Daily Archives: October 31, 2021

Monsters fall short in overtime to Bears

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The Cleveland Monsters were not able to close out their road trip with a win in Hershey, losing to the Bears in overtime 4-3.

This was the second game between the Cleveland Monsters and Hershey Bears to need (at least) overtime to decide the winner. Unlike the night before, there was no need for a shootout that lasted eight rounds as Hershey  scored the game-winning goal 3:27 into the extra period.

The Monsters actually got off on the right foot, taking advantage of a power-play opportunity to get on the board first. It was Josh Dunne scoring his second of the year with Liam Foudy (2) and Tim Berti assisting on the goal.

Early on in the 2nd period it was Hershey’s turn to score. The Bears scored twice in a one minute and 45 second span as Daniil Tarasov was unable to stop their attack. Cleveland would answer later in the period to tie the game at 2 thanks to Jake Christiansen’s third goal of the season. Tyler Sikura (3) and Adam Helewka (4) assisted the then game-tying goal.

22 seconds into the 3rd period saw the Monsters retake the lead. Liam Foudy scored his third goal of the campaign with Tyler Angle being credited with his eighth assist, tied for third in the AHL. About 12 minutes later the Bears would tie the game again as they managed to score on a power play.

Both teams would attempt two shots on goal in the overtime period with the Bears coming out victorious.

Currently Cleveland is in 2nd place in the AHL North Division behind Utica based on win percentage. The Monsters return home next Friday to take on the Belleville Senators as they look to get back on track. 

Browns not good enough in loss to Steelers

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The Cleveland Browns had a chance to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers late, but were unable to take advantage, losing 15-10.

For the third time this season the Cleveland Browns were trailing with less than four minutes remaining and they had a chance to score to win the game. Also for the third time this season Baker Mayfield was not able to make that happen as the Browns lost their first divisional game of the season. One more thing that happened for a third time, the final drive of the game was Cleveland’s third that lasted eight plays or more and resulted in zero points.

On the surface Baker Mayfield had what some would call a good game, completing 20 of 31 pass attempts for 225 yards. The issue is that these numbers were the product of dump-offs and screen passes, a recurring theme for this entire season. Additionally, Mayfield was off all game long. Passes were not on target, even completed ones, and that has been a constant in all seven games for Mayfield. While a lot of the blame is getting passed on to the receivers who did not catch the ball, a better pass from Mayfield would have made that possible, but unfortunately that was not the case. Passes were high, behind, and simply not in the right spot time and time again. And when the Browns needed their quarterback to make a play, he came up short, again, in predictable fashion.

Opposing defenses are not scared of Mayfield and welcome the Browns to win with their passing attack, a task that is too much for them currently. Until Mayfield starts reading the entire field and making other teams pay, there is no reason for defenses to abandon this strategy.

Defense did not help

The Cleveland Browns defense did not have a great day. Sure, they limited the Steelers to just 15 points, but other numbers point to an issue that is quite alarming. Pittsburgh ran 69 plays compared to Cleveland’s 58 and controlled the clock with 31:45 of possession. The Browns defense has an extremely hard time getting off the field consistently and the fact that the Steelers had three drives with 10 or more plays shows just that. Opposing offenses are able to convert time and time again and keep the Browns offense off the field.

It’s crunch time now

Now at 4-4 and in last place in the AFC North, the Cleveland Browns face must win games for the rest of the season. This team will have to go on an absolutely incredible run to return to the playoffs. Considering how this team has operated offensively and the fact the defense has been underwhelming this appears to be a very unlikely scenario.

Cavaliers unable to stop Suns, lose 101-92

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The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to put up an early fight, but were unable to keep up with the Phoenix Suns  in a nine-point loss.

The 1st quarter saw the Cleveland Cavaliers take a surprising 31-24 lead over the Phoenix Suns. At one point that lead grew to 14 early on in the 2nd quarter, but it wouldn’t last. The offensive firwpower from Phoenix was just too much to handle, after leading 42-28 Cleveland was outscored 73-50 over the rest of the game. The Cavaliers managed just 15 and 19 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters while the Suns score 26 and 28 respectively.

Even though Cleveland held an advantage in the made three-pointers department (14-6), the Cavs needed 44 attempts compared to just 26 for Phoenix. Meanwhile the Suns were better at the free throw line making 17 of 27 attempts while Cleveland was only 6-7.

The starting lineup for the Cavaliers did not provide a whole lot in the scoring department as Lauri Markkanen and Darius Garland both had 11. Collin Sexton was just behind them with 10 points while Evan Mobley scored just two and Jarrett Allen only four. The leading scorer for the Cavaliers was Cedi Osman who scored 20 points in 30 minutes off the bench. Osman made six of his 12 three-point attempts while making just one of his three shots from two. Kevin Love managed a double-double off the bench, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 20 minutes.

The Cavaliers have now lost two straight games after winning their previous three, averaging 97.3 points per game in wins and 106.5 in losses while allowing 87 points in wins and 117.3 in losses. In terms of long term success, winning in the manner they were was not sustainable. It would not be surprising to see the Cavs continue to use unless they can turn around these trends.

The Cavaliers finish their road trip Monday in Charlotte against the Hornets at 7:00 P.M.

Monsters defeat Bears in shootout

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After losing their two previous games via shootout, the Cleveland Monsters changed their fortunes Saturday night in Hershey.

The previous two games did not end well for the Cleveland Monsters, losing back-to-back games to the Marlies and Crunch in shootouts. Luckily Saturday night provided Cleveland the opportunity to turn things around in that department and that is just what they did. It took eight rounds, but Kevin Stenlund scored the game-winning gaol giving the Monsters the shootout victory.

Before the lengthy shootout, the Monsters took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on a goal from Liam Foudy. It was the second goal of the season for Foudy, assisting on the gaol was Brendan Gaunce (2) and Tyler Angle (7). Hershey was able to level the score 15:00 into the 2nd. The Bears took advantage of a power-play opportunity to even the score.

Prior to heading to the shootout it was a low-scoring affair between the two teams. Hershey did hold a 35-30 advantage in the shots on goal department, the differential was closed by the Monsters thanks to a 5-0 shot advantage in overtime.

Jean-Francois Berube started in net for the Monsters, saving 34 of 35 shots on goal and all eight during the shootout. Berube has allowed three goals in the last three games after allowing four against Syracuse on October 16th.

The Monsters have one more game in Hershey against the Bears in the final game of their road trip. Cleveland will then return home to face Belleville next weekend.