Monsters Back-and-Forth with Comets Ends in 7-5 Loss
Published on December 22, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Monsters fell to the Utica Comets 7-5 on Thursday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. With the loss, the Monsters are now 12-11-1-2 and are currently in fifth place in the AHL's North Division standings.
Cole Fonstad scored his first goal at 2:46 of the opening frame off feeds from Tyler Angle and David Jiricek, but Utica's Jarrod Gourley responded at 4:58 knotting the game 1-1 after 20 minutes. Cole Clayton started the middle frame with a tally at 4:30 assisted by Emil Bemstrom and Justin Richards but Cleveland's lead was short-lived after Utica's Graeme Clarke scored 30 seconds later. The Monsters pushed ahead after Jiricek converted on the man advantage at 6:40 with helpers from Bemstrom and Joona Luoto. Utica's Reilly Walsh notched a power-play marker at 10:57, but Fonstad picked up his second goal of the night unassisted at 14:24 bringing the score to 4-3 for Cleveland. The Comets closed out the second period with goals from Clarke at 17:19 and Jack Dugan at 18:14 leaving the Monsters trailing 5-4 after 40 minutes. The final frame started with a shorthanded tally from Utica's Nolan Stevens 19 seconds in before Michael Vukojevic followed with a goal at 5:56. Fonstad completed his bid recording his first professional hat trick at 16:27 assisted by Owen Sillinger and Brandon Davidson but the Monsters fell by a final score of 7-5.
Cleveland's Pavel Cajan made 12 saves in defeat while Utica's Nico Daws stopped 25 shots for the win.
With the postponement of Cleveland's Friday away game in Grand Rapids due to inclement weather (rescheduled for Wednesday, January 4 at Grand Rapids) announced earlier today, the Monsters next game will be against the Charlotte Checkers on Thursday, December 29, with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Follow the games with full coverage on FOX Sports 1350 'The Gambler', AHLTV and the Monsters Hockey Network.
Stay up to date on all Monsters news with the Monsters Mobile App presented by University Hospitals available to download at the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
Scoring:
1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final
CLE 1 3 1 - - 5
UTC 1 4 2 - - 7
Shots/Special Teams:
Shots PP PK PIM
CLE 30 1/4 1/2 9 min / 3 inf
UTC 10 1/2 3/4 16 min / 5 inf
Goaltenders:
Goaltender Outcome Saves GA Record
CLE Cajan L 12 7 4-6-1
UTC Daws W 25 5 7-6-1
Cleveland Record: 12-11-1-2, 4th North Division
Utica Record: 12-9-3-1, 5th North Division
GAME SHEET -GAME PHOTOS - GAME HIGHLIGHTS*
*Game highlights will appear as soon as possible following video processing.
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