Tag Archives: Josh Dunne

Blue Jackets add Dunne and Sikura to taxi squad

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Columbus Blue Jackets have added two forwards from the Cleveland Monsters to their taxi squad.

In accordance to the new taxi squad rules put in place due to COVID-19, the Columbus Blue Jackets have added two players from the Cleveland Monsters. Josh Dunne and Tyler Sikura have been recalled from Columbus’ AHL affiliate.

Dunne appeared in six games for the Blue Jackets during the 2020-21 season while Sikura is yet to make his NHL debut. Both players have contributed in Cleveland with Sikura totaling 11 points (6 G, 5 A) and Dunne having eight points (4 G, 4 A).

Monsters lose to Phantoms in Lehigh Valley 4-2

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters allowed three unanswered goals as they lost to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a score of 4-2.

Midway through the 2nd period things appeared to be going according to plan for the Cleveland Monsters. Cleveland held a 2-1 lead over the eighth place Phantoms and were in position to come away with a win in Lehigh Valley. The remainder of the game did not go Cleveland’s way as they allowed three unanswered goals in what would be a 4-2 loss.

It was not for a lack of trying as the Monsters actually held the advantage in the shots on goal department over the final two periods (22-15). An ill-timed tripping penalty on Olivier LeBlanc gave the Phantoms a power play opportunity which proved to be a catalyst for the rest of the game. In less than a 12 minute span of game time, Lehigh Valley scored three times taking a 4-2 lead with just 3:45 elapsed in the 3rd period which end up as the final score.

Scoring for Cleveland was Cole Clayton in the 1st period on one of their two power play chances. It was the first goal of the season for Clayton while Kevin Stenlund (10) and Josh Dunne (4) assisting on the play. The Monsters second and final goal of the game came midway in the 2nd as Tyler Sikura netted his sixth of the season. Thomas Schemitsch (4) and Liam Foudy (10) each were credited with an assist on the play.

Daniil Tarasov retuned to his place in between the pipes after returning to Cleveland from Columbus earlier in the week. Tarasov allowed four goals on 31 shots, just the second time in his last five AHL appearances allowing more than one goal.

The loss now has the Monsters sitting in fourth place in the AHL North Division with 25 points in 23 games. A two game home stand against first place Utica begins Thursday night as they look to snap their current two-game losing streak. 

Monsters crush Crunch 8-3

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters got a much needed win as they dominated the Syracuse Crunch.

Losers of four straight, the Cleveland Monsters desperately needed to get back in the win column. Lucky for Cleveland their opponent was someone who they have had some success against this season, the Syracuse Crunch. The Monsters had back-to-back wins against the Crunch in mid-November and were able to enforce their will yet again in a dominant victory.

It was a four goal onslaught from Cleveland in the 1st period as they were able to build an insurmountable lead. The Monsters were even able to build their lead up to five before temporarily letting the Crunch back into the game. Cleveland surrendered three power play goals in just over five minutes as Syracuse cut the lead to two. The Mosnters were able to regain their composure in the 3rd period, scoring three more times in the 3rd period to cement their 8-3 win.

The impressive aspect of this win is that Cleveland attempted just 16 shots on goal compared to Syracuse’s 35. Cleveland also managed to go 2-4 on power plays while Syracuse went 3-7 in the contest.

Game notes

Goal scorers for the Monsters included Trey Fix-Wolansky (5), Cole Fonstad (2), Adam Helewka (3,4,5), Billy Sweezey (2), Justin Scott (5), and Josh Dunne (4). Helewka’s hat trick earned 1st star honors in the win.

Assisting on goals were Tim Berni (3,4), Sweezey (3), Liam Foudy (9), Kevin Stenlund (8,9), Fix-Wolanksy (3), Helewka (10), Fonstad (1,2), Brendan Gaunce (9), and Cole Clayton (3,4).

Jean-Francois Berube started in net for Cleveland, saving 32 of 35 shots on goal. This was the second straight game for Berube allowing three goals, allowing a total of 18 goals over his past five games.

The Monsters currently sit in third place in the AHL North Division with 25 points with a 5-4-1 record over their past 10 games. Cleveland will travel to Utica to face the Comets Friday as they look to defeat the division leader and close the gap in the standings.

Monsters comeback falls short in loss to Admirals

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters were able to tie things up once, but were not able to come back again in their 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Early in the 1st period it appeared that the Cleveland Monsters were going to have a repeat performance from their 4-1 loss Friday night. Cleveland found themselves down 3-0 15 minutes into the period after Milwaukee scored three times in four minutes. At that moment Cleveland began to stage their first comeback of the evening.

It was Trey Fix-Wolansky getting the Monsters on the scoreboard with less than three minutes to play which jumpstarted a mini goal scoring run. Early in the 2nd it was Emil Bemstrom scoring on a power play to bring Cleveland within one. It was Bemstrom’s first career AHL goal, assisting on the goal was Jake Christiansen (13) and Fix-Wolansky (2). Justin Scott would tie the game two minutes later with his fourth goal of the campaign. Cole Clayton (2) and Jet Greaves (2) were credited with assets on the play, it was the second straight game with an assist for Greaves.

Unfortunately Milwaukee was able retake the lead and expand it two. Josh Dunne attempted to begin another comeback, but his goal 9:51 into the final period was the last for the Monsters. Adam Helewka (9) assisted on Dunne’s goal (3).

Cleveland has now dropped to fourth place in the AHL North Division, trailing third place Toronto based on win percentage (0.625-0.605). The Monsters are off Sunday before returning to action Monday at home as they take on Grand Rapids Griffins.

Monsters fall short in overtime to Bears

Posted on by
Advertisements

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. 

Monsters lose to Marlies in shootout 3-2

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters were unable to win their third and final game in Canada, losing to the Toronto Marlies in a shootout.

After winning back-to-back games against the Belleville Senators, the Cleveland Monsters had a chance to sweep the Canadian portion of their road trip. Unfortunately the Toronto Marlies had other ideas, handing Cleveland their first loss since the season opener in a five round shootout.

The first two rounds saw the Monsters goalless and down 1-0. Justin Scott got Cleveland on the board, keeping their chances of coming away with a victory alive. After two more rounds of failing to score, Toronto’s Mikhail Abramov found the back of the net securing a win for the Marlies.

Jean-Francois Berube was in net for the Monsters, saving 38 of 40 shots on goal, not including the shootout. Berube was able to give Cleveland a chance during regulation, they were just not able to score enough.

Scoring for the Monsters in the 1st period was Cole Fonstad. It was the first goal of the season for Fonstad who was assisted by Josh Dunne, his second of the year. Dunne would also score his first goal in the 2nd period with Brendan Gaunce and Kevin Stenlund being credited with their first assists of the campaign.

The Monsters will travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch Friday as they begin the American portion of their road trip.

Monsters drop season opener to Crunch 6-4

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters were unable to come away with a win in the season opener, falling to the Syracuse Crunch 6-4.

The 2021-22 AHL season kicked off Friday with the Cleveland Monsters playing host to the Syracuse Crunch, hoping to send the home crowd home happy with a win. Unfortunately Syracuse had other ideas as Cleveland was simply not able to keep up with the scoring of the Crunch.

Things started off great in the 1st period, the Monsters took an early 2-0 lead before the midway point. The lead was short-lived however as Syracuse tied things up later in the period Syracuse would add another goal early in the 2nd to take the lead just 2:55 into the 2nd with the Monsters answering just minutes later.

The Crunch were able to go on a second three-goal unanswered spree after Cleveland tied the game in the 2nd. At that point it was just too much for Cleveland to keep up as they were only able to add one more goal before the end of the game.

This game was not about shots on goal as both teams finished with a similar total (SYR 22 – CLE 26). It was about execution in the special teams department. The Monsters converted just one of eight power play opportunities while Syracuse scored once on the power play and also added a shorthanded goal. If a team is unable to convert on their own power play chances while giving up shorthanded goals it will be quite difficult to come away victorious.

Game notes

Daniil Tarasov started in goal for the Monsters, saving 16 of 21 shots on goal. One of Syracuse’s six goals came with an empty net.

Cleveland’s goal scorers were Tim Berni, Jake Christiansen, Adam Helewka, and Justin Scott. Assisting on those goals for the Monsters were Helewka, Christiansen, Tyler Angle, Justin Danforth, Josh Dunne, Tristan Mullin, and Gabriel Carlsson.

Game 2 between Cleveland and Syracuse will take place Saturday at 7:00 P.M. with the Monsters looking for their first win of the season. 

Blue Jackets assign seven players to Monsters

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned seven players to the Cleveland Monsters.

The regular season is fast approaching and with that the Columbus Blue Jackets had to make some final roster decisions. The team announced that seven players have been assigned to the Cleveland Monsters. Those players are Tyler Angle, Josh Dunne, Brendan Gaunce, Carson Meyer, and Tyler Sikura. Gaunce is the only player who was not on the Monsters roster last season as he spent time in Sweden with Vaxjo HC.

Monsters win final home game of season 6-4

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The home crowd went home happy as the Cleveland Monsters came away with a win in their final home game of the season. It was a 6-4 victory for Cleveland over the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins.

It was a goal fest from the start as both teams combined for six goals in the first period, two of which were of the power play variety, one for each team. Cleveland would proceed to outscore Grand Rapids 3-1 over the next periods to secure the win.

As far as shots on goal go, the Monsters held a slight advantage in that area (30-29). Both teams went 2-3 on the power play in the contest as the special teams units held the advantage on the offensive side of the ice.

Daniil Tarasov started in net for the Monsters as he saved 25 of 29 shots on goal. This was the third straight game in which Tarasov allowed four goals in a game.

Scoring notes

Tristan Mullin scored the first goal for the Monsters 6:07 into the game. Mullin’s third goal of the year came on Luke Moncada’s second assist.

Carson Meyer would follow up with a goal of his own (9) just over two minutes later. Tyler Sikura (10) and Cole Fonstad (1) assisted on the play.

After Grand Rapids scored about midway through the 1st it was Cliff Pu who brought the Monsters lead back to 2. Tyler Angle was credited with his 12th assist on Pu’s third goal of the season.

It was the second goal of the campaign for Gavin Bayreuther and the only goal in the 2nd period. Angle assisted yet again (13) and Dillon Simpson (10) on the lone goal of the period.

Josh Dunne extedned the Monsters lead to two again early in the 3rd period. It was Dunne’s seventh goal with assists from Pu (7) and Wyatt Newpower (7).

With just over a minute left in the game it was Dunne who scored an empty netter to bring the Monsters lead back to two and seal the victory.

Monsters lose to Americans in shootout 4-3

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Monsters were not able to come away with a win against the Rochester Americans losing 4-3 in a shootout.

There is one thing for a certain that can be taken away from Saturday’s contest, it was not for a lack of shots on goal. The Monsters finished with more than two times the amount of shots on goal than Rochester 41-20. Even with the high shot total it did not stop Cleveland from coming up short against the Americans, losing in a shootout 3-2.

Rochester got on the scoreboard 1:38 into the 1st period after Cliff Pu was called for high sticking. It took only eight seconds for the Americans to take advantage of their power play opportunity.

The 2nd period is where a lot of the action took place. Cliff Pu made up for his early penalty by tying things up at 1 6:24 into the period. Tyler Angle (10) and Thomas Schemitsch (15) assisted on the first Monsters goal. Josh Dunne would give Cleveland the lead just a few minutes later as he netted his sixth goal of the season. It was Angle again assisting on the Cleveland goal. Rochester would respond just a few minutes later to tie the score at 2. With a little more than two minutes left to play the Monsters regained the lead thanks to a goal from Jake Christiansen. It was the second assist of the game for Schemitsch this time around, joining Angle in the two assist club for the game.

The only goal scored in the 3rd period belonged to Rochester and the game remained tied for the remainder of regulation and overtime. This brings things to the shootout where things did not end up well for the Monsters. Angle, Pu, and Tyler Sikura took the shots in the shootout for Cleveland with none scoring. It was a goal from Rochester’s Jean-Sebastian Dea that got past Justin Kapelmaster to decide the game.