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AHL Cleveland Monsters

Monsters Take Game Two, Lead Western Conference Finals 2-0

May 23, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


ONTARIO, CA - On the heels of a 4-3 Game 1 victory on Saturday, Cleveland's Lake Erie Monsters hung on for a thrilling, 3-2 victory over the defending Calder Cup Champions, the Ontario Reign, on Sunday at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The Monsters lead the best-of-seven game series 2-0 and will face off vs. the Reign in Game 3 of the series on Tuesday at 7:00 pm at The Q in downtown Cleveland.

The Monsters opened the scoring at 12:28 of the first period when Markus Hannikainen potted his first of the postseason with a delayed penalty on its way, thanks to assists from Lukas Sedlak and Ryan Craig. Then, off the ensuing center-ice draw, Sedlak buried a two-on-one, even-strength wrist shot from the left faceoff dot to make it 2-0 Lake Erie on feeds from Michael Paliotta and Justin Falk.

The middle stanza's lone marker went T.J. Tynan's way on the power-play at 4:40, courtesy of a slick setup by Craig and Steve Eminger to make it 3-0 Lake Erie heading into the final period. In the third, Ontario received five-on-five scores from Paul Bissonnette at 5:31 and Kevin Gravel at 12:48 to pull within a goal, but Lake Erie hung on in a hectic final sequence to secure a 3-2 Game 2 victory and a 2-0 series lead as the Western Conference Finals shift to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Anton Forsberg improved to 3-0 in the playoffs in net for Lake Erie by virtue of a 27-save performance, while Peter Budaj took the loss between the pipes for the Reign despite making 18 saves.

Next up for the Monsters, it's Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals vs. the Reign on Tuesday with full coverage, live from The Q, underway at 7:00 pm on ESPN 850 WKNR and the Monsters Hockey Network.

PLAYOFF TICKETS AVAILABLE: Tickets for all Monsters Western Conference Home Games (Game 3 - Tues., May 24; Game 4 - Thurs., May 26 and Game 5 - Sat., May 28) are ON SALE NOW and start at just $13 per game! Full and partial season ticket memberships are also available for the 2016-17 season and provide you with the best seat locations, custom member benefits, the lowest ticket prices and FREE playoff tickets for select plans. Group outing and birthday bash packages for 10 or more people are also on sale now. All tickets can be purchased by visiting LakeErieMonsters.com/playoffs, calling (216) 420-0000, visiting The Q Box Office or any Northern Ohio Discount Drug Mart. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter @monstershockey, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lakeeriemonsters, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/monstershockey.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 23, 2016


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