CLEVELAND– On Friday night, the Cleveland Monsters fell to the Hartford Wolf Pack,4-2, in front of a boisterous crowd of 10,650. Captain Brendan Gaunce and forward Carson Meyer were the two goal scorers for Cleveland. Goaltender Jet Greaves allowed three goals stopping 26 of the 29 shots he faced against Hartford.
Struggling Special Teams
Thirteen penalties were amassed throughout the game between the Wolf Pack and Monsters. Eight of those penalties came courtesy of the home team. Cleveland’s Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber was not thrilled with giving Hartford eight opportunities to score and change momentum. “They’re top two or three ranked in the league,” said Vogelhuber. “You can’t give them eight opportunities.”
Going down a man multiple times took away any offensive momentum the Monsters were able to build. Simply put, they were tired. “Three penalty kills in the first period. And then, you’re using all your juice,” said Vogelhuber. On top of that, the flow of the game took a hit because you have offensive players spending more time on the kill trying to drum up defense instead of offense. When this happens, as Vogelhuber said, “ it takes you out of your rhythm.”
When asked how to get the team back on their rhythm, Vogelhuber stated, “There’s not much you can do. You just have to stick with it. Just get through the penalty kill and raise urgency on the power play. It’s tough.” He then followed up with “You just have to find a way to stay out of the box.”
Eight is obviously too many times to end up in the box. But what is the ideal amount a team would want to take penalties? According to Vogelhuber, ideally the number is zero. However, realistically the number is a bit higher. “If you’re playing hard and if you keep it to three, four, that’s a normal rate of penalties over the course of a hockey game.” He then quickly added, “But, like I said, you want them to play hard but the stick penalties just have to go.”
Around The AHL
Greatest Scorer in Monsters History
Forward Trey Fix-Wolansky assisted Meyer’s second period goal to give him 104 assists as a Cleveland Monster. As of this week, he holds the franchise career records for goal (72), power-play goals (24), points (176), and assists (104).
Fix-Wolansky’s 37 points this season have him tied for 6th in the league with San Jose forward Danil Gushchin.
The Captain’s Great Return
Since returning from the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 19, Gaunce has brought some offensive firepower to the team. The captain is rolling at point-per-game pace, scoring three goals and an assist over four games.
Carson “2-point” Meyer
With another two-point night under his belt, Meyer now leads the team with seven two-point games during the 2023-24 season. Meyer’s second period goal was his 16th of the season and places him in the top-20 in the league for goals scored.
Next Up For the Monsters
Cleveland and Hartford meet again on Saturday January 27th at 7pm. As Vogelhuber said earlier, the goal is to minimize the amount of penalties taken against one of the top power plays in the league.