Monsters thump Iowa, 5-1

CLEVELAND, OH  – The Iowa Wild (30-25-6-2, 68 points) were defeated by the Cleveland Monsters (31-27-3-4, 69 points) 5-1 on Friday night in front of 11,743 fans at Quicken Loans Arena. Despite getting outshot 52-30, Cleveland forward Nick Moutrey scored twice to help lead the Monsters to victory over the Wild. Forwards T.J. Tynan and Joe Pendenza, and defenseman Dean Kukan also scored in the Monsters win. Monsters goalie Anton Forsberg (21-15-3) stopped 51 of 52 shots in the win. Wild goalie Steve Michalek (11-12-1) suffered the loss with 12 saves on 15 shots. Wild goalie Alex Stalock stopped 13 of 15 Cleveland shots in a relief effort. Forward Sam Anas scored the lone goal for the Wild. Iowa and Cleveland rematch on Sunday at 2 PM CT.

Cleveland opened the scoring at 12:35 of the first period. Forward T.J. Tynan scored his ninth goal of the season, giving the Monsters a 1-0 lead. The power-play goal was assisted by defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron and forward Zac Dalpe. Tynan’s shot deflected off an Iowa defender.

Forward Nick Moutrey extended Cleveland’s lead to 2-0 at 2:53 of the second period. Moutrey’s sixth goal of the year was set up by defenseman John Ramage and forward Justin Scott. Moutrey deflected the shot from the right point and was able to push the puck just over the goal line as it trickled behind Wild goalie Steve Michalek. Less than a minute later, defenseman Dean Kukan scored for the Monsters at 3:41 of the middle frame. Kukan’s third goal of the season was assisted by forwards Sam Vigneault and Sonny Milano. The slap shot from the left point beat Michalek and gave Cleveland a 3-0 lead. After the goal, Michalek was pulled in favor of Alex Stalock. Moutrey scored his second goal of the night at 16:59 of the second period to give Cleveland a 4-0 lead. Moutrey’s seventh goal of the year was set up by Scott and defenseman Jaime Sifers. The left-wing circle shot went through the legs of Iowa goalie Alex Stalock.

Forward Joe Pendenza scored his seventh goal of the year at 7:50 of the third period. The goal was unassisted and extended Cleveland’s lead to 5-0. The puck slipped under the left pad of Stalock. Forward Sam Anas scored for the Wild at 17:50 of the third period. The goal was set up by defenseman Nolan Zajac and forward Zack Mitchell and gave the game a 5-1 final.