Monsters vs Crunch Live Game Updates : It’s Not A Phase! It’s A Lifestyle!
Photo Credit: Cleveland Monsters
Since ending their 10-game winning streak, the Cleveland Monsters have dropped two games in a row. The boys in black and blue are looking skate away with a win against the Syracuse Crunch tonight.
Officials
Referees: Morgan MacPhee (43), Chris Conway (33)
Linespeoples: Jeremy Faucher (85), Luke Stork(4)
Cleveland Lineup
Forwards
James Malatesta - Luca Del Bel Belluz - Trey Fix-Wolansky
Rocco Grimaldi - Owen Sillinger - Gavin Brindley
Justin Pearson - Joseph Labate - Roman Ahcan
Max McCue - Jake Gaudet -
Defensemen
Denton Mateychuk - Madison Bowey
Daemon Hunt - Cole Clayton
Stanislav Svozil - Corson Ceulemans
Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm
Goalies
Jet Greaves - Zach Sawchenko
Syracuse Lineup
Forwards
Max Groshev - Jaydon Dureau - Jesse Ylonen
Joel Teasdale - Tristan Allard - Conor Sheary
Dylan Duke - Gabriel Szturc - Niko Huuhtanen
Daniel Walcott - Milo Roelens -
Defensemen
Derrick Poulior - Scott Walford
Chris Harpur - Steven Santini
Declan Carlile - Roman Schmidt
Dyllan Gill
Goaltenders
Matt Tomkins - Brandon Halverson
Start of the 1st Period - Monsters 0, Crunch 0
Both the Cleveland Monsters and Syracuse Crunch are rolling with a lineup featuring 11 forwards and seven defenders.
1st Period, 10:00 -Nice Start
During the first half of the opening period, Syracuse and Cleveland shut down each other’s attempts at finding the back of the net. There were a lot of battles along the boards and few mosh pits opened up in front of Matt Tomkins and Jet Greaves.
GOAL - 1st Period, 17:39- Monsters 0, Crunch 1
Steve Santini picked up Maxim Groshev’s rebound to give Syracuse the 1-0 lead. It was a zinger from the top of the left faceoff circle.
GOAL - 1st Period, 18:53 - Monsters 0, Crunch 2
The Crunch took the 2-0 lead thanks to Dylan Duke who was left to his own devices in front of Greaves. Once Duke received the puck in the slot, he did a few nifty stick moves before sneaking the puck into the net.
GOAL - Power Play - 1st Period, 19:52 -Monsters 1, Crunch 2
Monsters defender Stanislav Svozil launched a heavy shot from the blue line that Joseph LaBate deflected into the net. LaBate used his big body to screen Tomkins, which prevented the netminder from being able to react quickly to the deflection.
End of the 1st Period - Monsters 1 - Crunch 2
As you can see, the offense heated up for both teams in the final three minutes of the first period. Once Syracuse realized they needed to draw Cleveland’s defense away from Greaves, it was hard for the Monsters to stop them.
Start of the 2nd period - Monsters 1, Crunch 2
GOAL - 2nd Period, 00:56 - Monsters 1, Crunch 3
Gabriel Szturc earned his first AHL goal to give Syracuse the 3-1 lead over Cleveland. He was able to get the puck past the skate of Greaves and it bounced off Cleveland defender Daemon Hunt’s skate.
GOAL - Power Play - 2nd Period, 7:52 - Monsters 2, Crunch 3
Yet again, LaBate was a menace to Tomkins’ line of vision. Sitting on the crease allowed him the chance to try and calm a puck that was bouncing around the crease. After many tries, the puck trickled into the slot where James Malatesta swooped in and chipped it over Tomkins’ leg for the goal.
End of the 2nd - Monsters 2, Crunch 3
It was an angsty affair for much of the second period. A lot of hands were thrown, mosh pits opened in front of the net, and bodies were thrown into the boards. The only thing missing was someone crowd surfing during one of the scuffles.
Start of the 3rd - Monsters 2, Crunch 3
Cleveland started the third period down a man for a little over 1:30 due to a cross-checking penalty taken by Roman Ahcan in the final seconds of the second.
3rd Period, 7:00 - Too Much Wiggle Room
The Monsters gave the Crunch too much wiggle room in the first 7:00 of the third period. Syracuse rushed the net multiple times , sat on the crease for long stretches of time, and bumped into Greaves twice. Cleveland did force a few plays to move to the boards, but the defense needs to give Greaves some relief.
GOAL - 3rd Period, 10:20 - Monsters 2, Crunch 4
Gabriel Szturc earned his second goal of the night to give the Crunch the 4-2 lead over the Monsters. Dylan Duke skated around the back of the net before tossing the puck to Szturc, who shot it past Greaves’ glove side. LaBate was a moment too late to stop Szturc from scoring.
3rd Period, Basically the final five minute of the game - OPEN UP THE PIT!!!
A fight broke out in front of Cleveland's bench causing everyone to square up. Just as things calmed down, Madison Bowey bear hugged a member of the Crunch. Then, Roman Schmidt punched Max McCue in the face. McCue was enraged and went after him.
A few plays later there was another fisticuff that ended up with a body slam to the ice.
With around 2:30 to play, the refs had to separate everyone as they started to partner up in front of Tomkins.
GOAL - 3rd Period, 17:49 - Monsters 3, Crunch 4
Luc Del Bel Belluz played with the puck below the faceoff circle for a few seconds while looking for an open teammate. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Del Bel Belluz saw that Tomkins left a piece of the net open and fired a shot into the corner of the net.
GOAL - 3rd Period, 18:55 - Monsters 4, Crunch 4
Luca Del Bel Belluz fired off a rocket from the right faceoff dot to tie the game at four for Cleveland.
End of the 3rd - Monsters 4, Crunch 4
End of Overtime - 2:36 - Monsters 5, Crunch 4
Corson Ceulemans scored the game winner with 2:24 to play in extra time.
“Jimmy had the puck back in the zone. So, I knew I could build a little speed. Great entry by Silly through the middle. Nice kick out. I had a little bit of space. Saw the corner up there and shot it as hard as I could” - Corson Ceulemans on his game-winning overtime goal.
Final - Monsters 5, Crunch 4
The Cleveland Monsters have no quit in them. It doesn’t matter if they are down by one or down by four, they will find a way to tie the game up or skate away with a win. Cleveland will fight, literally and metaphorically, until the very end.
Three Stars
1st - Cleveland - Joseph LaBate - 1g, 2a
2nd - Cleveland - Luca Del Bel Belluz - 2g, 1a
3rd - Syracuse - Dylan Duke - 1g, 2a
Unsung Hero
Tonight’s Unsung Hero Award goes to the 14,567 fans who were in attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. It’s cheesy, but, they were the absolute best tonight. They cheered the team on when they were down 4-2 with three minutes to play. Also, a huge chunk of the fans stuck around to watch the post-game concert featuring Heart Attack Man.
I loved seeing Clevelanders support the local music scene and hockey team.
Post Game Press Conference
Hear from Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber, forward Luca Del Bel Belluz, and defender Corson Ceulemans on tonight’s thrilling overtime win.
