Monsters Win 5-3 in San Antonio
April 1, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Cleveland Monsters News Release
Three power play goals helped the Lake Erie Monsters (29-29-0-9) earn a 5-3 win in San Antonio over the Rampage (27-33-3-6) Tuesday night at the AT&T Center. The victory snapped the Monsters three-game winless streak, and included goals from Michael Schumacher, Mike Sgarbossa, Stefan Elliott, Karl Stollery, and Joey Hishon. Sami Aittokallio had the win in net for the Monsters, who now have 67 points through 67 games. The Monsters are eight points out of the eighth playoff spot which is currently held by the Charlotte Checkers. The Monsters have nine games to play, while Charlotte has seven games remaining.
Michael Schumacher gave the Monsters a 1-0 lead 3:42 into the first period when he launched a wrist shot from the top of the right circle to beat San Antonio goalie Michael Houser stick-side. David van der Gulik and Colin Smith assisted on Schumacher's 10th goal of the season. The Monsters led 1-0 through one period, and outshot San Antonio 17-6 in the opening frame.
Mike Sgarbossa stretched the Monsters lead to 2-0 with a power play goal, sending a puck top-shelf from in front of the San Antonio net at 2:46 of the second period. Sgarbossa's goal was his fifth of the season, assisted by Schumacher and Smith. After the Monsters went ahead by a pair, San Antonio would score twice to tie the game when Joey Crabb scored at 6:13 of the second period and Matt Gilroy scored at 10:24 of the second period on a power play.
The Monsters regained the two-goal lead before the second period could end. Stefan Elliott scored on a wrist shot from the slot with the Monsters on a five-on-three power play at 17:18 of the second period; the goal was his 14th of the season, and was assisted by Andrew Agozzino and Mark Olver. Just 18 seconds later, Karl Stollery scored on a shot from the blue line for his seventh goal of the season. Stollery's power play goal gave the Monsters a 4-2 lead, and was assisted by Joey Hishon and Smith.
Hishon scored a goal from the slot on a wrist shot following a rush up the ice to give the Monsters a 5-2 lead at 12:18 of the third period; the goal was his 10th and was assisted by Markus Lauridsen and Guillaume Desbiens. San Antoino's Jared Gomes added a goal in the final three minutes to make the score 5-3, but it was not enough to stop the Monsters.
Sami Aittokallio is 13-12-3 in net for the Monsters after stopping 28 of 31 shots. Houser stopped 29 of 34 shots for San Antonio; he is 10-12-1.
The Monsters are back in action Friday at 8:30 PM Eastern as they continue their road trip against the Texas Stars. Friday's game airs live on ESPN 850 WKNR.
NOTES: Olver's assist gives him a Monsters season-best eight-game point streak; he has three goals and eight assists for 11 points over that span... van der Gulik's assist gives him a four-game point streak; he has three goals and two assists for five points over that span... Agozzino's assist gives him a five-game point streak; he has a goal and six assists for seven points over his last five games... Schumacher has five goals in his last seven games... The Monsters are 11-17-0-6 on the road this season and are 1-0-0-0 in April... The Monsters are 8-9-0-0 against the West Division, and 1-2-0-0 against San Antonio, who they will meet again on Saturday... The Monsters were 3-5 on the power play Tuesday, and 5-6 on the penalty kill.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from April 1, 2014
- Monsters Power Past Rampage 5-3 - San Antonio Rampage
- Shootout Loss Drops Wolves' Magic Number to 2 - Chicago Wolves
- Monsters Win 5-3 in San Antonio - Cleveland Monsters
- Sharks Maintain Consistent Lead to Edge Pirates 3-2 - Worcester Sharks
- Rieder Strikes Twice, But Sharks Sink Pirates - Portland Pirates
- Crunch Weekly - Syracuse Crunch
- Penguins Weekly - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Griffins Own Six-Point Division Lead Heading into Final Seven Games - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Monarchs Release Ellis - Manchester Monarchs
- Comets Sign Aviani to ATO - Utica Comets
- Buffalo Sabres Sign Forward Justin Kea to Three-Year Deal - Rochester Americans
- Syracuse Crunch Celebrate Syracuse Chiefs Legend Tex Simone - Syracuse Crunch
- SJ Sharks Reassign D Mirco Mueller to Worcester - Worcester Sharks
- Stars Weekly (Week 27) - Texas Sweeps Hamilton, Claims Second-Straight Division - Texas Stars
- April Home Games Feature Ticket, Merchandise Deals - Rochester Americans
- Kings Sign Two Prospects - Manchester Monarchs
- Bulldogs Launch April '30-For-30' Season Ticket Promo - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rampage Sign Tyler Barnes, Connor Brickley to ATOs - San Antonio Rampage
- B-Sens Weekly - Binghamton Senators
- Lightning Sign Adam Erne to Entry Level Contract - Syracuse Crunch
- Nastasiuk Reassigned to Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Shalla Reassigned to Cincinnati - Milwaukee Admirals
- Joel Broda Released from PTO - Bridgeport Islanders
- Gabriel and Brassart Sign ATOs with Iowa Wild - Iowa Wild
- Poulin Wall Blocks Sound Tigers 3-1 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Rita Renaud Named Anthem Community Angel - Portland Pirates
- Blackhawks Announce ECHL Affiliation Agreement with Indy Fuel - Rockford IceHogs
- Brett Flemming Reassigned to Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Florida Panthers Recall F Bobby Butler and D Jonathan Racine from San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Penguins' Mannino Named CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Iowa Wild Participates in Charity Poker Tournament - Iowa Wild
- Providence Bruins Center Alexander Khokhlachev Named CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month - Providence Bruins
- Boychuk, Khokhlachev, Mannino Named CCM/AHL Award Winners for March - AHL
- Norfolk Admirals Weekly - Norfolk Admirals
- 2014 Scotty Bowman Showcase Rosters Announced - Rochester Americans
- Griffins SkyTix, a Drone-Based Ticket Delivery System - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Rampage Recall F Tony Turgeon - San Antonio Rampage
- San Antonio Rampage to Play Tuesday Despite Missing Mascot - San Antonio Rampage
- Pirates Sign Laplante and Raine to ATOs - Portland Pirates
- Jets Re-Assign Eric Comrie & Josh Morrissey to IceCaps - St. John's IceCaps
- Pirates Look to Fool Sharks in Last Meeting of 13-14 - Portland Pirates
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Cleveland Monsters Stories
- Monsters Tripped up in 5-2 Loss to Penguins
- Monsters Sign Pair of ECHL Forwards to Pro Tryout Contracts
- Monsters Skate Away with Big 3-2 Overtime Win against Penguins
- Blue Jackets Recall Defenseman Jake Christiansen from Monsters
- Monsters Black and Blue Hockey Turns Green with Themed Jerseys for St. Patrick's Day