The Cleveland Monsters fell to the Utica Comets (24-30-5-4) 5-3 on Saturday evening at Rocket Arena. With the loss, the Monsters are now 33-24-6-1 and are currently in fourth place in the AHL’s North Division standings.

Cleveland’s Tate Singleton drew first blood with a goal at 0:36 assisted by Jack Williams and Dysin Mayo but Utica’s Nathan Légaré got it back at 13:13 making it 1-1 to end the first. The Comets’ Matyas Melovsky opened the second period scoring with a goal at 1:34 followed by goals from Cam Squires at 10:00 and Ryan Schmelzer at 11:17 but the Monsters’ Luca Pinelli tightened the gap at 14:42 with helpers from Luca Del Bel Belluz and Luca Marrelli to make it 4-2 Utica heading into the final frame. Cleveland’s Mikael Pyyhtiä notched an unassisted short-handed tally at 1:38 of the third but Utica’s Mark McLaughlin put up an empty net goal resulting in a 5-3 Utica final score. 

Cleveland’s Zach Sawchenko stopped 20 shots in defeat while Utica’s Jakub Málek made 25 saves for the win.

The Monsters will face the Utica Comets for the final time during the regular season on Sunday, March 29th, at 3:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena. Follow the game with full coverage on Rock Sports Entertainment Network, SportsRadio 99.1 Powered by Rock Entertainment Group, 1390 The Gambler WNIO-AM, AHLTV on FloHockey and the Monsters Hockey Network.

Stay up to date on all Monsters news with the Monsters Mobile App presented by University Hospitals available to download at the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Be sure to follow the Monsters on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Shots/Special Teams:

Goaltenders:

Cleveland Record: 33-24-6-1, 4th North Division

Utica Record: 24-30-5-4, 7th North Division

GAME SHEET – GAME PHOTOS – GAME HIGHLIGHTS*

*Game highlights will appear as soon as possible following video processing.