The Inconsistent Cleveland Monsters

Cleveland – Yet again, inconsistency was on full display for the Cleveland Monsters this weekend.

After taking down the Laval Rocket in a thrilling overtime win on Friday, they faltered on Saturday losing 7-4 in regulation. Splitting weekend series and getting swept seems to be a bit of a theme for Cleveland. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, the Monsters have strung together two wins in a row only four times. They’ve been unable to maintain any positive momentum to help propel them towards being a .500 team.

Where is the inconsistency coming from?  Simply put, EVERYWHERE. Or, it feels like it’s coming from everywhere. 

Cleveland’s parent club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been riddled with injuries for the majority of the season. When injuries hit the Jackets, the Monsters’ roster also takes a hit. Pair that with Cleveland’s injuries and illnesses, the lineups are going to be inconsistent and, occasionally, the bench will be short. These kinds of things are going to drastically affect a team. Especially a young team with a new Head Coach. “If I was saying they didn’t affect us, I would be lying,” said Monsters Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber. “Since the beginning of December, we’ve been well below .500.” 

One of the areas hit the hardest by call-ups and injuries is the power play. At the end of November, Cleveland was first in the league with a 32.1% success rate on the man-advantage. Now, with 22.7%, they are barely clinging to fifth place. The communication and skill just isn’t there right now. Why? Because the bulk of their elite unit is no longer on the roster. “Well, we’ve got one guy left from that power play – It’s Jiricek,” explained Vogelhuber of the Monsters’ power play woes. “That’s a lot of it.”

The revolving roster hasn’t done the penalty kill any favors either. They’ve hovered near the bottom of the league all season. So, they can’t really get much worse but, once things start clicking for the kill, someone is called up to the big club and the process has to start all over again. 

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One of Cleveland’s biggest issues on the penalty kill is the amount of times they allow their opponent to camp out on the doorstep. They essentially have been giving their opponent the keys to the front door and letting them walk right in without any repercussions. So, how do they take the man-disadvantage and flip it into an advantage for them? Coach Vogelhuber laid out a few key points during post-game on Saturday night, “You have to get the stick up into the rafters. If he’s underneath, he’s got the leverage.” Vogelhuber added that the Monsters kill also has to “get in the passing lanes and then being harder on that back door play.” 

Now, make no mistake, taking multiple penalties during a game is not an advantage. On Saturday evening, the Monsters took seven penalties which the Rocket converted into goals three times. “If you’ve taken that many, the numbers are just going to even up as it goes, and it did,” said Vogelhuber. “Then the killers get tired and you get out of rhythm.” 

And why are the Monsters taking an abundance of penalties? Why can’t their penalty kill find the right rhythm? 

It all circles back to call-ups and injuries forcing players into new roles with more ice time than they are used to having. “We have guys on the penalty kill now eating a lot of minutes who haven’t had as many reps,” Vogelhuber explained. “So, you’re going to go through some lumps.”

However, that’s the nature of the beast when you play in a developmental league such as the American Hockey League. “Seems like when you’re in it, that the world is against you and it’s piling on. There are other teams that are in the same situation,” said Vogelhuber of the constant call-ups and injuries affecting Cleveland’s roster. “So, you have to find the way to win with a new group. We’re not going to win the same way that we won in November.”

Luckily, the Monsters have a positive mindset when it comes to dealing with the challenges of having a perpetually wounded parent club. 

Cleveland played eight of their 12 games in January fielding a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defenders. As frustrating as it may seem to watch this take place from the outside, players like forward Roman Ahcan don’t see it as anything to stress over. They know weird lineups can be the cards dealt in professional hockey. So, their focus has been on competing to keep their line or pair consistent. “If you’re healthy you’re coming to the rink and you’re going to be on a line and you’re going to compete to be on the game lineup,” explained Ahcan. “I think that keeps our group competitive and keeps us moving forward.”

From the inconsistencies with the roster, comes a chance for new opportunities, growth, and confidence for Cleveland. “We have guys that are coming up from the east coast that are feeling more comfortable and guys coming from PTOs getting around the guys,” said Ahcan. “It’s all about acclimating everyone to getting on the same page so we can play as a team.”

Basically, at this point, it’s going to take a lot of patience and perseverance from everyone to turn this season around and end on a high note. They need to keep looking forward and treat each game as if it’s a brand new day. 

In the words of Vogelhuber, “We’re going to keep learning and teaching with the group that we have now. It seems – knock on wood – it’s stabilized just a touch for the first time in a while. So, Onward.”