The Cleveland Monsters beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-2 on Friday night at the Rocket Arena. With the win, the Monsters are now 4-1-0-0 and are currently in first place in the AHL’s North Division standings.

The Penguins started the game with a goal from Avery Hayes just 54 seconds into the first period. The lead did not last long as Mikael Pyyhtiä converted on the power play at 2:22 with helpers from Owen Sillinger and Jack Williams leaving the score at 1-1 after 20 minutes. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Hayes scored again at 9:27 of the middle frame, but Pyyhtiä responded with a tally at 18:07 assisted by Williams and Luca Pinelli tying the game 2-2 heading into the final intermission. Steven Lorentz pushed Cleveland ahead with a marker at 1:50 of the third period assisted by Owen Sillinger and Charlie Elick. James Malatesta nabbed an empty-net tally at 19:20 with a helper from Sillinger bringing the final score to 4-2.

Cleveland’s Pheonix Copley made 18 saves for the win while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Joel Blomqvist made 23 saves in defeat. 

The Monsters host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a rematch on Saturday, October 17, at 3:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena. Follow the games with full coverage on Rock Entertainment Sports Network, SportsRadio 99.1 Powered by Rock Entertainment Group, AHLTV on FloHockey and the Monsters Hockey Network.

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Goaltenders:

Cleveland Record: 4-1-0-0

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Record: 2-2-1-0