The Cleveland Monsters beat the Utica Comets 3-2 in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Adirondack Bank Center. With the win, the Monsters are now 2-0-0-0 and are currently in first place in the AHL’s North Division standings.

Cleveland’s Brendan Gaunce scored first at 17:27 of the opening frame with Mikael Pyyhtiä on the assist as the Monsters led 1-0 through 20 minutes. Utica picked up a tally at 0:37 of the second period by Xavier Parent to tie the game 1-1, followed by Cleveland’s Riley Bezeau netting one at 8:15 with Max McCue on the helper to make it 2-1 Monsters through two frames. Utica tied the game 2-2 with a marker from Brian Halonen at 14:05 of the third period to force overtime. Pyyhtia netted the game winner at the 0:23 mark of the overtime period with Luca Del Bel Belluz and Dysin Mayo on the assists for the 3-2 Cleveland win.

Cleveland’s Zach Sawchenko made 21 saves for the win while Utica’s Jakub Malek made 20 saves in defeat. 

The Monsters’ next game will be their Home Opener on Friday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena as they take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Follow the games with full coverage on Rock Entertainment Sports Network, Cleveland’s 43, SportsRadio 99.1 Powered by Rock Entertainment Group, 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.

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Cleveland Record: 2-0-0-0, 1st North Division

Utica Record: 0-1-1-0, 4th North Division

GAME SHEET – GAME PHOTOS – GAME HIGHLIGHTS*

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