Monsters overcome two-goal hole, complete four-goal swing to win 4-2

Cleveland rallied from a two-goal first-period deficit to defeat the Rochester Americans 4-2 at Rocket Arena, completing a four-goal swing that included Luca Marrelli’s first professional goal and James Malatesta’s game-winner on Feb. 25. The Monsters improved to 28-16-6-1 as listed by ClevelandMonsters.com and RochesterAmerks.com; one News-Herald line listed 27-16-6-1, a discrepancy with team reports.

Rochester opened in a hurry when Olivier Nadeau put the Amerks ahead at 2:37 of the first period for his sixth goal of the season, and Konsta Helenius extended the lead to 2-0 with his 13th at 17:02. Trailing by a pair in the final minute of the opening period, Cleveland cut the deficit when Zach Aston-Reese redirected a backhand at 19:52. As described in the team play-by-play, “Brendan Gaunce scooped up a loose puck to the left of the Amerks net. The Cleveland captain banked a pass off the far side of the boards before Guillaume Richard blasted a shot from below the left dot. Prior to the puck reaching Levi, Zach Aston-Reese turned his stick on his backhand and redirected it past the right hand of Rochester’s netminder to slice the deficit in half in the waning seconds of the opening frame.”

The second period flipped the game. Luca Marrelli tied it with a power-play marker at 11:10, recorded as his first professional goal, with assists to Owen Sillinger and Brendan Gaunce. Just 2:19 later, James Malatesta scored at 13:29, his fifth of the season and the play identified as the game-winner; Luca Del Bel Belluz “picked up his team-leading 28th assist on Malatesta’s goal.” Jack Williams nearly tied the game earlier in the period but hit Devin Levi’s mask on a chance, and Rochester took the contest’s first penalty before the Marrelli power play.

Mikael Pyyhtiä provided insurance with Cleveland’s lone third-period goal to make it 4-2; his tally was listed as his 12th of the season. Goaltending held up down the stretch as Ivan Fedotov stopped 24 of 26 shots to record the win while Devin Levi made 26 saves on 30 shots in the loss. As the News-Herald put it, “Ivan Fedotov saved 24 of the 26 shots he faced.” Team shot totals finished Cleveland 30, Rochester 26.

Amerks.com highlighted the broader significance: this marked Rochester’s first regulation loss in Cleveland since Nov. 16, 2023, ending an 8-0-1-0 stretch in Rocket Arena and contributing to Rochester’s first four-game skid of the season (0-2-1-1). ClevelandMonsters.com credited the club with moving into third place in the AHL’s North Division following the win and noted the Monsters have won three straight, per local reporting.

Three Stars recognized by RochesterAmerks.com were Luca Marrelli (first star), Brendan Gaunce (second), and James Malatesta (third). Cleveland returns to Rocket Arena for a two-game set against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beginning Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:00 p.m.; broadcasts include Rock Entertainment Sports Network, SportsRadio 99.1, and AHLTV on FloHockey. Rochester heads to Blue Cross Arena to face Laval Rocket on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:05 p.m., with coverage on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM WGR and AHLTV on FloHockey.