AHL Cleveland Monsters

Fourth Straight Win Lands Monsters in First Place

Published on February 16, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


On Wednesday the Lake Erie Monsters moved into a tie with Manitoba for first place in the North Division, extended their winning streak to four games and finished a two-game sweep of Texas by claiming a 4-2 victory over the Stars at Quicken Loans Arena. Wednesday's game also concluded a stretch of 12 of 13 home games for the Monsters, a gauntlet in which the team posted a 9-3-0-1 mark.

Coupled with Monday's 3-2 win over the Stars, Lake Erie now improves to 28-22-3-5 overall and 18-8-2-3 on home ice.

The Monsters took a 1-0 lead at 11:34 of the first period. Matt Ford gathered the puck at the top of the left circle, weaved through a pair of defenseman and snapped a shot between the pads of Brett Krahn. David van der Gulik and Patrick Rissmiller assisted.

The Monsters carried their one-goal lead into the first intermission, while they outshot the Stars by a 15-10 count in the opening period.

Just 2:16 into the middle frame, the Monsters pushed their advantage to 2-0 off a power play goal by van der Gulik. From the bottom of the right circle, van der Gulik slipped a wrist shot through net-front traffic for his eighth goal of the season and fourth point (2G, 2A) in his last two games. Rissmiller assisted for his sixth multi-point game of the season and Ryan Stoa also recorded a helper.

Texas (29-19-3-3) quickly made the score 2-1, as Michael Neal scored off a pass from Guillaume Monast at the 2:56 mark.

In the second period, Lake Erie recorded 10 shots compared to 11 by Texas, ending the frame with a 2-1 lead.

The Monsters went up 3-1 at 1:46 of the third period, when Ford deflected a Kevin Montgomery shot into the net for his second multi-goal game of the season. Mike Carman also assisted.

The Monsters extended their lead to 4-1 when Joel Chouinard scored at 7:22, marking his second point (1G, 1A) in as many games. Stoa assisted for his fifth point (1G, 4A) in his last three games, while the helper also marked his eighth multi-point game of the season. Ford also assisted for his first three-point game and fourth multi-point outing of the season.

The Stars made the score 4-2 with Dave Bonk's goal at 14:33. Luke Gazdic assisted.

The Monsters held onto their 4-2 lead for their 12th win in their last 16 games (12-3-0-1).

Jason Bacashihua recorded 29 saves for his third straight win in goal for the Monsters.

Krahn made 32 saves in the loss for Texas.

Lake Erie will visit Manitoba for a two-game set which begins at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Three Stars: 1. LE Ford (2 goals, 1 assist); 2. LE van der Gulik (1 goal, 1 assist); 3. LE Bacashihua (29 saves)

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American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2011


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