You could say things are starting to click for the Cleveland Monsters.
“We were just able to kinda get everybody on the same page and you can see it - just more organization, structure and people understanding what their roles are,” said head coach Trent Vogelhuber.
The Monsters are 10-1 in November and sit in second place in the AHL’s North Division standings.
“People are contributing from every line, our power play’s been doing well, penalty kill’s really taken a big step this month. I just think, as a team, everyone’s playing well,” said forward Rocco Grimaldi.
“We’re playing some good hockey right now, and we’ve had to battle for our wins, so we gotta keep doing what we’re doing,” said defenseman Denton Mateychuk.
Five of Cleveland’s last 10 wins were in overtime.
“It’s important. Our guys have the right mindset - never out of a game. We’ve scored a couple 6-on-5 goals and won in overtime and found ways. That’s really what it’s all about,” said Vogelhuber.
“We know we’re never out of a hockey game. We’ve had to battle back late in games to tie it up and be able to win in overtime, so I think it says a lot about the group and the guys when we’re winning games like that,” said Mateychuk.
“It’s not like we’re blowing teams out of the water or running teams out of the building. They’re just hard fought games. We wanna be a team that makes the playoffs and goes deep. Those are the types of games that you’re gonna have - those tight games where you’re up or down by a goal,” said Grimaldi.
Five Monsters players currently rank in the top 15 in the league in scoring.
“I think when we tie down our defensive structure away from the puck, you get the puck more and then those guys are able to do what they do. They’ve done a good job investing in that - understanding that defense leads to offense,” said Vogelhuber.
Cleveland earned its most recent victory on Sunday, beating Milwaukee 6-5 in overtime. The Monsters extended their win streak to eight straight games, which ties the franchise record.
“It matters because, obviously, you wanna win every game. Of course. But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you do in October, November, December,” said Grimaldi.
“You don’t look into it too much or anything, but it’s awesome when you’re winning lots of games in a row, and you just wanna keep it going,” said Mateychuk.
“It’s a credit to the group for buying in and doing things the right way here early on. You can’t get to the playoffs if you’re not doing things properly,” said Vogelhuber.
The Monsters will seek their ninth consecutive win in Rochester against the Americans on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. If they win, that will mark the longest win streak in team history.
