Monsters Fall to Phantoms, Despite Loss Clinch Playoff Berth

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AHL Cleveland Monsters

Monsters Fall to Phantoms, Despite Loss Clinch Playoff Berth

April 18, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


ALLENTOWN, PA - The Cleveland Monsters fell to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 7-3 on Friday night at the PPL Center. Following a regulation loss by the Belleville Senators Friday night, the Monsters have clinched their spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. With the loss, the Monsters are now 35-25-5-6 and in fifth place in the AHL's North Division standings. The Monsters will face the Toronto Marlies for the North Division First Round of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs in a best-of-three series.

Cleveland forward Luca Del Bel Belluz opened the scoring at 6:26 of the first frame with Mikael Pyyhtiä on the assist for the 1-0 lead. Lehigh Valley answered with two goals, one from Olle Lycksell at 6:50 and another by Garrett Wilson at 8:04 while shorthanded to give the Phantoms a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Monsters centerman Dylan Gambrell locked the game at two with a goal off feeds from Roman Ahcan and Samuel Knazko at the 5:18 mark of the second frame. Guillaume Richard at 6:13 of the same period pulled Cleveland ahead, 3-2 off a Del Bel Belluz assist to lead through two stanzas. Lehigh Valley's Ty Murchison tied the game, 3-3 at 4:21 of the final frame, followed by Rodrigo Âbols taking the lead for the Phantoms at the 5:27 mark making it a 4-3 game. Phantoms' forwards Lycksell scored his second of the night at 6:23 along with Âbols doing the same on the power play at 12:15 to make it a 6-3 game. Garrett Wilson closed things out with an empty-netter at 19:40 for a 7-3 Phantoms victory.

Cleveland's Zach Sawchenko made 27 saves in defeat while Lehigh Valley's Cal Peterson stopped 28 shots for the win.

The Monsters wrap up the regular season with a road matchup against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, April 19, at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena.Top of Form Bottom of Form Follow the games with full coverage on FOX Sports 1350 The Gambler, 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 2 0 - - 3 LV 2 0 5 - - 7

Shots/Special Teams:

Shots PP PK PIM CLE 31 0/5 1/2 9 min / 3 inf LV 34 1/2 5/5 15 min / 6 inf

Goaltenders:

Goaltender Outcome Saves GA Record CLE Sawchenko L 27 6 10-11-5 LV Peterson W 28 3 13-15-3 Cleveland Record: 35-25-5-6, 5th North Division Lehigh Valley Record: 35-28-6-2, 5th Atlantic Division

GAME SHEET - GAME PHOTOS - GAME HIGHLIGHTS * *Game highlights will appear as soon as possible following video processing.

The Monsters are part of Rock Entertainment Group. In addition to the Monsters, Rock Entertainment Group also includes the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA, the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League and the Cavs Legion of the NBA 2K League. They operate and manage Rocket Arena in Cleveland and Cleveland Clinic Courts - the Cavaliers' training and development center in Independence, Ohio. In partnership with Gray Media, they also own and operate Rock Entertainment Sports Network, providing 24/7 local Ohio sports and entertainment programming. Rock Entertainment Group unifies multiple sports, venues, music, and content properties, fostering collaboration, growth and new opportunities while delivering exceptional experiences for fans, teams, partners and staff.

- ClevelandMonsters.com -

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