After taking a commanding 2-0 lead over the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, the Cleveland Monsters have taken another big step in their drive to capture the American Hockey League's Calder Cup.
The team's head coach, Trent Vogelhuber, is an Ohioan through and through.
Vogelhuber was born in Northeast Ohio and raised in Columbus. He played college hockey at Miami in Ohio, before getting drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the seventh round of the 2007 NHL Draft. He went on to have a decorated AHL career, highlighted by a Calder Cup Championship with the Monsters in 2016. Now at the helm in Cleveland, Vogelhuber is the youngest head coach in the AHL.
News 5 Sports Anchor Carly Mascitti sat down with Vogelhuber to talk about his Ohio roots, professional playing career, unexpected journey to becoming a coach and the future of the Monsters.
Game 3 of the North Divisional Finals is happening Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Syracuse. And if necessary, Game 4 is scheduled for Friday in Syracuse, with a Game 5 set to happen at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, if needed.
Head coach bleeds brown and orange
Vogelhuber was born in Cleveland, raised in Columbus and has always cheered for the Browns.
"I’m a huge Browns fan,” the second-year head coach said.
Vogelhuber has brought that Cleveland football fandom to the ice and to his team.
“I think it’s important when these guys come here to get them involved in the city,” Vogelhuber said. “One of our first events was taking them to a Browns tailgate and a Browns game.”
Out of that came a rallying cry, or rather, a bark.
In the locker room after each win, the Monsters choose a Dawg of the Game, endowed not with a chain but with a mask— one that celebrates both effort and the legacy of Cleveland.
“It’s fun. We all start barking when they give it to the new guy,” defenseman Billy Sweezey said. “The Dawg of the Game is the guy that goes into the corner, gets into the gritty areas, kind of does everything that isn’t going to show up on the scoresheet.”
It rewards play and connects the team, made of mostly transplants, to the city they now represent.
“We have a lot of Canadians and a lot of people don’t have hometown teams,” forward Josh Dunne said. “So we’ve all just enjoyed the Browns, been to a couple games and we always root for them, so it’s good.”
Cleveland and the Browns bond the team together.
“I think it’s important that while they’re here, they’re enjoying it and investing their time here,” Vogelhuber said. “We’ve got a great city here that a lot of teams in our league don’t.”
