Monsters Rematch the Penguins at Home
Dec 13, 2019In the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, the Cleveland Monsters, affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, drop the puck vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, on Saturday with full coverage, live from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, underway at 7:00 pm on SportsTime Ohio, Alt 99.1, AHLTV and the Monsters Hockey Network.
MONSTERS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 4-0 home win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, the Cleveland Monsters enter tonight’s game at 13-11-1-2 on the season. With 29 points, the Monsters currently rank seventh in the AHL’s North Division standings and 12th in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is currently led in scoring by LW Nathan Gerbe (7-17-24), C Kevin Stenlund (6-10-16) and D Adam Clendening (5-10-15).
PENGUINS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 0-4 road loss to the Cleveland Monsters on Friday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins enter tonight’s game at 13-10-3-1 on the season. With 30 points, the Penguins currently rank third in the AHL’s Atlantic Division standings and ninth in the Eastern Conference. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is currently led in scoring by LW Andrew Agozzino (11-13-24), RW Stefan Noesen (14-8-22) and LW Sam Miletic (6-13-19).
REGULAR-SEASON SERIES: Saturday marks the second of four meetings between the Monsters and Penguins this season and the second of two clashes between the two teams at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this year. Cleveland is 1-0-0-0 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton both overall and at home this season with a +4 goal differential (4/0) in both scenarios.
MONSTERS GOALTENDERS:
| 35 Veini Vehvilainen | OVERALL | 12 GP, (5-6-1), 2 SO, 2.09 GAA, .920 S% |
| LAST APP. |
(28/30) in 2-3 SOL at LAV 12/10/19 |
|
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| AT HOME | 7 GP, (3-4-0), 2 SO, 2.17 GAA, .917 S% | |
| 39 Brad Thiessen | OVERALL | N/A |
| LAST APP. | N/A | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| AT HOME | N/A | |
| 80 Matiss Kivlenieks | OVERALL | 13 GP, (7-4-2), 1 SO, 2.89 GAA, .894 S% |
| LAST APP. | (23/23) in 4-0 W vs WBS 12/13/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD |
1 GP, (1-0-0), 1 SO, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 S% |
|
| AT HOME | 5 GP, (4-1-0), 1 SO, 1.40 GAA, .942 S% |
PENGUINS GOALTENDERS:
| 1 Casey DeSmith | OVERALL | 19 GP, (10-7-1), 2 SO, 2.60 GAA, .915 S% |
| LAST APP. |
(26/29) in 0-4 L at CLE 12/13/19 |
|
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 1 GP, (0-1-0), 0 SO, 3.10 GAA, .897 S% | |
| ON THE ROAD | 11 GP, (4-6-1), 0 SO, 3.07 GAA, .899 S% | |
| 40 Dustin Tokarski | OVERALL | 4 GP, (2-1-1), 0 SO, 1.48 GAA, .942 S% |
| LAST APP. | (26/27) in 0-1 L vs CHA 11/23/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 2 GP, (1-0-1), 0 SO, 1.92 GAA, .911 S% | |
| 60 Emil Larmi | OVERALL | 5 GP, (1-2-2), 0 SO, 4.43 GAA, .861 S% |
| LAST APP. | (28/32) in 3-5 L vs TEX 12/7/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 1 GP, (1-0-1), 0 SO, 5.74 GAA, .769 S% |
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- BAD BEHAVIOR: Cleveland LW Marko Dano currently leads the AHL in penalty minutes (61) and minor penalties (18, T1st) so far this season.
- CLIMBING THE RANKS: Cleveland C Justin Scott appeared in his 225th-career game with the Monsters on Friday, tying him for third-most in franchise history with, coincidentally, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton LW Andrew Agozzino.
- STENLUND’S STREAKIN’: Monsters C Kevin Stenlund is currently in the midst of a ten-game point streak (5-6-11), tied for the third-longest streak in Monsters franchise history and tied for the second-longest such active streak and fourth-longest streak of its kind in the AHL this year.