Blomqvist, Top Line Lift Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Over Monsters

Joel Blomqvist turned aside 22 shots and delivered a late breakaway denial as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton edged the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 at Rocket Arena Friday, the Penguins’ fourth consecutive victory. "Blomqvist was unbeatable when the game got close in the third period, including a clutch breakaway denial and several key saves in the final minute of regulation," the Penguins reported.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton jumped in front in the first period on Atley Calvert’s 6:44 marker, described as a "picturesque, backhand finish under the crossbar." The Penguins struck again 45 seconds later when Rutger McGroarty set up Ville Koivunen all alone in front for a 2-0 lead at 7:29.

Cleveland climbed back into the game midway through the second as Luca Del Bel Belluz scored on the power play to make it 2-1. The Monsters’ boxscore lists the goal at 11:15 of the period, and team coverage noted that Cleveland had been awarded the first four power plays of the game, with WBSPenguins adding that "four seconds into the power play, Luca Del Bel Belluz released a shot that knuckled off of a Penguins defender and past Blomqvist’s glove." Assists on the Del Bel Belluz goal were credited to Luca Marrelli and Brendan Gaunce.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton restored a two-goal margin before the intermission when Aidan McDonough unleashed a "wicked one-time blast" with just 23.8 seconds remaining in the second period, pushing the score to 3-1. No assists on McDonough’s goal were listed in the available game reports.

The Monsters struck early in the third when Guillaume Richard scored 75 seconds in, his shot from the left wall off a Penguin skate and inside the post to cut the deficit to 3-2. Dysin Mayo and Zach Aston-Reese were credited with the assists on Richard’s goal as Cleveland mounted its comeback bid.

Blomqvist’s late-game stops preserved the win after Richard’s goal. The Penguins’ boxscore lists Blomqvist as the winner with 22 saves and a postgame record of 10-4-3. Cleveland’s Zach Sawchenko was tagged with the 3-2 loss after making 23 saves, his record listed as 9-7-3.

The victory improved Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to 36-13-3-2, shown as second in the Atlantic Division, while Cleveland fell to 28-17-6-1, listed as third in the North Division. The teams were scheduled for an immediate rematch Saturday at Rocket Arena at 4:00 p.m. Game sheets, photos, and highlights were noted as available following video processing, and Samantha Barlow authored the Monsters’ game story.