Tag Archives: Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins

Monsters lose to Penguins 5-1

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The Cleveland Monsters lost to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins 5-1, their second consecutive road loss.

What could have been a fun night out like The Dundies turned into Scott’s Tots real quick Wednesday. The Cleveland Monsters were no match for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, the 5-1 final score was an indicator of that.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton scored three times before Cleveland was able to find the back of the net for the first time. It was a Cole Fonstad power play goal that finally got the Monsters on the scoreboard. It was Fonstad’s of the season with Samuel Knazko (1) and Jake Christiansen (4) being credited with assists. This goal was a nothing burger as they were unable to score again while the Penguins scored two more times.

It was another rough night in net for Jet Greaves, allowing five goals for the third time this season. While two of the goals were of the rebound variety, Greaves did not get a ton of help from his teammates. Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s fourth goal of the game came when the Monsters defenders were as effective as the Michael Scott Paper Company’s business plan.

With the loss Cleveland has dropped into fourth place in the AHL North Division with six points in six games. The Monsters have allowed the most goals in the AHL this season (25) and that is something that needs to be corrected as soon as possible. If not, this current two-game losing streak could build and make their season come to an early end. Cleveland has two more road games before returning home November 4th. Earning a split on these next two games would go a long way for the Monsters and their outlook for the season.

Monsters back in action vs Penguins

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The Cleveland Monsters are back on the ice as they are set to take on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

It was a relatively unpleasant set of games this past weekend for the Cleveland Monsters, luckily they have a chance to put that all behind them. Cleveland is on the road to take on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The Monsters have six points though five games which has them at the top of the division, so things are not quite at Threat Level Midnight. This Penguins team that has seven in four games with two of their three wins coming in regulation will not be an easy task.

Cleveland has a clear advantage in the goals scored department as their 21 goals in five games has them at just over four goals per game. Meanwhile Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s 11 is just under three per contest. The Penguins do hold the advantage when it comes to goals allowed, just 10 to Cleveland’s 20, a 2.5 to 4 ratio. It is an extremely small sample size at the moment, but it is something to note as an early season trend for both teams.

Comparing points leaders

The Monsters have played one more game and have been part of goal scoring extravaganzas on a nightly basis. These two factors five Cleveland a bit of an advantage when looking at the points leaders for each team.

Alexander Nylander is Wilkes-Barre Scanton’s points leader with five. Nylander’s three goals is a team-high with his two assists ranking second with three others (Sam Houde, Xavier Ouellet, Drew O’Connor). It is defenseman Ty Smith who is the Penguins assist leader with three on the year.

Cleveland has five players who have more points than Nylander this year. Emil Bemstorm (9), Kirill Marchneko (7), Brendan Guance (7), Trey Fix-Wolansky (6), and Carson Meyer (6) all have more points than the Penguins so far this season. Bemstrom is the Monsters assist leader with five while he is tied with Marchenko for the team lead in goals scored (4).

Goaltending goes to the Penguins

Jet Greaves has started the majority of the games in net for the Monsters (4), allowing 17 goals with a save percentage of just 0.867. Greaves also has five saves on seven shootout goal attempts. Pavel Cajan has started on game with three goals allowed on 30 attempts.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s Dustin Tokarski has been stout in his first three appearances. Tokarski has saved 75 of 80 shots on goal, a 0.938 save percentage and 1.63 goals against average. Filip Lindberg has also allowed five goals, but this is on 44 shots. Lindberg’s 2.93 GAA is better than both of Cleveland’s goaltenders while his 0.866 is slightly worse. The rookie netminder has also stopped all three shootout attempts faced.

Goals in bunches are needed or another road loss appears inevitable

If Cleveland is going to win they are going to have to buck two trends. The Monsters must be able to score in bunches against the Penguins goaltenders. They also must find a way to win in regulation. Going to yet another overtime game or shootout does not seem like it will be a fruitful endeavor. It is going to be about attacking the net, scoring early and often. If not a second consecutive road loss could be in the cards.

Monsters to close out month on road

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The Cleveland Monsters will head out on a six-game road trip that will last the remainder of the month.

After a successful two game stand against the Syracuse Crunch, the Cleveland Monsters will head out on the road. Cleveland embarks on a six-game road trip that will keep them out of town until November. The Monsters will take on the Utica Comets, Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Three of their four upcoming opponents made the postseason last year and advancing to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Utica dominated Cleveland last year which saw the Monsters drop six of their eight matchups. The AHL North Division champs outscored Cleveland 26-22 in their season series. Utica has only completed one game this season, a loss to the Hershey Bears while their second game against Wilkes-Barre Scranton was suspended.

Cleveland faired well against their opponent least season, Lehigh Valley. The Monsters won three of four against the Phantoms with a positive five goal differential (12-7). Lehigh Valley has split their first two games of the season while scoring and allowing the same amount of goals (4).

Wilkes-Barre Scranton was a tough opponent for Cleveland last year, losing three of four matchups and being outscored 16-6. The Penguins lone completed game was an overtime loss to Lehigh Valley.

Cleveland split their eight-game series with the Crunch last year with four wins apiece. The Monsters edged out Syracuse in the goal-scoring department with a slim 27-25 advantage. So far this season it is also a two-goal margin for Cleveland 11-9 excluding shootout goals.

The Monsters will definitely have a fair shot on this road trip to still be in a good position in the standings when it concludes. It is going to come down to whether or not Cleveland can find a way to win in regulation or at least overtime and not a shootout.