The Cleveland Monsters suffered a close defeat on Saturday, going down 4-3 against the Hershey Bears, as the Bears kicked off their franchise-record 10-game road trip with their second win against the Monsters, according to OurSports Central. Despite a spirited comeback and a goal in the dying seconds of the game, the Monsters couldn't claw back from a deficit that had been established early in the contest.
Cleveland began the night at Rocket Arena trailing after a first-period power-play goal by Mike Vecchione of the Bears, as reported by Cleveland19, Vecchione's goal, his 15th of the season, was assisted by Chase Priskie, marking his 300th career AHL game, and Garrett Roe, who notched his 100th career AHL point. Following a scoreless second period, the Bears and Monsters engaged in a scoring flurry in the third, with the Monsters tying the game twice before the Bears pulled ahead.
The home team's fight was evident as Luca Del Bel Belluz tied the game initially 17 seconds into the third period, and again Joseph LaBate scored at 11:21 to make it 2-2, the former goal served up by Trey Fix-Wolansky and Cole Clayton, according to details provided by Cleveland Monsters' official site. The Bears, however, matched each Monster goal, asserting their dominance with an additional goal and an empty-netter in the final minutes of the game.
In the net for the Monsters, Zach Sawchenko made 19 saves in the loss, contrastingly Hershey's Hunter Shepard managed to stop 21 shots for the win, in the action-packed game that witnessed the Monsters' spirited effort coming up just short, as they put up one final goal by Del Bel Belluz scored with mere seconds left on the clock; despite this late valiant effort and the substantial attendance that included 585 canine fans for Pucks and Paws day, the Monsters could not secure a win, relayed by Cleveland19.
With this outcome, the Monsters' record now stands at 28-18-5-5, placing them third in the AHL’s North Division standings. The team's next challenge will be against the Texas Stars on March 14, at 8:00 p.m. at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, as they look to rebound from the narrow defeat.
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