The energy was absolutely electric Thursday night in the Quicken Loans Arena, as the Lake Erie Monsters got ready to face the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Western Conference Semi-Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The physical play of the Monsters was on display early, as they tried to set the tone for the rest of the game. In a first period that featured the teams feeling each other out most of the period, fans felt confident that the Monsters would be able to dictate the pace throughout the three periods. The action picked up near the end of the first period, as the Monsters were able to get a few good shots on goal. Grand Rapids’ goaltender Tom McCollum proved to be a formidable force early on, which was known to be a factor going into this series. The goaltender for the Monsters, Joonas Korpisalo, did an excellent job shutting down the Griffins. The second period was going to be the real test for both teams, as this is where both teams did their damage in the first round.
The second period didn’t start off good for the Monsters, as the Griffins scored within the first minute. The goal at the fifty-eight second mark was scored by Eric Tangradi. The goal was assisted by Robbie Russo and Andy Miele. There wasn’t a whole lot of time to get excited about the goal, as the Monsters fought right back with a goal at the 4:29 mark by Lukas Sedlak. Jaime Sifers and Josh Anderson were credited with the assists on the goal. The Monsters weren’t done, as the Alex Broadhurst goal got the Monsters out in front to a 2-1 lead. Ryan Craig and Oliver Bjorkstrand were credited with the assists on the goal. Grand Rapids proved to be resilient, as they tied the game at two after a Brian Lashoff goal at the 16:11 mark.
The third period was eventful, just not in a scoring way. The physicality of both teams really showed as the game got closer to the end. With not many quality shots throughout the night, it looked like the Griffins would have the best-looking shot all night. The Griffins landed a penalty shot with thirty-five seconds left in regulation. Everyone in attendance was shocked, as they felt like Grand Rapids was going to steal one on the road. The Monsters’ Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped the penalty shot from Andy Miele. The crowd erupted, as the clock dwindled down to overtime.
Overtime was very controversial, as within the first few minutes of play Grand Rapids scored the game-winning goal….or so it seemed that way. After the officials went to review the play, it was overturned after seeing that the Grand Rapids player Eric Tangradi threw the puck into the net with his glove. As time kept ticking in overtime, the Monsters found an opening which led to the game-winning goal by Oliver Bjorkstrand. The assists on the play were credited to Broadhurst and Dean Kukan.
The Monsters defended their home-ice for Game 1. They look to win both games on their home-ice and take a 2-0 series lead on Saturday at 12pm.
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