Tag Archives: Branden Troock

Monsters defeated by Laval Rocket 5-2

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The Cleveland Monsters lost their fourth-straight game Thursday night, a 5-2 loss at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to Laval Rocket.

Things did not get much easier for the Cleveland Monsters at home Thursday. Cleveland found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-2 final score in their first game against Laval Rocket.

This was not a case of Laval having more shots on goal. This was a case of Laval having quality shots while Cleveland’s were not. The Monsters led in shots 31-21, but Laval was able to find the back of the net nearly a quarter of the time.

Cleveland was able to convert 1 of their 5 power play opportunities. This is about par for the course in this department. The Monsters are not a good team on the power play and Thursday was a perfect example of that. Laval was able to score on 1 of their 3 power play chances, taking advantage of Cleveland’s usual strong penalty kill.

The Monsters found themselves down 3 goals before they scored their first goal of the evening. Branden Troock scored his 3rd goal of the season with the 2nd period nearly complete (19:40). Justin Scott and recent PTO signee Lindsay Sparks assisted on the goal.

Down 3 goals again, Sam Vigneault found the back of net with his 11th goal on the year. Marko Dano and Adam Clendening received their 14th and 33rd assists on the season.

Veini Vehvilainen got the start in net and struggled yet again. Vehvilainen has allowed 3 goals or more in seven consecutive games, not necessarily a good stretch. 1 of Laval’s 5 goals came on an empty net with 57 seconds remaining.

Game 2 is Friday at 7:00 P.M.

Rough night for Monsters in Syracuse

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Things did not go so well for the Cleveland Monsters in their 6-3 road loss to the Syracuse Crunch in a game that got out of hand in more ways than one.

Perhaps the Syracuse Crunch take their team name just a bit too literally. Maybe their interpretation of the word Crunch is related to instigating fights and unnecessary penalties, because that’s what happened Friday night. There were 19 penalties between the Monsters and Crunch in an ugly loss for Cleveland. Eight of the penalties were entirely related to one incident at the 11:15 mark in the 2nd period. This resulted in Bryan Moore and Brett Gallant no longer being able to participate in the game.

The unfortunate thing about the timing here is that Cleveland was down 3-1 at this point. Hypothetically if they had their full compliment of players things may have been a bit closer. Syracuse would go on to score there more goals after the 2nd period incident. Cleveland did manage to score two more times, but it was too little too late.

Markus Hannikainen scored twice for the Monsters and Branden Troock scored once. These were Hannikainen’s fifth and sixth goals on the year and Troock’s second since joining the Monsters on a PTO.

Veini Vehvilainen only faced 19 shots on the night, saving 14 of them. Allowing five goals is never great. The fact Vehvilainen allowed five goals on less than 20 shots is a bit more alarming than usual. Things are not going well for Vehvilainen at this moment in time as he has allowed 15 goals in his past four games. Cleveland head coach Mike Eaves might want to give Vehvilainen the night off on Saturday as they travel to Rochester to face the Americans.

Ugly weekend for Monsters as they go winless

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The Cleveland Monsters lost all three of their games this past weekend on the road in Grand Rapids, Rockford, and Chicago.

Coming into this past weekend the slate for the Cleveland Monsters appeared to be brutal. Three games in three nights in three different cities. Not a recipe for success. Cleveland lost all three games and only came away with a single point in Sunday’s overtime loss to Chicago.

The uninspiring trend of being on the wrong side in the shots on goal department continues.

In their first game Grand Rapids finished with 33 shots on goal compared to Cleveland’s 21. Cleveland managed two more shots on goal than Rockford in Game 2 (28-26), but that did not factor into the 4-1 final score in favor of the IceHogs. Sunday’s game saw Chicago shooting on goal 37 times, six more times than Cleveland. Four of those attempts for the Wolves came in overtime while the Monsters only managed one shot in the extra period.

Cleveland’s opponents had 96 shots on goal while they only managed 80. While it can sometimes be about quality over quantity, neither mattered all that much on the road.

What power play?

The Monsters found themselves on the power play six times this past weekend and failed to score a goal on any of those chances. Cleveland’s power play unit has not been stellar this season and does not seem to be getting any better. This is a huge reason why Cleveland struggles to score at times. Failing to score when given an opportunity like this is a must and they just seem unable to convert.

Penalty kill is still fantastic

Cleveland allowed one goal in 11 chances while on the penalty kill. This was better than their season average of successful penalty kills (84.7%). The penalty kill of the Monsters has been one of the best in the AHL this season and seeing that trend continue is encouraging to see.

Goaltending issues

Veini Vehvilainen started two of their games this past weekend and allowed three goals in each game. This is nearly half a goal higher than his season goals against average of 2.55. Two additional goals were scored against Cleveland in games started by Vehvilainen, but they were empty netters.

Brad Thiessen started in Saturday’s loss to Rockford. Thiessen also allowed three goals with another being scored on an empty net.

The new guy scores

Recently signed Branden Troock scored his first goal with the Monsters in Sunday’s loss to Chicago. Troock was signed to a PTO February 15th. It is great to see the new guy helping the team get on the scoreboard, even in a losing effort.

Speaking of Kole Sherwood

Kole Sherwood was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets due to the injury to Cam Atkinson. Columbus needed the help with Atkinson going down and being unable to turn to London’s Liam Foudy. The Blue Jackets will most likely turn to Foudy again, putting a question mark on just how long Sherwood will stay with Columbus this time around.

Calvin Thurkauf scores not once, but twice

What’s better than scoring once? Scoring twice! That is just what Calvin Thurkauf was able to accomplish. Thurkauf was the only Monsters player to score more than once this past weekend. Although not a whole lot of scoring went on for Cleveland during their three losses.

Monsters lose third straight game

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Make that three straight losses to start the Cleveland Monsters road trip. Playing three games, in three nights, in three different cities as a tall order for the Monsters and they lost all three. The latest being Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Chicago.  While the Monsters did earn a point, more than one would have been ideal. 

After a scoreless 1st period, Cleveland scored two straight goals in the 2nd. Calvin Thurkauf scored first for the Monsters 3:35 into the period. Recently signed Branden Troock scored his first goal for the Monsters less than 10 minutes later to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead. 

The lead did not last as Chicago scored three straight goals, one in each remaining period (2nd, 3rd, OT). Curtis McKenzie scored first for the Wolves shortly after Troock’s goal in the 2nd. Dylan Coghlan tied the game at 2 almost midway through the 3rd. Coglan struck again, this time 30 seconds into overtime to give Chicago an overtime win. 

Veini Vehvilainen got the start in net after sitting out Saturday’s game. Vehvilainen saved 34 of 37 shots on goal. This was the second straight game where Vehvilainen let in three goals in a game. 

Cleveland will have several days off before their next game, Friday at Syracuse. 

Monsters sign Branden Troock to PTO

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Finding themselves in need of a forward, the Cleveland Monsters have signed right winger Branden Troock to a player tryout contract.

The Cleveland Monsters will have a new face join them rather soon, signing Brandon Troock to a player tryout contract. The Monsters could use some help during their brutal road trip that they are currently on.

Troock has only appeared in a handful of games in the AHL the past few seasons. The Edmonton native has spent the majority of his time in the ECHL over the past few seasons. Making 95 appearances with five different teams since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. Troock has made appearances with Greenville, Atlanta, Maine, Toledo, and most recently South Carolina.

Branden Troock has 23 points this season (11 goals, 12 assists) during his 23 games split with Toledo and South Carolina. Troock’s last stint in the AHL lasting 10 or more games was back in the 2016-17 season. Troock totaled 4 points (all assists) for the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate for the Dallas Stars.

The 25-year old forward’s best season in the ECHL came during the 2017-18 season while he was with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Troock totaled 37 points(16 goals, 21 assists) in 35 games.

Exactly how long Branden Troock stays with the Monsters is not known at this time. It is possible that Cleveland likes what they see out of Troock and he remains with the team longer than initially expected. It is also possible that the team has no desire to keep him for the long haul.