Daily Archives: October 24, 2022

Monsters drop two of three on road trip

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The Cleveland Monsters six-game road trip did not get off to a good start as they lost two of their three games over the weekend.

The prospect of playing six consecutive games on the road to close out the month of October was always going to be tough for the Cleveland Monsters. Coming away with just one win in three contests is disappointing, yet unsurprising. Playing on the road in the AHL is tough enough, there days in a row is even more difficult. Add in the fact that Cleveland is a team in transition and the results from the weekend are expected.

The disappointing aspect of the weekend is that Utica won their first game of the season against the Monsters. While it is early in the season and the Comets were going to win eventually, it is a bit more comforting to not be the team a formerly winless club gets their first win of the season against. The split against Lehigh Valley is nice and so is winning in non-shootout fashion. The next step for Cleveland is finding a way to win in regulation as the win over the Phantoms came in overtime.

Skater stats

Kirill Marchenko (4), Brendan Gaunce (1 PP, 2, 3), Justin Richards (1), Emil Bemstrom (3,4), Trey Fix-Wolansky (2,3), and Carson Meyer (2) all scored for the Monsters over the weekend.

Assisting on those goals were David Jiricek (1,2,3,4), Gavin Beyrether (1,2,3), Jake Christiansen (3) Bemstrom (2,3,4,5), Marchenko (2,3), Meyer (2,3,4), and Richards (3).

Between the pipes

Goaltending duties were split between Jet Greaves and Pavel Cajan. Greaves saved 51 of 59 shots on goal across two games with eight goals allowed. Cajan allowed three goals on 30 shots in his lone appearance. Cajan’s appearance in the second game of the weekend was the Monsters only win in their three games.

Looking at the Standings

Even with the disappointing weekend the Monsters spot in the standings was not subject to a fall. Cleveland and Rochester currently both has 6 points on the year, the most in the AHL North Division. While the Americans have two regulation wins to Cleveland’s zero, it is the Monsters who have outscored the Americans 21-15. Additionally Cleveland is one of just two teams in the division with a positive goal differential (21-20), the other being the Syracuse Crunch (18-17).

What’s ahead

The Monsters will close out the remainder of their six-game road trip beginning Wednesday. Cleveland will be taking on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins as they look to get back in the win column. After that it is a return trip to Utica and their first visit to Syracuse to finish things up.

Donovan Mitchell sets Cavs record

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The Cleveland Cavaliers guard has set a new franchise record.

Donovan Mitchell is special. Just how special you ask? Special enough to set a new Cavaliers record for most points scored through the first three games of a season. Mitchell’s 100 points has surpassed Austin Carr’s previous record of 90.

Donovan Mitchell has score more than 30 points in all three games, including 37 in Sunday’s overtime win over Washington.

With the Cavs being without Darius Garland they were going to need someone to pick up the slack in his absence. Donovan Mitchell has just done just that as Cleveland has won both games without Garland. The decision to acquire Mitchell appears to be paying off quite early for the Cavs as they would not be able to overcome this situation in their previous form.

David Njoku to miss multiple weeks

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The Cleveland Browns will be without the services of their tight end due to injury.

It is a case of good news bad news when it comes to David Njoku. The good news is that Njoku will not need surgery, but the bad news is that a high ankle sprain will sideline the former first round pick for 2-5 weeks.

After five years of underwhelming play it appeared that David Njoku was finally showing signs of being a productive player. Njoku’s 34 receptions and 418 yards put the 26-year old tight end in position to blow past his career-highs in those areas. It is still possible that Njoku does eclipse his the 56 catch 639 yard campaign in 2018 upon his return. Until then the Browns will have to rely upon Harrison Bryant and Pharaoh Brown to handle the tight end position.

Browns listening on Hunt, Greedy

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The Cleveland Browns are listening to offers for two of their regular players.

The trade deadline is a week away and the Cleveland Browns are getting a jump start on any potential moves. Cleveland is listening to offers for Kareem Hunt and Greedy Williams according to reports.

Any potential deal involving either player would be far from a blockbuster, but any recouped picks for Cleveland would be a bonus. The Browns should be offering up Hunt to any team that missed out on Christian McCaffrey as a discounted committee option. Meanwhile Williams could be attractive to a team in need of secondary help that sees something/anything redeemable in his play. What it comes down to is contending teams needing all the defensive backs they can get and sometimes it is about improving the bottom end rather than the top.

Considering that the Browns are 2-5 on the year and a sixth loss coming up next Monday appears probable, moving players that are not part of their future while getting something in return is the right way to go about things. A losing season seems inevitable and holding out hope for a different outcome seems incredibly foolish. The team can now punt the rest of the season after initially hoping to stay afloat until Deshaun Watson returns from his suspension. At this point it is about preparing for next season. That is assuming those in charge will be around next year which is far from a guarantee considering the erratic practices of Jimmy Haslam.