockford at home for their season opener.
The Cleveland Monsters started off to a rocky start with three straight failed power plays in the first period before Calvin Thurkauf would take a penalty later in the first which would allow the IceHogs to score on the delayed penalty.
Eric Robinson would tie it up for the Monsters 1:58 into the second period with the first goal of his professional career. Shortly after, the Cleveland fans would be treated to the first fight of the season between Zac Dalpe of the Monsters, who would also get a two minute minor penalty for roughing, and Nathan Noel of the IceHogs. The rest of the second would be fairly uneventful.
The third period on the other hand would be a great one for the Monsters as they would score three goals to break the tie and win the game.
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Kevin Stenlund, Vitaly Abramov and Justin Scott would score the respective goals and the Monsters would win with a final score of 4-1 against the IceHogs.
Jean-Froncois Berube had a solid first start of the season as he would finish the night with a .960 save percentage and one goal against.
The biggest issue throughout the game was certainly the power play as the team struggled to get any great chances while on the man advantage. The penalty kill played well, however they unofficially gave up a goal while the IceHogs had a man advantage due to a delayed penalty but it was technically an even strength goal.
Today the Cleveland Monsters are back to play against the IceHogs at home for the second straight day. The game is available on AHLTV on the AHL website at 1 PM EST on October 6, 2018.
Next. Meet the 2018-2019 Cleveland Monsters Leadership. dark
The season may only be one day old, but there’s a lot of promise on show for the future of the Columbus Blue Jackets and the present of the Cleveland Monsters.