Tonight the Monsters travel to the AT&T Center in San Antonio to take on the Rampage in the second contest of a four-game road trip. The team is 0-1 against the Rampage so far this season, dropping a New Year’s Day matchup, 6-2. The game also marks the team’s second game in the state of Texas in the past four days. Lake Erie fell to Houston on Sunday, 2-1. In the loss, forward Justin Bowers scored his first career AHL goal. Goalie Tyler Weiman made 27 saves on 29 shots and was named third star of the game.

After their game against San Antonio, the Monsters remain on the road, traveling to Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday to play the Admirals for the second and final time this season. The game is Lake Erie’s first-ever in the Norfolk Scope arena. In the first contest against the Admirals, Lake Erie lost, 4-2, on October 17th at Quicken Loans Arena. Monsters forward Phil Dupuis scored his first goal of the season in the game.

Lake Erie wraps up the road trip on Saturday at the Wachovia Spectrum to play the Philadelphia Phantoms for the second and final time this season. In their first game against the Phantoms this year, Lake Erie shutout Philadelphia, 3-0 at The Q on Sunday, January 11th. Goaltender Tyler Weiman recorded his fourth shutout of the year, making 31 saves on just as many shots and Lake Erie received scoring from three sources, as T.J. Galiardi, Darcy Campbell and captain Nathan Smith found the back of the net. In the game, Smith recorded his second multi-point game of the season with a goal and assist.

After completing the road trip, the Monsters will enjoy a five-day break for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, held in Worcester, Massachusetts on Monday, January 26th. The team will be represented at the game by defenseman Kyle Cumiskey, who will play on the Canadian All-Star Team. Cumiskey leads Monster defensemen in goals (4), assists (12), points (16) and is tied for first on the team with a plus/minus rating of +7. Currently, Cumiskey is up with Lake Erie’s NHL affiliate, the Colorado Avalanche. So far this season, Cumiskey has played in five games with Colorado.

After the All-Star break, the Monsters play the Syracuse Crunch in Syracuse on Friday, January 30th and return to The Q to host the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday, January 31st.