Game Preview: Monsters vs. Penguins 01/28
Jan 28, 2022In the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, the Cleveland Monsters, AHL 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 Friday with full coverage, live from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, underway at 7:00 pm on FOX Sports 1350 “The Gambler”, AHLTV, and the Monsters Hockey Network.
MONSTERS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 1-3 road loss to the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday, the Cleveland Monsters enter tonight’s game at 13-14-4-3 on the season. With a .485 points percentage, the Monsters currently rank sixth in the North Division standings and 11th in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland is currently led in scoring by C Brendan Gaunce (15-11-26), D Jake Christiansen (5-16-21), and LW Tyler Angle (4-15-19).
PENGUINS PRE-SCOUT: Following a 2-6 road loss to the Hershey Bears on Tuesday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins enter tonight’s game at 14-17-13 on the season. With a .457 points percentage, the Penguins currently rank eighth in the Atlantic Division standings and 15th in the Eastern Conference. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is currently led in scoring by RW Valtteri Puustinen (13-13-26), RW Alexander Nylander (14-8-22), and C Felix Robert (9-10-19).
REGULAR-SEASON SERIES: Friday marks the second of four meetings between the Monsters and Penguins this season [(0-1-0-0), -4 goal differential (1/5)] and the first of two games between the two clubs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse this year.
MONSTERS GOALTENDERS:
| 31 Jet Greaves | OVERALL | 9 GP, (3-4-0), 0 SO, 3.31 GAA, .895 S% |
| LAST APP. | (20/22) in 1-3 L at SYR 1/26/22 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 1 GP, (0-0-0), 0 SO, 3.00 GAA, .857 S% | |
| AT HOME |
3 GP, (1-1-0), 0 SO, 3.14 GAA, .904 S% |
|
| 33 Cam Johnson | OVERALL | 3 GP, (1-0-1), 0 SO, 1.89 GAA, .932 S% |
| LAST APP | (11/11) in 33:42 of relief in 2-5 L at RFD 1/14/22 | |
| 35 Jean-Francois Berube | OVERALL | 14 GP, (4-7-3), 1 SO, 3.18 GAA, .898 S% |
| LAST APP | (6/9) in first 19:51 of 1-5 L at WBS 1/24/22 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 1 GP, (0-1-0), 0 SO, 9.07 GAA, .667 S% | |
| AT HOME | 6 GP, (1-4-1), 0 SO, 3.93 GAA, .873 S% |
PENGUINS GOALTENDERS:
| 30 Tristan Cote-Cazenave | REA (ECHL) | 2 GP, (1-1-0), 1 SO, 2.03 GAA, .879 S% |
| UQ-TR (USports) | 4 GP, (2-2-0), 0 SO, 2.72 GAA, .906 S% | |
| 33 Alex D’Orio | OVERALL | 10 GP, (3-6-0), 0 SO, 3.17 GAA, .887 S% |
| LAST APP. | (28/33) in 2-6 L at HER 1/25/22 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | 1 GP, (1-0-0), 0 SO, 1.00 GAA, .969 S% | |
| ON THE ROAD | 5 GP, (0-4-0), 0 SO, 4.71 GAA, .857 S% | |
| 37 Tommy Nappier | OVERALL | 9 GP, (3-4-2), 0 SO, 3.22 GAA, .888 S% |
| LAST APP | (23/24) in 2-1 W vs HER 1/16/22 | |
| HEAD-TO-HEAD | -- | |
| ON THE ROAD | 4 GP, (1-2-1), 0 SO 4.29 GAA, .850 S% |
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
- GAUNCE’S GOALS: Cleveland’s top scorer, C Brendan Gaunce, has five goals to his credit in his last four games played.
- SIMPSON’S SUCCESS: Monsters captain, D Dillon Simpson, is scoring at a point per game pace in his last five appearances (1-4-5).
- THE FIX IS IN: Cleveland RW Trey Fix-Wolansky is scoring at a better than point per game pace in his last six appearances (4-3-7).