It was a rough night for Cleveland in Utica as the Monsters found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-1 final score.
Coming into Friday’s matchup there were two losing streaks that the Cleveland Monsters were trying to snap. A current two-game losing streak overall and a streak of the same length against the Utica Comets. Unfortunately both streaks remain intact as Cleveland could not crack the Comets, losing 5-1.
The Monsters lone goal in the contest came late in the 2nd period courtesy of Emil Bemstrom. Bemstrom was able to capitalize on one of Cleveland’s three power play opportunities for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Assisting on the goal was Marcus Bjork and Kirill Marchenko with their third and fourth assists of the season.
Starting in net for just the second time this season was Pavel Cajan and it was not a good outing. Cajan allowed four goals on 27 shots in 59:09 minutes of ice time. Unlike his last outing Cajan was not saved by the Monsters goal scoring. The 20-year old netminder was able to get by allowing three goals due to Cleveland scoring four in an overtime win over Lehigh Valley.
It is a quick turnaround for Cleveland as they will head to Syracuse to try and get back on the right tack. The Monsters and Crunch previously played in back-to-back shootouts with Cleveland coming out on top both times. This will be the third of four matchups with Syracuse this season with their final taking place in early-March.