Monsters Drop Game 2 in Overtime
Photo Credit : Hershey Bears
Cleveland Monsters (2) at Hershey Bears (3) - Overtime
Attendance: 10,562
Officials
Referees : Stephen Hiff (46), Morgan MacPhee (43)
Linesperson: Jeremy Faucher (85), Ryan Jackson (84)
Cleveland Lines
Sillinger - Del Bel Belluz - Pyyhtia
Malatesta - McKown - Fix-Wolansky
Ahcan - Gaunce - Matteau
Pearson - Dunne - Whelan
Cleveland Pairings
Svozil - Jiricek
Zboril - Bjork
Knazko - Sweezey
Hershey Lines
Snively - Lapierre - Frankk
Limoges - Huntington - Dube
Miroshnichenko - Roe - Vecchione
Trineyev - Sutter - Rybinski
Hershey Pairings
Ness - McIlrath
Johansen - Iorio
Massie - Priskie
Goal Recap
After a scoreless first period, the Hershey Bears opened the scoring 14:35 into the second period when Garrett Roe launched a shot from the top of the slot into the back of the net. Cleveland netminder Jet Greaves couldn’t see through traffic well enough to stop the puck from flying into the net.
A wild situation led to the Monsters tying the game at one with 1:13 to play in the second period.
In an attempt to prevent Justin Pearson from breaking away with the puck, Hershey goaltender Hunter Shepard left the crease and skated up the slot before diving to knock the puck away. Shepard's plan of preventing a goal was foiled when the net was left wide open while Josh Dunne barreled towards the crease to hit home Pearson's attempted wrap-around.
With 8:39 to play in the third period, Hershey took the 2-1 lead over Cleveland. This time Ethen Frank, the second-best goal scorer in the playoffs, was left alone on the right side of the ice while every skater for the Monsters was on the left side. This allowed Frank to slowly glide through the faceoff circle towards the doorstep before he one-timed the puck over Greaves’ glove.
For the second game in a row, Cleveland defender David Jiricek scored a late-game equalizer to force overtime for the Monsters. With 1:33 to play in the game, captain Brendan Gaunce skated around the back of the net before passing the puck to Jiricek, who was skating towards the top of the faceoff circle. Jiricek one-timed the puck into the net with what looked to be the strength of a thousand men.
Unfortunately, a slight breakdown by Cleveland led to Pierrick Dube scoring the game-winning goal off the crossbar with 6:06 left in overtime.
But Wait!! There’s More!
Quick Thoughts
It appears Jet Greaves is more relaxed and confident during the playoffs. This may stem from the fact the Monsters' defense is spending less time playing offense and spending more time as an extension of the goaltender.
Cleveland’s fourth line, featuring Justin Pearson, Josh Dunne, and Alex Whelan, was phenomenal. They were the most consistent line on the ice for game two, providing a lovely combination of grit and skill.
Trey Fix-Wolansky struggled on Saturday night, especially during the power play. His shots continued to fly wide or high of the net, and he had a few offensive and neutral zone turnovers that completely killed the Monsters’ momentum. However, Fix-Wolansky was able to set many powerful plays in motion. Basically, he struggled to finish.
Jakub Zboril was a crease-clearing beast and he made it very hard for the Bears to create meaningful plays when he was on the ice.
With the way David Jiricek has been playing lately, I’m going to start calling him David Clutch-icek.
Fans, take a moment to sit in the glory that the Monsters have forced the Bears to play extra time twice during the Eastern Conference Finals. Leading up to this point, the bulk of Hershey's wins were by two or more goals.
3 Stars
1st - Pierrick Dube (Hershey, 1g, 0a, OT Game Winner)
2nd - Ethen Frank (Hershey, 1g, 0a)
3rd - David Jiricek (Cleveland, 1g, 0a)
What’s Next
Cleveland and Hershey pack up and head west to Cleveland for games 3, 4, and 5.
