MONSTERS WIN!!!!!!! What an exciting game. You could not have asked for a better clincher. A 0-0 game through three periods before Oliver Bjorkstrand who has been amazing these playoffs ended it in the most dramatic way possible:
The overhead view of the Oliver Bjorkstrand game-winner! #CBJ #BattleTogether pic.twitter.com/uC3by8G3rR
— Buckeye State Hockey (@BuckeyeStHockey) June 12, 2016
Maybe I should stick to the NHL and Junior Hockey. I have yet to be right about projecting an AHL playoff series. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this one. I thought Monsters would have a tough time with the Hershey Bears but they made easy work of them, bringing Cleveland its first hockey championship in over 50 years.
What a run by Lake Erie, they went an unheard of 15-2 in the playoffs including 6-0 in overtime games. This was a skilled team top to bottom that could role four lines and three d pairs. Combine that with fantastic goaltending and it’s not hard to see why this team dominated.
The Monsters were playing with heavy hearts tonight mourning the loss of Phil Simon, long-time Assistant Equipment Manager and Cleveland Hockey Icon. No doubt he was watching down on this game.
The Monsters started the game out flying, feeding off of the 19,665 in attendance, the second largest crowd in AHL post-season history. Josh Anderson, back after missing the previous two games and Kerby Rychel were setting the tone with some massive hits. From there the Monsters dominated the game in every aspect but goals. They had 10 more shots, and crushed it from a possession standpoint. If not for the spectacular play of Justin Peters this could have easily been a blow out for Lake Erie.
FINAL stats: HER 0-1 LEM (Bjorkstrand)
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) June 12, 2016
Shots 33-23 LEM
Corsi 67-49 LEM
5v5 chances 17-16 LEM
Leaders C Bourque 13, Werenski 12#CalderCup
The most impressive player on the ice was by far Zach Werenski. I know I've mentioned him every time I've talked about the Monsters but he's been so good every series. He picked up as assist on the game winning goal but his impact went beyond that. He created plenty of offensive chances, tying with Bjorkstand and Anderson for the team in shots. Werenski was the team leader in zone entries and zone exits, just a dominate performance.
Bjorkstrand on top of the Cup clincher was amazing for the entirety of the finals. He scored five goals and added as assist. In 17 playoff games he scored 10 goals and had six assists. For his efforts he was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the playoff MVP.
Not enough can be said about the play of Anton Forsberg who wasn’t tested that much but when called upon was up to the task. He only faced 23 in four periods but stopped them all. For the playoffs he posted a ridiculous .949 save percentage and won all 10 of his starts. He made some tremendous saves in this game and matched the incredible performance of Peters.
This has been a great team all season, and it’s awesome for the people of Cleveland who supported the team to be rewarded. As for the Jackets this is very good for their future. As I wrote this week, young teams like this that make the AHL Finals, tends to lead to very good results for the future of the NHL club. Let’s hope players like Werenski, Bjorkstrand and the like can continue that trend.
Finally, congrats to all the Monsters players and staff, who put in the work day in and day out to make this happen.
— Alison (@AlisonL) June 12, 2016
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot