Monsters Balancing Excitement and Expectations to Win in Cleveland Outdoor Classic

Cleveland – On Saturday, the first outdoor professional hockey game in the city of Cleveland will take place at the home of the Cleveland Browns First Energy Stadium between the Cleveland Monsters and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The Cleveland Monsters Outdoor Classic will be the 11th outdoor game in the history of the American Hockey League. 

Everyone from the fans to the players to the coaches are excited about tomorrow’s event. “It’s awesome. Just the outdoor game in general is going to be a great experience,” said defender Billy Sweezey. For a lot of players, an outdoor game is a reminder of why they fell in love with the game at a young age. Most guys grew up playing hockey in their backyard or on a neighborhood lake during the winter months. An event like this gives them a bit of sweet nostalgia and tradition. “I’m sure you couldn’t find a single guy in the league who hasn’t played pond hockey growing up,” said Sweezey. “So, it’s really a tradition of the game.”

For some members of the Monsters organization, playing or coaching in an outdoor game has become a tradition at different stages in their careers. 

This will be Assistant Coach Mike Haviland’s second appearance at an outdoor game. The first came back in 2009 when his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, played the Detroit Red Wings in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. 

Carson Meyer will also be playing in his second outdoor game. The first was while he was playing for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets. Things will be a bit different this time around as it was just friends and family in attendance for that first outdoor game. “ I had one outdoor game when I was playing with the AAA Blue Jackets but nothing like this. It was just friends and family at that game,” said Meyer. “I heard this will be over 20,000. So, It’ll be awesome.”

On February 18th, while still with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Meyer attended the Ohio State vs the University of Michigan outdoor game on February 18th which also took place at First Energy Stadium. During the game, Meyer felt a tinge of jealousy watching the game from his seat instead of on the bench. Luckily, the Jackets assigned him to the Monsters earlier this week allowing Meyer to have the opportunity to play in the Outdoor Classic this weekend. 

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For defender/forward Dillon Simpson, the Outdoor Classic will be his fourth outdoor game. He played in one during his Senior year at the University of North Dakota and two while playing for the Bakersfield Condors. All three had delays due to weather. 

Seeing as how it’s currently downpouring rain in Northeast Ohio and there is a 16% chance of snow showers tomorrow, it appears the less-than-ideal weather conditions have followed Simpson to Cleveland.

Weather isn’t the only challenge players face during an outdoor game. Jet Greaves explained the different types of lighting, natural and stadium, can add an extra layer to the game for goaltenders. “If it’s a day game, the sun shining on the ice might cause some different glares,” explained Greaves. “If it’s the night game, the lights.” Greaves then went on to explain that challenges seeing the puck can be expected in an outdoor setting. “You expect to maybe fight a little bit harder to see pucks but that’s all just part of it.”

Due to the hype of playing in a big event such as an outdoor game, coaches have the challenge of keeping their players focused on the task at hand – winning. “There is so much hype. Then, all of a sudden the game comes and you have to play the game,” said Assistant Coach Haviland. “I think they’re just a lot of fun. But, the two points are big and we need them.”

Currently, the Monsters are three points out of a playoff spot. So, playing in the Outdoor Classic has become more than just a fun event for Cleveland. It is essentially a win-or-die situation for the team. “There’s a little bit of pressure behind each game and it is our playoff hockey,” said Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber. “It’s already begun because you lose two or three more, that’s a deep hole.”  Simpson echoed Vogelhuber’s sentiments, “We’re talking about how it’s already playoff hockey and every game is huge. Our next game is our biggest one of the year king of thing every night.”

As you can see, winning isn’t just for bragging rights. It’s for much-needed points. Well, for one player, winning the Outdoor Classic gives him bragging rights over the Penguins. 

During the 2020-21 season, Sweezey played in 22 games for Wilkes-Barre Scranton. “They gave me my start in pro hockey. So, they’ll always have a place in my heart,” said Sweezey of his days with the Penguins. Don’t worry. Sweezey isn’t going to let the nostalgia slow up his play or soften the strength of his hits. In fact, he let us know that he’s “going to hate them tomorrow.” 

At the end of the day, playing against his old team will add an element of fun to a game that holds high implications of what will happen as the season rolls along toward the playoffs.