Coming off a 3-1 victory over the Texas Stars on Thursday night in a game they controlled from start to finish, the Cleveland Monsters appeared to be cruising to their second straight win with a 3-0 lead early in the middle stanza against the same Stars on Saturday.

Instead, the Monsters surrendered four straight goals, including a shorthanded game-winner from former Monster Derek Barach midway through the third period.

Despite the tough night, Cleveland Head Coach Mike Eaves thought his players battled throughout.

“Even down to the last minute, I thought we played hard,” Eaves said. “They got some bounces tonight. That was the difference in the game.”

Bad periods are going to happen, and Cleveland understands that. It’s the nature of the game, especially when it comes to a young team like the Monsters.

As several Monsters navigate the pro waters for the first time, Eaves and his staff continue to preach keeping emotions under control, especially in high-pressure situations, when responding to adversity.

“It’s something that all athletes deal with,” Eaves explained. “Granted, emotions were as high as they had been all year, but that’s a good thing. You have to be put in those situations to learn how to deal with them…we move on from there, we learn our lesson and we’re better for it the next time it happens.”

The Monsters took heed to the words of their veteran head coach when faced with a similar scenario in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Cleveland netted the game’s opening three goals in the first period before Texas crawled back within one less than 10 minutes into the second frame.

The Monsters responded when Carson Meyer brought a bit of the flashy play that made him nearly a point-per-game player as a senior at Ohio State, using a beautiful toe drag move to get past a defenseman in between the circles before sliding a backhanded pass to the stick of Evan Polei on the backdoor, who fired his second goal of the night into an open net for a 4-2 lead.

Tyler Sikura tacked on an empty netter with three minutes to play to seal a 5-2 victory and pull the Monsters within striking distance of the Stars in the Central Division.

“We made the analogy that we had to see if we could pass this test tonight and win the third period,” Eaves said after the win. “We talked about the formula that was needed and listed about four things we needed to do. They went out and executed. We can look back and say lesson learned and we move forward and tuck that lesson in our back pocket.”

Goaltender Brad Thiessen started all three games against Texas, giving the 12-year AHL vet four straight starts in between the pipes. Thiessen’s contributions to the club dating back to the Calder Cup championship season in 2015-16 cannot be overstated.

During the regular season prior to the Monsters hoisting Cleveland’s first Calder Cup in over half a century, Thiessen made 22 appearances, recording a 1.95 goals-against average and .929 save percentage while serving as the starter during a mid-winter stretch that saw the Monsters without their eventual playoff tandem of Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo.

“He’s a consummate professional,” Eaves said. “He bounces back and forth between being goalie coach, third goalie, backup goalie and now he’s our starter. He’s such a good pro, and I think that’s such a high compliment when you talk about professional athletes. No matter what the situation is, he handles it the best way he can.”

Against Texas, Thiessen gave the Monsters a chance to win every night, recording a .914 save percentage during the series and stopping 31 of 32 shots in Cleveland’s win on Thursday.

Thiessen, who has contemplated retirement over the last couple of off-seasons, appears to have a future in coaching if he wants it. The Aldergrove, British Columbia native has mentored Cleveland’s goaltenders in a hybrid player-coach role over the last few seasons and played a role in the development of Korpisalo, who has since established himself at the NHL level.

With the arrival of 22-year-old Daniil Tarasov this week, Thiessen should be able to settle back into a backup role, filling in for spot starts when needed. Thiessen may get the starting nod on Wednesday depending on whether or not Tarasov, who was officially assigned to Cleveland on Saturday, is cleared to play by the middle of the week.

With Tarasov’s arrival, Thiessen will have another opportunity to help a dynamic young Columbus prospect adapt to the North American game.
 

--- Jared Tennant for Ohio Hockey Digest