CLEVELAND, OH – The Checkers battled through a tight, low-scoring affair in Cleveland and came away with a point, but the 2-1 overtime victory went to the Monsters.
After a 60-minute deadlock, both sides created chances early in the overtime, but a chase for a loose puck led to a penalty shot for former Hurricane Nathan Gerbe. Cleveland’s captain swooped in and converted his chance, ending the contest 42 seconds into the extra frame.
All of the scoring in regulation came within the first half of the opening period. After the Monsters broke through early, Kyle Wood answered the call by launching a point shot that redirected off an opponent’s stick and in for a power-play tally.
The netminders took center stage for the rest of the game, especially Alex Nedeljkovic. While his counterpart in Matiss Kivlenieks only saw 21 shots thrown his way by Charlotte, Nedeljkovic faced 32 shots through the first 60 minutes of play and denied 31 of them, though he was ultimately saddeled with the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.