Monsters take on the Admirals
Dec 19, 2019In the first 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 Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, on Friday with full coverage, live from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, underway at 7:00 pm on Alt 99.1, AHLTV and the Monsters Hockey Network.
MONSTERS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 1-3 home loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, the Cleveland Monsters enter tonight’s game at 13-12-1-2 on the season. With 29 points, the Monsters currently rank seventh in the AHL’s North Division standings and 13th 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 (5-11-16).
ADMIRALS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 2-1 home win over the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday, the Milwaukee Admirals enter tonight’s game at 21-4-3-2 on the season. With 47 points, the Admirals currently rank first in the AHL’s Central Division standings and first in the Western Conference. Milwaukee is currently led in scoring by C Yakov Trenin (14-12-26), LW Cole Schneider (9-17-26) and C Colin Blackwell (6-17-23).
REGULAR-SEASON SERIES: Friday marks the first of four games between the Monsters and Admirals this season and the first of two games between the two clubs at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena this year.
MONSTERS GOALTENDERS:
| 35 Veini Vehvilainen | OVERALL | 13 GP, (5-7-1), 2 SO, 2.09 GAA, .921 S% |
| LAST APP. |
(26/28) in 1-3 L vs WBS 12/14/19 |
|
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 5 GP, (2-2-1), 0 SO, 1.99 GAA, .924 S% | |
| 39 Brad Thiessen | OVERALL | N/A |
| LAST APP. | N/A | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 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 | N/A | |
| ON THE ROAD | 8 GP, (3-3-2), 0 SO, 3.80 GAA, .871 S% |
ADMIRALS GOALTENDERS:
| 1 Troy Grosenick | OVERALL | 16 GP, (11-2-2), 1 SO, 2.13 GAA, .927 S% |
| LAST APP. | (23/24) in 2-1 W vs SA 12/18/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| AT HOME | 7 GP, (5-1-1), 1 SO, 1.40 GAA, .945 S% | |
| 39 Connor Ingram | OVERALL | 15 GP, (10-2-3), 0 SO, 2.20 GAA, .926 S% |
| LAST APP. | (26/29) in 2-3 OTL at CHI 12/14/19 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | N/A | |
| AT HOME | 7 GP, (6-0-1), 0 SO, 2.28 GAA, .928 S% |
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTOR: Monsters co-captain Nathan Gerbe may have seen his season-long seven-game point streak end on Saturday, but the veteran is still scoring at a point-per-game pace in his past dozen outings (3G, 9A).
- ALL HANDS ON DECK: Given a litany of recent injuries and the recent emergency recalls to Columbus of Monsters D Gabriel Carlsson, C Kevin Stenlund and LW Marko Dano, Cleveland is down to just 21 healthy players in advance of Friday’s game in Milwaukee, including a newcomer, recent PTO-signee D Steve Johnson, and G Brad Thiessen, who has yet to appear in a game this season.
- WELCOME BACK WOODY: Following a lengthy, injury-riddled recall to NHL Columbus, Cleveland RW Kole Sherwood returns to the Monsters for Friday’s game. In ten appearances for Cleveland this year, Sherwood has 3-1-4 to his credit with 14 penalty minutes and a +2 rating.