Aston-Reese Late Goal Lifts Cleveland Monsters Past Hartford, 3-2

Zach Aston-Reese converted on a wide-open net with 2 minutes and 13 seconds left in regulation, giving the Cleveland Monsters a 3-2 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack at PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday night and an ideal start to what figures to be a grinding six-game road swing.

The sequence that decided the game was almost comically simple, the kind of breakdown that haunts penalty killers and defensive-zone specialists in their nightmares. A Cleveland dump-in from the neutral zone lost its momentum in the left-wing corner, stalling before it reached the trapezoid. Brendan Gaunce corralled the dead puck, swung a pass across the front, and Aston-Reese had nothing but net to shoot at. The goal came at 17:47 of the third period and held up as the winner, pushing Cleveland's record to 31-19-6-1 and third place in the AHL's North Division.

Hartford's Scott Morrow kept the Wolf Pack competitive with both of Cleveland's regulation goals against him. Morrow opened the scoring at 15:02 of the second period with a low shot that beat goaltender Ivan Fedotov, then erased a 2-1 Cleveland deficit at 15:33 of the third, dancing down the right-wing side and putting a puck off Fedotov that bounced in to make it 2-2. Two goals in a losing effort, and Morrow had nothing to show for it.

Cleveland's comeback from the first deficit started almost immediately. Fifty-six seconds after Morrow's opener, Gaunce equalized at 16:21, assisted by Mikael Pyyhtiä and Luca Del Bel Belluz. Del Bel Belluz then gave the Monsters the lead at 19:07, capitalizing on Hartford's inability to clear its own zone by firing a shot from a dangerous area, with helpers credited to Aston-Reese and Caleb MacDonald. Del Bel Belluz now leads Cleveland with 30 goals and 18 assists on the season, both team highs.

Aston-Reese finished with a goal and an assist. Gaunce also recorded a goal and an assist, making all three of Cleveland's goals interconnected: Gaunce assisted Del Bel Belluz's go-ahead tally, then set up Aston-Reese's winner. The Monsters put together a tight three-goal chain with just four players doing most of the damage.

Hartford nearly salvaged a point in the final minutes. Trey Fix-Wolansky appeared to tie it with a wraparound attempt, and the call on the ice was ruled a good goal. A lengthy video review overturned the call, and Fedotov shut the door from there. Cleveland's goaltender is listed with 30 saves for the win, improving his record to 21-12-4. Spencer Martin took the loss for Hartford with 26 saves, dropping to 3-7-2.

The victory also carries some historical weight. Multiple sources confirmed it was Cleveland's first-ever regulation win over the Wolf Pack. Hartford fell to 22-28-4-2, sitting eighth in the Atlantic Division.

The two teams meet again Friday at PeoplesBank Arena, with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Broadcast coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr. For Cleveland, five more road games follow before they return home, and getting points early in a stretch like this is exactly how contenders separate themselves from pretenders.