Not Done Yet!
The Cleveland Monsters hosted the Hershey Bears for Game 4 of the AHL Eastern Conference Final on Thursday night. It was a crucial game for the Monsters, who were facing elimination, being down 3-0 in the series. They had no choice but to buckle down and win this game. Hershey won the first two games at home, both by a narrow margin in overtime. However, Game 3 was a blowout, with the Bears dominating the Monsters 6-2. In Game 4, Cleveland showed that they were not going down without a fight.
First Period:
The Monsters came out flying and instantly took a 1-0 lead on Josh Dunne’s wrist-shot goal through traffic, and the crowd erupted, realizing how desperate their team was to extend this series. Later, Ethen Frank of the Bears would even the game at one apiece with a snipe of a shot past Cleveland’s Jet Greaves on the power-play. Cleveland’s Marcus Bjork would take a late first-period penalty, but the Monsters’ penalty-killing unit stood up to the task to keep the game even heading into the intermission.
Second Period:
During the second period, Cleveland dominated play and controlled the offensive zone for most of the time. Roman Ahcan of the Monsters scored the only goal of the period, giving them a 2-1 lead at the end of the second intermission. The Monsters outshot Hershey 16-8 in the period. Hunter Shepard, the goaltender for Hershey, made an impressive 15 saves out of 16 shots, keeping his team in the game.
Third Period:
In the final period, five minutes in, Jake Gaudet of the Monsters scored a goal by firing a powerful wrist shot past Hunter Shepard on the low-blocker side, giving Cleveland a 3-1 lead. However, Hershey’s Garret Roe quickly responded with a controversial goal, which was reviewed and ultimately counted, bringing the score to 3-2. Despite Hershey’s attempts to claw back in the remaining minutes, they were unsuccessful. The game ended with a final score of 3-2, marking Cleveland’s first win of the series. Hershey still holds a strong 3-1 series lead, and the Monsters must win three more games in a row, starting with Game 5 at home on Saturday night.
Game 4 Highlights:
Three Stars of the Game:
1) Jake Gaudet – Game-Winning Goal, 1 Assist
2) Josh Dunne – 1 Goal
3) Jet Greaves – 2 GA, 33/35 Saves
