In the four-season history of the franchise, Lake Erie has not been this high in the standings this late in the season.
View full sizeLake Erie goalie denies this scoring chance from Texas' Cody Chupp in the first period of Monday night's Monsters victory at The Q. Bacashihua had 32 saves in the 3-2 win.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the Lake Erie Monsters, being in second place never has felt so good.
The Monsters moved into second in the AHL's Western Conference North Division with a 3-2 victory over the Texas Stars on Monday night at The Q. In the four-season history of the franchise, Lake Erie has not been this high in the standings this late in the season. It improved to 27-22-3-5, two points behind Manitoba. The regular season lasts 80 games.
"I'm not surprised where we are," Monsters coach David Quinn said. "I love our team. The guys work hard. They have a great attitude and great locker room. I thought we had depth to withstand injuries and call-ups; so far, so good."
Goalie Jason Bacashihua made 32 saves in his second consecutive superb performance. He and John Grahame, sent back from the parent Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, give the Monsters a formidable duo between the pipes.
"It's a friendly competition," Bacashihua said. "When John's in, I'm cheering for him to play well. I'm sure it's the same with him when I'm in."
Bacashihua improved to 11-13-3 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .907 save percentage; Grahame, AHL goalie of the month for January, is 14-9-2 with a 2.20 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Quinn said he has an idea who will start Wednesday morning against Texas, but declined to say as of Monday night.
"I don't care what level you're at, you can't win without good goaltending," Quinn said. "It's non-negotiable. We're getting great goaltending right now."
Early in the first period, Bacashihua absorbed a shot to the shoulder. The game was delayed momentarily as he re-calibrated his compass.
"It was a high shot through a little bit of a screen, and it caught me off-guard," Bacashihua said. "It woke me up a bit. There was no chance I was coming out."
Right winger David van der Gulik gave the Monsters a 1-0 lead when he stuffed a rebound past goalie Richard Bachman at 12:24. Scott Langdon and Ryan Stoa earned the assists.
In the final minute of the first, center Mark Olver received a game misconduct for spearing. Olver, who leads the club with 21 goals in 52 games, committed a holding penalty earlier in the first.
The Monsters killed the major with authority, then rode the momentum to a 2-0 lead. Luke Walker looped behind the net from right to left and used the wraparound to beat Bachman at 8:49 of the second. Van der Gulik and Matthew Ford had the assists.
Midway through the second, Monsters center Mike Carman was whistled for high-sticking. The penalty kill was up to the task again, making it 4-for-4 on 11 minutes' worth of infractions. Lake Erie killed off five shorthanded situations overall, and is 11-for-11 in its last three games -- all victories.
"Our penalty kill gave us a chance to stay in the game," Quinn said.
The Stars pulled within 2-1 at 15:18 when defenseman Dan Spang jumped into the play and converted a rebound.
Lake Erie signed defenseman Langdon earlier in the day to a tryout contract. The 6-2, 195-pounder administered pain in his AHL debut, crushing Stars center Mathieu Tousignant on several occasions. In the opening minutes of the third, Langdon's hit knocked loose the glass.
"Langdon is a big guy, a physical presence," Quinn said. "He certainly made his impact felt."
The Monsters built a 3-1 advantage at 15:59 of the third, Stoa poking in a rebound off a shot from Joel Chouinard. Stoa tied the Monsters' record for career goals with his 39th (T.J. Hensick).
Texas (29-18-3-3) cut the deficit to 3-2 with 9.4 seconds left.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/monsters/index.ssf/2011/02/lake_erie_monsters_defeat_texa_1.html
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