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CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Monsters scored three special-teams goals – including a short-handed marker – as they powered past the Chicago Wolves 4-1 on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
The loss brought the Wolves’ 13-game point streak to a close; the stint marked the franchise’s longest unbeaten streak since the 2009-10 season.
Ty Loney opened game scoring just 4:36 into the contest when he redirected a Vince Dunn point shot. However, Cleveland (29-27-3-4) rallied beginning at 3:04 of the second period and scored four unanswered goals for the victory.
Cleveland netminder Anton Forsberg (20-15-3) made 20 saves for his 20th victory of the season.
Less than five minutes into the first period, the Wolves (37-18-7-3) opened scoring as Brad Malone won an offensive-zone draw back to James Wisniewski at the left point. Wisniewski fed the puck to Dunn at the center point for a shot that hit Jordan Caron, then Loney and found its way behind Forsberg.
The Monsters evened the game 3:04 into the second period when Marc-Andre Bergeron snapped a shot from the top of the circle into a crowd. Amid the scrum, Markus Hannikainen redirected the shot with his stick blade behind Wolves goaltender Ville Husso (8-6-1).
At 5:01 of the third period, Cleveland took the lead for good. On the rush, Zac Dalpe took the initial shot that Husso stopped, but Cleveland captain Ryan Craig chipped the rebound shot between Husso and the near-side post to give the Monsters the 2-1 lead.
With Cleveland’s Nick Moutrey in the penalty box for high-sticking, T.J. Tynan pushed the Monsters’ lead to 3-1 at 7:34 with club’s eighth short-handed goal of the season.
During Cleveland’s fourth power play of the game, center Justin Scott wristed a sharp-angle shot from near the left-side offensive boards that snuck by Husso for a 4-1 lead at 17:03.
Husso stopped 24 of 28 shots in the loss.
The Wolves and Monsters are back it on Wednesday (March 22) for the second of two games at Quicken Loans Arena. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m., and the game will stream on AHLLive.com. For more information about upcoming Wolves home games or the 2017 Calder Cup Playoff race, visit ChicagoWolves.com.
