CLEVELAND – Six games into the Cleveland Monsters’ 2023-24 season, the team has already had its fair share of important lessons. Though this shouldn’t surprise anyone as no matter how the roster is mixed between rookies or veterans and new versus returning teammates, every season has new things to be learned.
This season is obviously no different. The lessons are coming fast, but the key here is that the Monsters seem to be following their teachings right away.
Let’s dive deeper into the three most crucial things the Monsters squad has learned so far.
Don’t Quit Until the Full 60 is Played
It’s an old adage in hockey that you should always play until the whistle blows. Perhaps the all-too-familiar quote should include the word “final” added in. In last Friday’s inaugural matchup with Cleveland’s former Central Division foe Grand Rapids Griffins, this rule rang all too true.
However, Cleveland was able to emerge victorious.
The Monsters held a 2-0 lead until the closing minutes of the third period, thanks to Carson Meyer’s two goals at 2:25 of the first and 7:19 of the third. Whether it was trying to preserve energy for the back half of the weekend in Rosemont, Illinois, or something else, the heavy checks and shots on goal were non-existent after 12:26 of the third period.
That shot by defenseman Jake Christiansen at 12:26 was the final shot on goal for Cleveland that period.
Grand Rapids went on a tear, putting up eight shots on net in the final 3:04 of regulation. That offensive surge led to goals by Simon Edvinsson on the power play at 16:56 and by Tim Gettinger with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
With that kind of momentum, it seemed like a Griffins’ victory would be a lock.
A bench minor penalty immediately after Gettinger’s game-tieing goal for “Objects on ice/spectators” ultimately made this lesson a little easier to swallow for the Monsters.
Captain Brendan Gaunce scored on the power play just 46 seconds into overtime, sending the Griffins off the ice and their fans out the door with more questions than answers in a 3-2 Monsters win.
Putting the Lesson into Action
The next night, Cleveland put this lesson into practice, taking down a struggling Chicago Wolves team. Tied at three after two periods of play, Cleveland could not afford a repeat performance of Friday’s third period.
Instead, Owen Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov, Hunter McKown, and Christensen took the reigns, turning four goals in the third. Sillinger, Chinakhov, and McKown’s goals all came within 45 seconds of each other.
Massive credit goes to goaltender Jet Greaves as well, turning in an outstanding performance and blocking all 11 Wolves’ shots in the third and 24 overall.
Chicago’s Chris Terry put up two of their three total goals and could’ve easily added one or two more.
McKown ultimately put the exclamation point in the effort, having the game’s final shot attempt at 17:45 of the final period in the 7-3 win.
That three-goal response took Chicago out of the game and seemingly locked in the victory. Even more impressive is that the young Monsters squad did not lay off in any way. They could have blamed tired legs, lack of sleep, or literally anything else if they did.
Instead, they skated until the final horn, and the game was officially decided.
Kids Grow Up Fast
Going back to McKown, he’s actually one of seven rookies (six skaters and one goaltender) currently on this season’s Cleveland Monsters roster. Out of the six skaters, four have tallied their first professional points. McKown is the only one to score his first pro goal here in the opening month of the season.
His first came at home against Syracuse on October 21, while the second was the sixth Monsters goal against the Wolves on Saturday.
McKown also had his first multi-point game on Saturday, while Luca Del Bel Belluz hustled to his first pro point and multi-point game that day. Stanislov Svozil and James Malatesta round out the rookie point-getters on Cleveland’s roster.
Rookies are a hard thing to gauge this early on in the season. How will they react to the professional hockey lifestyle? How will they fare playing against men as opposed to players their same age? Will their game translate to the North American ice?
Luckily for head coach Trent Vogelhuber and the rest of the Monsters organization, this crop of rookie players seem poised, mature, and confident in their hockey intelligence and instincts to immediately impact their new team.
You Can Count on the Cleveland Monsters Captains
Gaunce and assistant captains Josh Dunne, Billy Sweezey, and Meyer have proven to their teammates that they are reliable on the ice as the letters on their sweaters advertise.
Hockey captains aren’t always the best or most productive players on their respective teams. However, leadership truly looks great on this group of four. Meyer currently leads the Monsters in goals (four), penalty minutes (11), and shots (20).
Gaunce and Meyer are tied with Christiansen with five points, good for second on the team. Meanwhile, Sweezey is second for +/- on the squad with a +4 rating.
While Dunne is further down the list on scoresheet totals, his impact is shown in his communication and setup of plays. Off the ice, he’s fielding media questions and representing the team with pride and grace.
Of course, they had an excellent guide in former Monsters captain Dillon Simpson, who retired this past offseason and is currently coaching at his college alma mater. Having such a tenured and great captain to teach the leaders of tomorrow obviously helps.
However, their current leadership style seems to be uniting the team and building solid chemistry already. The results speak for themselves.
Monsters’ Week Ahead
A three-game homestand welcomes the Cleveland Monster this week as they prepare for two out-of-division opponents. The Griffins come to town on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in what is likely a retribution match. Grand Rapids is fifth in the Central Division and 13th in the AHL’s Western Conference. They are 2-3-1-0 with 14 goals for and 18 goals against this season. Currently, they are on a 0-3-1-0 streak.
On Friday and Saturday, the Providence Bruins, AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, arrive for their first-ever matchup between the two teams. The Bruins are struggling in an uber-competitive Atlantic Division, with a 1-3-1-2 record and a 0-2-1-1 streak.
The Bruins are seventh in the Atlantic and 12th in the East with 19 goals for and 25 against.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is an actual “middle of the pack” squad. They are eighth in the East and fourth in the North. However, their 3-0-0-0 speaks louder than their 4-2-0-0 record. In terms of goal scoring, they have 21 goals on the season with 19 against.
The lessons will continue this week and beyond. As always, the most crucial part is how they use them.
