Reflecting on Cleveland’s Nine-Game Losing Streak

The Cleveland Monsters ended their nine-game losing streak on Saturday, February 12 with a 2-1 win over the number one team in the league, the Utica Comets. Don’t let the losing streak fool you; the Monsters played well during that time. They just couldn’t seem to seem to pull out a win. “It’s just one of those times for us when everything that can go wrong goes wrong,” said assistant coach Trent Vogelhuber. 

There was no question from the coaching staff about whether or not the players were putting in the effort. “It’s a funny game sometimes. They’re competing, they’re working. That’s all you can ask for,” explained assistant coach Mark Letestu. “They’re creating opportunities to score.”

Letestu went on to point out that the team was struggling to finish and that they need to be, “a little bit more desperate around the net and find ways to score goals.” He went on to explain that they didn’t have to worry about whether or not the Monsters were getting chances. “The chances are there. The guys are creating enough.”

Vogelhuber echoed this sentiment, “That’s been the story for a while now, and that’s where we’re frustrated. It’s not going in.” He expanded upon this by saying, “We get great chances. Sometimes they go in and there’s a lot of time they don’t. We’re in one right now.”

Often throughout the nine-game skid, Coach Vogelhuber mentioned the need to focus on defense more than offense. What he meant was not so much that the defensive pairs needed to step up, but everyone on the ice needed to step up in a defensive minded way to prevent the onslaught of goals they continued to face.

“And when I speak of defense, I don’t necessarily mean defenseman,” said Vogelhuber. “It’s just the defensive side of the puck.” According to Vogelhuber, some of the things they focused on were playing tighter in the defensive zone and staying on top of pucks in the neutral zone.

One player who upped their defensive play was rookie defender Billy Sweezey. Over the past few months, we’ve seen Sweezey grow into a passionate and well-rounded defender. He’s slowly learning to play both sides of the puck well, providing a bit of offensive spark when on the ice. On top of that, Sweezey’s situational awareness has grown tremendously. Before, his hits led to boarding and interference calls. Now, they lead to breaking up opponents plays, goalie protection, and opening up scoring lanes for his teammates who are trying to get on the board. 

“I think at the start of the year, Billy was trying to establish himself as who he might be for our team and maybe chased it a little bit trying to hit everything that moved,” said Letestu. “There’s not many guys like him. He’s settling in, you know, he’s still relatively new to the league.”

Despite being a new face on the team, Sweezey has become “loved in the room” by his teammates and coaches. “There’s already signs in the stands for him. So, the fans seem to be picking up the same thing we are: that he’s a big part of the group back there,” said Letestu of Sweezey’s place on the Monsters. “And obviously, the physical presence that we need.”

Also during the losing streak, the special teams were a bit of a sore spot. However, the power play had moments of brilliance. “And then on the power play, we’ve had some streakiness there,” explained Vogelhuber. “But at the end of the day, you just put your most offensive players on the ice and hope that they can make some plays.”

Vogelhuber then went on to explain what makes a power play work effectively, “The best power plays are simple power plays, right? You don’t want to dumb it down too much for those guys. They want to make their plays, but the hardest power plays to defend are the ones that shoot a lot. So, we certainly have to be more direct.”

There was one thing that is fairly noticeable this season and it’s something which has echoed throughout past seasons as well. The Monsters are a very solid road team. “For whatever reason, the road has been quite comfortable for us,” explained Letestu. “All of our specialties perform better on the road. We score more goals; our record is better.”

In my sixth season covering the team, I can honestly say I agree with their assessment. On the road, the Monsters tend to play a crisp and clean game. They ooze confidence and for the most part aren’t inside their heads. They consistently play a more relaxed game when traveling and the communication is better. Pretty much everything is better. 

So, it’s no surprise they ended their nine-game losing streak on the road against the top team in the league, the Utica Comets, then continued to split a weekend series with another formidable opponent, the Charlotte Checkers.

If the Monsters can learn to play like this at home, they will be virtually unstoppable for the rest of the season.