Tag Archives: Adam Clendening

Three Monsters reassigned to taxi squad

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Three members of the Cleveland Monsters are up to the taxi squad for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It’s another day with a flurry of moves for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters. Columbus has brought Nathan Gerbe, Josh Dunne, and Adam Clendening to the taxi squad. The Blue Jackets also called up Ryan MacInnis, Kole Sherwood, and Andrew Peeke from the taxi squad.

With the trade deadline on Monday at 3 P.M., these moves seem to indicate that the Blue Jackets have something in the works with some of their players. Whatever moves Columbus makes will impact the Monsters in some way, shape, or form.

Monsters destroy Americans 9-2

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The Cleveland Monsters continued their hot streak as they absolutely demolished the Rochester Americans by a score of 9-2.

Normality was not the word that can be used to describe the past few days for the Cleveland Monsters. Cleveland came into this weekend winners of 7 of 9, but a postponed game provided a bit more difficulty. Add in the subtractions of Kole Sherwood, Gavin Bayreuther, and Andrew Peeke, and things could have gone awry. Luckily for the Monsters nothing that happened over the past few days impacted them at all.

There are not many times that a team scores 9 goals, a new Monsters franchise record, but is just what happened for the Monsters Saturday night in Rochester. The 1st period was back and forth, but after that it was all Cleveland. The Monsters controlled the overwhelming majority of the game and the final score showed that.

Cleveland scored four times on the power play and it appears their woes in this are gone for the time being. This could be big moving forward as the Monsters currently reside in second place in the AHL Central.

Goal scorers

Tyler Angle (5), Josh Dunne (2), Matthew Struthers (1), Carson Meyer (5), Nathan Gerbe (4), Jake Christiansen (2) , Tyler Sikura (7), Thomas Schemitsch (1), and Liam Foudy (2).

Assists

Thomas Schemitsch (5,6,7), Jake Christiansen (5,6), Adam Clendening (2,3), Cliff Pu (3), Tyler Sikura (7), Liam Foudy (4,5), Adam Helewka (6).

What shots on goal?

Matiss Kivelenieks was the Monsters goaltender on the evening and only faced 14 shots on goal, saving 12 of them. Compared to the 36 faced by the Americans goaltenders this was a walk in the park.

The Monsters have a chance to win two straight against Rochester on Wednesday at 6:05 P.M.

Monsters reign in purple, defeat Griffins

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It was the third annual Purple Game for the Cleveland Monsters with benefits going to The American Cancer Society. Donning their purple jerseys which are put up for auction following the game, Cleveland took down the Griffins 4-2.

Even though there was some Controversy during the game, the Monsters were able to fight through the adversity and come away with a much needed win.

1st Period

A few minutes into the period the Monsters had a 6-5 due to a delayed penalty call. While Cleveland did control the puck for a considerable period, their offensive attack was uninspired. There was zero sense of urgency and they did not seem intent on getting a shot on goal, which they did not. Cleveland’s power play was not much better as while they did attempt some shots on goal, not one had a legitimate chance of finding the back of the net.

A hooking penalty on Ole Bjorgvik-Holm at the 10:36 mark saw Cleveland go on the penalty kill. It did not take long for Grand Rapids to capitalize as Riley Barber got the Griffins on the board about 20 seconds later. Barber got the puck right in front of the net and shot it right past Tarasov with relative ease. The Grand Rapids power play could not have been drawn up any better.

With just 42.1 seconds left to play in the period Grand Rapids doubled their lead. The puck bounced off the skate of Gavin Bayreuther and went just past Tarasov into the net.

Cleveland found themselves in an unenviable situation with 37 seconds left to play in the period. Kole Sherwood was called for tripping while Nathan Gerbe received penalties for misconduct and game misconduct, leaving everyone to ask why do they scream at each other? The Monsters had to make some line swaps due to Gerbe’s hefty penalty. Adam Helewka was inserted into Gerbe’s spot while Carson Meyer took Helweka’s spot.

The shot differential between the two teams was only 1, but the quality of chances for Grand Rapids were significantly better and the 2-0 scoreline at the end of period showed just that.

2nd Period

The Monsters were able to weather the 5-on-3 storm as they did not allow a goal during their two-man deficit. Shortly after returning to full strength, Kole Sherwood slammed Turner Ellson into the boards resulting in a fight. After the brawl both players received five minute penalties for fighting.

Cleveland found themselves the benefactor of Grand Rapids of having too many men on the ice, resulting in a power play for the Monsters. Carson Meyer managed to capitalize on this opportunity as he found the back of the net, cutting the Griffins lead to just 1 at the 15:38 mark. Tyler Sikura and Adam Helewka were credited with assists on Meyer’s goal.

Finding themselves on a power play again the Monsters managed to capitalize for the second time in the period. This time it was Tyler Sikura who would score for Cleveland as they managed to tie the game at 2, a scenario which seemed highly unlikely when the period began. Sikura guided the puck past the goaltender off a shot from Adam Helewka This was the second assist for Helewka in the game, his fifth on the year, with Gavin Bayreuther notching his ninth of the year on the goal.

On a day in which Kole Sherwood chose violence, he decided to get involved in the offensive side of things. Sherwood scored from point blank range as he gave the Monsters a 3-2 lead with 7:24 to play in the period. This was Sherwood’s second goal of the season and was assisted by Ole Bjorgvik-Holm (2) and Luke Moncada (1). This was the first Cleveland goal that did not come on a power play.

With mere seconds left in the period Justin Scott was called for hooking, putting Cleveland on the penalty kill.

3rd Period

Cleveland’s penalty kill went to work and kept Grand Rapids off the board. There was an opportunity early in the period where the Griffins caught the Monsters during a line change, but some excellent defending put an end to the threat.

At the 15:16 mark Kole Sherwood scored his second goal of the game and third of season. Assisting on the goal was Adam Clendening (1) and Josh Dunne (1). This goal came at a perfect time for the Monsters as they extended their lead to two and were putting the pressure on the Griffins to respond.

A Zach Jordan tripping penalty saw the Monsters go on the penalty kill with 5:45 left to play in the game. This was in addition to Gavin Bayreuther’s penalty for fighting he received just moments prior.

With 1:54 left to play it was Kole Sherwood finding his way into another scuffle. His actions essentially said oh no, let’s go. Sherwood received two minutes for cross checking and two minutes for roughing. Considering the score and time left in the game it was a crucial penalty kill for Cleveland. Grand Rapids pulled their goaltender to give them a 6-4 advantage on the ice, but the Monsters were up to the challenge as they stifled their efforts as the game ended with a Cleveland victory.

Grand Rapids held a slight edge in shots on goal during the final period (9-6), with nothing coming of it. The Griffins edge in this area led to Grand Rapids finishing with two more shots on goal than Cleveland for the game (29-27). When all was said and done there were not doves crying in the building.

Game notes

Daniil Tarasov made his AHL debut in net and was extremely impressive. Tarasov saved 25 of 27 shots in his first game with Cleveland and only one goal was truly his fault. The second Griffins goal was more accidental than anything and really cannot be charged to Tarasov. When asked about the goal Tarasov stated that through a translator that “he didn’t care much about it”. Coach Eaves said that it was “unfortunate for him” while adding that it “gives you a looksy into his mental makeup” and it was a “good first impression for sure”.

When asked about the message between the 1st and 2nd periods, coach Eaves said “We wore down playing these guys, not an easy task”. Eaves would later add that the “power play was the igniter”.

Monsters defeat Stars at home 3-1

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The Cleveland Monsters rebounded nicely from their previous loss as they defeated the visiting Texas Stars 3-1 at home.

It was not a good result last time out for the Cleveland Monsters as they found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-2 final score. Things went much better for Cleveland this time out as they came away with a 3-1 in their first of three matchups with the Texas Stars.

It was a scoreless 1st period for the two teams as neither was able to find the back of the net. The Monsters had 14 shots on goal and two power play opportunities, but were unable to convert. Cleveland would go on to finish 0-5 on the power play in the contest.

The 2nd period saw the Monsters draw first blood as Adam Clendending scored his first gaol of the season. Clendening was assisted by Carson Meyer and Justin Scott, their 4th and 3rd assists respectively.

Texas was able to tie the game midway through the 3rd period as Nick Baptiste scored a power play goal to get the Stars on the board.

Luckily for Cleveland they were able to recover nicely later in the period. With the Monsters shorthanded due to a Brandon Fortunato holding penalty, Tyler Angle scored a shorthanded goal to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead. It was the 3rd goal in just four games for Angle. Liam Foudy (2) and Jake Christiansen (2) assisted on the short handed goal.

Angle was not done as he scored an empty netter with less than 30 seconds left to play. The 20-year old forward now has 4 goals in 4 games for Cleveland. Assisting on the goal was Foudy for his second of the game (3) and Gavin Bayreuther (4).

Brat Thiessen got the start in net for the Monsters and things were much better this time around. Thiessen only allowed 1 goal on 32 shots from Texas, an improvement upon his last outing which saw Thiessen allow 5 goals against Grand Rapids.

The Monsters have a night off before facing the Stars again on Saturday and Sunday.

Monsters: AHL cancels rest of season

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The American Hockey League Board of Governors have voted to cancel the rest of the 2019-20 season including the playoffs.

It has been a long time since the Cleveland Monsters took the ice and their return will now take a bit longer. The AHL Board of Governors voted to cancel the rest of the season and the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Cleveland did not have a great season, finishing in 8th place in the AHL North Division. The Monsters ended up with 55 points (24-31-5-2) with 159 goals scored and 192 goals allowed.

While the current Monsters roster was not necessarily the most talented, the fact so many players were called up to Columbus did not help matters. The Blue Jackets kept on needing to call up players from Cleveland due to injuries and that made things fairly difficult to overcome.

Cleveland’s point leader was AHL All-Star Adam Clendening with 41 points (7 goals, 34 assists) in 55 games played. The Monsters leading goal scorer was Stefan Matteau with 12 goals in 50 games.

Cleveland saw a variety of goalies this season. Veini Vehvilainen played the most games (33) and finished with a 2.76 GAA and .901 save percentage. Matiss Kivlenieks played the second-most games (20) with a GAA of 2.96 and slightly better save percentage than Vehvilainen (.904). Brad Theissen made eight appearances with a 3.15 GAA and a less than encouraging .881 save percentage. NHL sensation Elvis Merzlikins appeared in two games and Joonas Korpisalo played once bringing the Monsters goalie total to five this season.

Monsters edged out by Marlies 4-3

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The Cleveland Monsters came back from a two goal defecit to force overtime, but were unable to come away with a win, falling 4-3 to the Toronto Marlies.

The fact the Cleveland Monsters staged a 2nd period comeback as quite impressive. Unfortunately they were unable to finish the deal as a goal scored 23 seconds into overtime gave Toronto a 4-3 win.

Cleveland found themselves down two goals 7:24 into the game. Not necessarily a great spot to be in considering how the Columbus Blue Jackets have picked apart their club for any remaining talent. Trey Fix-Wolansky got the Monsters on the scoreboard with just over two minutes remaining in the 1st period. Dillon Simpson and Ryan MacInnis assisted on the goal, their 14th and 22nd assists respectively.

Toronto extended their lead to two 3:30 into the 2nd period. Cleveland continued to fight back, eventually cutting the deficit to one on a goal from Ryan MacInnis. Trey Fix-Wolansky (7) and Adam Clendening (31) assisted on the goal.

With just 36 seconds remaining in 2nd period Adam Clendening tied the game at 3. Assisting on the goal were Branden Troock (2) and Ryan MacInnis (23).

Neither team scored in the 3rd period which led to overtime. All it took was 23 seconds for Toronto’s Tanner MacMaster to end the game.

Veini Vehvilainen started in goal for Cleveland and saved 27 of 31 shots. Vehvilainen has allowed 19 goals in his past five starts, not necessarily a great for.

The Monsters only had 17 shots on goal compared to Toronto’s 31. While this is not a great number they managed to score when they needed to for the most part.

The Monsters specialty teams seemed be up to the challenge despite being short on talent. Cleveland converted two of their three chances on the power play and stopped six of Toronto’s seven power play attempts.

Cleveland will return home for two games with the Belleville Senators

Two late goals sink Monsters in Grand Rapids

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The Cleveland Monsters are off to a rough start in their three game road trip, falling by a score of 4-2 to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Not an ideal start for the Cleveland Monsters on their brutal road trip. Cleveland traveled to Grand Rapids to face the Griffins and found themselves on the wrong side of a 4-2 final score.

The 1st period was scoreless between the two sides as neither team was able to find the back of the net with their nine shots on goal.

In the 2nd period is when things got interesting. Cleveland got on the scoreboard first, courtesy of a Calvin Thurkauf goal. Maxime Fortier and Adam Clendening were credited with assists on the play. The Monsters held onto the lead for quite some time before a brutal 32 second stretch. Grand Rapids score twice in a rather short amount of time putting them ahead of Cleveland. Grand Rapids had three more shots on goal than Cleveland in the period (10-7).

Just over four and a half minutes into the 3rd period Kole Sherwood tied things up. Derek Barach and Markus Hannikainen helped Sherwood on his game-tying goal.

The game remained tied for the majority of the period. That is until Grand Rapids scored a goal with just over a minute and a half remaining in the game. The Griffins would add one more goal with 10 seconds left in the game to seal the Monsters loss.

Veini Vehvilainien got the start in net for the Monster, saving 29 of 32 shots on goal. The final goal for Grand Rapids came against an empty net.

Monsters penalties

Calving Thurkauf was called for hooking just about midway through the 1st period.

Adam Clendening had two slashing penalties against Grand Rapids. Occurring in the 1st period with 19:14 expired and the 2nd period with 12:12 remaining.

Maxime Fortier was called for high-sticking with 44 seconds left in the 2nd period.

Cleveland successfully killed off all four penalties. The Monsters penalty kill is one of the best in the AHL and Friday’s performance just builds upon that reputation.

Power play woes continue

The Monsters went 0-3 on the power play Friday night. This is a trend that has been going all season long and does not appear to be ending any time soon.

Monsters dominate Griffins in 6-2 win

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The Cleveland Monsters took on the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins in their final game of their six game home stand and won by a score of 6-2.

Brad Thiessen got the start in goal after Veini Vehvilainen had a rough start in the Monsters loss to Binghamton Sunday. Giving Vehvilainein the night off before a long road trip will perhaps give him a chance to clear his head and focus on what is ahead of Cleveland moving forward.

The following players were listed as inactive by Cleveland: Ryan Collins, Bryan Moore, Michael Prapavessis, Zac Dalpe, Marko Dano.

1st period

Cleveland got on the board early with a goal just over a minute into the game. Gabriel Carlsson was able to put back the rebound after a shot from Jakob Lilja was blocked by Calvin Pickard. Adam Clendending and Jakob Lilja were credited with an assist on the play.

The Monsters had the first power play opportunity of the game, but were not able to do anything with it. Their 26th ranked power play unit showed exactly why they are ranked that low. Cleveland only managed three shots during their one man advantage.

With 6:39 left to play in the 1st period Cleveland’s 5th ranked penalty kill went to work. An interference penalty on Jakob Lilja saw the Monsters left winger head to the box. Cleveland was able to increase their lead to two thanks to a Stefan Matteau shorthanded goal. Matteau’s shot went right past Pickard and into the top right corner of the net. The fact the Monsters were able to increase their lead while down a man instead of when they were speaks volumes in the effectiveness of their power play and penalty kill units.

Cleveland and Grand Rapids tied in shots on goal in the 1st with 12 apiece. The difference is that Cleveland scored twice while Grand Rapids did not.

2nd period

Early on in the 2nd the Monsters were to able to extend their lead to three. The puck was behind the Griffins net and Calvin Thurkauf initially took the puck away from Grand Rapids. Kole Sherwood then sent the puck right in front of the goal to Paul Bittner. Bittner made sure to make the most of his opportunity and gave Cleveland a 3-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for the Monsters to increase their lead to four. Jakob Lilja added to the Cleveland lead with 5:03 gone in the 2nd period. Adam Clendening and Derek Barach assisted on the goal.

A penalty to Anton Karlsson saw the Monsters penalty kill go back to work. This time their penalty kill was unsuccessful as Grand Rapids got on the board, making it a 4-1 game.

Cleveland scored two goals back-to-back to take a commanding five goal lead. Trey Fix-Wolanksy and Maxime Fortier scored within one minute of each other. This was Fortier’s first goal of the season. Fortier would later describe his goal.

https://twitter.com/ThisIsMonsters/status/1227430790360977409?s=20

Cleveland’s sixth goal resulted in a goalie swap for Grand Rapids. Calvin Pickard went to the bench as Pat Nagle replaced him. Monsters coach Mike Eaves would comment on their strategy against Nagle and his performance the rest of the game.

https://twitter.com/ThisIsMonsters/status/1227429513308581891?s=20

Cleveland found themselves back on the power play due to a Grand Rapids slashing penalty. A second Griffins penalty gave Cleveland a 5-on-3 with 7:52 to play in the 2nd. The Monsters were unable to make anything of their two-man advantage.

Cleveland pulled ahead in regards to shots on goal in the period (16-13).

3rd period

Cleveland went on the penalty kill early in the 3rd period. Doyle Somerboy was called for cross-checking with 1:49 elapsed in the final period. This time the Monsters penalty kill was successful in preventing Grand Rapids from scoring.

Grand Rapids was able to score their second and final goal of the game at the 13:42 mark in the 3rd period.

The Monsters were dominant on the scoreboard but trailed yet again in regards to shots on goal (39-34). In all four games since the break this has been a recurring theme.

Mike Eaves is not necessarily concerned with the large differential. Eaves is more concerned with scoring chances and not necessarily shots on goal.

The differential in Tuesday’s win (4) is significantly closer than some of the other games (20, 14, 23).

Cleveland’s next game is in Grand Rapids as they look for their second straight win against the Griffins.

Monsters defeat Utica Comets 3-2

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The Cleveland Monsters were able to get back on right track with their 3-2 win over the Utica Comets. They were able to salvage their two game set with Utica.

Brad Thiessen got the start in net for the Monsters after Veini Vehvilainen started in Friday’s 3-0 loss. Vehvilainen has allowed 8 goals in starts against Utica and with the quick turnaround going with Thiessen made a lot of sense.

Cleveland listed the following players as inactive: Ryan Collins, Bryan Moore, Justin Scott, Michael Prapavessis, Zac Dalpe, and Markus Hannikainen.

1st period

Cleveland found themselves on the penalty early in the 1st period. Trey Fix-Wolansky was called for hooking, resulting in a two-minute penalty. Utica’s David Pope took advantage of their power play opportunity and put the Comets on top early. Just a case of the Monsters getting in their own way right from the start.

With almost six minutes gone in the first, the Monsters found themselves down a man yet again. Slashing was the call for Cleveland’s Sam Vigneault. This time Cleveland went on the offensive, Calvin Thurkauf scored a short-handed goal to tie the game at 1 with about 13 minutes left in the period. The Monsters returned to full strength shortly after the short-handed goal.

Cleveland found themselves with a power play opportunity after Utica’s Francis Perron was called for hooking. Stefan Matteau was certainly ready to score on the power play, giving the Monsters the lead with his 11th goal of the season.

Immediately after one power play ended, another began. Comets winger Lukas Jasek was also called for hooking. Due to the timing of the penalty (42 seconds remaining in the 1st), it will carry over into the 2nd period.

2nd period

Cleveland continue their power play into the 2nd period and they made the most of it going up 3-1 on Utica. Trey Fix-Wolansky was able to put in an easy chance next to goal thanks to an excellent pass from Marko Dano. Stefan Matteau help set things up by passing to Dano before Fix-Wolansky’s shot on goal.

Matteau would later describe the how everything came together on the power play goal.

https://twitter.com/ThisIsMonsters/status/1223717371237601280?s=20

Just a few moments later Cleveland found themselves on the penalty kill, Monsters defenseman Doyle Somerboy went into the box for a holding penalty. That put Cleveland in a situation where they needed to ensure that momentum stayed on their side. Cleveland’s penalty kill did just that and prevented Utica from cutting into their two goal lead.

After trading shots on goal for a few minutes, Utica was able strike and cut Cleveland’s lead to just one. Any and all momentum that Cleveland had just disappeared over time as things drew closer to even.

An Adam Clendening slashing penalty with less than 20 seconds left in the 2nd period will have Cleveland in a tough situation to being the 3rd.

3rd period

Cleveland successfully worked around the majority of Adam Clendening’s penalty to start the 3rd period, keeping their slim one goal lead.

Things got really dicey late in the period. Adam Clendening received a delay of game penalty with 1:23 left to play. This put Cleveland in a really tough spot. Utica was already in a position to pull their goalie. Now they had a 6-on-4 advantage with Clendening in the penalty box. Utica’s advantage was short lived however as Kole Lind was called for tripping. This put an end to the Comets two-man advantage and perhaps saved the game for Cleveland.

Cleveland was able to fend off Utica’s last ditch attempts to tie the game and managed to hold on for a one goal victory.

Postgame notes

With the short-handed goal from Trey Fix-Wolansky in the 1st period, Cleveland is now tied for 4th place in that category.

Monsters head coach Mike Eaves referred to their short-handed goals a bonus.

https://twitter.com/ThisIsMonsters/status/1223714859508019201?s=20

Brad Thiessen saved 26 of 28 shots on goal in his first game action since January 18th, also against Utica.

The Monsters converted both power play opportunities while stopping for of Utica’s five chances.

Cleveland returns to the ice Wednesday, February 5th to take on the Rochester Americans.

Monsters represented by Adam Clendening

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Adam Clendening was the lone representative of the Cleveland Monsters at the AHL All-Star Classic taking place in Ontario, California. 

Adam Clendening appeared in three events during the skills competition. The Monsters defenseman also appeared in the North Division’s three losses Monday night. 

Skills competition 

Adam Clendening appeared in the Accuracy Shooting, Pass and Score challenge, and Breakaway Relay events.

During the accuracy challenge, Clendening managed to hit all four targets, but needed eight attempts in order to do so. This put Clendening in 4th place for this competition behind Charles Hudon, Chris Terry, and Gerald Mayhew.

While participating in the Pass and Score event, Clendening was teamed up with Jeremy Braccco and Alex Barre-Boulet. This trio converted 2 of 3 shot attempts against Cal Petersen.

Clendening failed to score on his attempt in the Breakaway Relay. Facing Cal Petersen again, he managed to stop his attempt.

Games

Adam Clendening appeared in all three games that the North Division All-Stars participated in. Unfortunately, they lost all three. Clendening tallied 1 assist across all three games.

The North All-Stars lost Game 1 to the Pacific All-Star 6-5 in a shootout. The North All-Stars had more shots on goal than the Pacific All-Stars (12-10).

Their second game was also a 6-5 final, but was final in their 2 period regulation format. The North All-Stars led in shots (16-14), but that did not help them when it comes to the final score.

Game 3 was not close. The Atlantic All-Stars won the game in a decisive manner 5-2. This was the only game that the North All-Stars did not lead in shots, being outshot by the Atlantic All-Stars 17-13.

Adam Clendening will return to the Monsters as they prepare to for a six-game home stand.