Monsters Come out on Top of Battle with Checkers in 6-3 Win
Published on January 3, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Monsters beat the Charlotte Checkers (18-10-2-0) 6-3 on Saturday night at Rocket Arena. With the win, the Monsters are now 14-11-4-1 and are currently in fifth place in the AHL's North Division standings.
Riley Bezeau opened the scoring with a goal at 16:22 of the first period with helpers from Hunter McKown and James Malatesta, but Charlotte's Brian Pinho added a tally at 19:27 tying the game after 20 minutes. The back-and-forth continued into the middle frame starting with a marker from Tate Singleton at 5:59 assisted by Hudson Fasching followed by another Checkers' goal from Pinho at 8:30 tying the game 2-2. Roman Ahcan added a tally at 13:38 off feeds from Jack Williams and Corson Ceulemans, but Charlotte responded with a goal from Nate Smith at 15:00. Luca Del Bel Belluz recorded a marker at 18:25 with helpers from Singleton and Ceulemans sending Cleveland to the final intermission leading 4-3. The Monsters put an end to the night in the third period starting when McKown picked up an unassisted shorthanded goal at 4:22 followed by an empty-net tally from Malatesta assisted by Williams and Del Bel Belluz bringing the final score to 6-3.
Cleveland's Ivan Fedotov made 22 saves for the win while Charlotte's Kirill Gerasimyuk made 31 saves in defeat.
The Monsters welcome the Charlotte Checkers for a rematch on Monday, January 5, at 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena. Follow the game with full coverage on SportsRadio 99.1 Powered by Rock Entertainment Group, AHLTV on FloHockey 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 X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Scoring:
1st 2nd 3rd OT SO Final CLE 1 3 2 - - 6 CLT 1 2 0 - - 3
Shots/Special Teams:
Shots PP PK PIM CLE 37 0/3 1/1 4 min / 2 inf CLT 25 0/1 3/3 8 min / 4 inf
Goaltenders:
Goaltender Outcome Saves GA Record CLE Fedotov W 22 3 10-7-3 CLT Gerasimyuk L 31 5 2-4-1 Cleveland Record: 14-11-4-1, 5th North Division Charlotte Record: 18-10-2-0, 3rd Atlantic Division
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