When these two teams met a Quicken Loans Arena on New Year’s Day, Lake Erie blanked Hamilton 3-0, establishing a season-high three-game home winning streak for the Monsters.

In that Lake Erie win, the Monsters grabbed a 1-0 lead off Ryan Stoa’s power play goal at 8:37 of the opening period.

In the middle frame, center Mike Carman scored a shorthanded goal off a feed from Justin Mercier. Carman’s shorthander came as his fifth of the season and he currently leads AHL rookies and ties for first overall in shorthanded tallies. His five shorthanded points are also best among first-year players.

Late in the period, Matt Ford scored his 11th of the season off assists from Julian Talbot and Kevin Montgomery.

The Bulldogs outshot the Monsters by a 30-27 count in the game.

Hamilton’s power play went 0-for-7, while Lake Erie converted on one of five chances with the man advantage.

John Grahame went 30-for-30 for his first shutout of the season, while Robert Mayer turned aside 24 of 27 in the loss.

In this Series

The Monsters have outscored the Bulldogs by an 8-1 margin in their last two games at Quicken Loans Arena, but Lake Erie suffered a 3-2 setback in their only game of the season at Copps Coliseum.

In a weekday matinee back on October 10th, the Monsters took a 5-1 win, before a 3-0 victory at The Q on January 1st.

Through the first three games of this eight-game regular season series, the home team has not lost.

Hamilton Update

The North Division-leading Bulldogs are 11-6-1-0 at Copps Coliseum.

The Dogs have posted a modest 4-5-0-1 mark in their last 10 games, including a 3-2 loss in Milwaukee on January 9th.

Road Warriors

Tonight, the Monsters play game four of their season-high seven-game road swing.

The trip started with a three-in-three weekend out west. Lake Erie claimed a 3-1 win over the Texas Stars on January 8th, between losses to Houston (3-0) and Oklahoma City (5-1).

The Monsters are 6-13-1-2 away from Quicken Loans Arena this season.

Northern Comfort

After playing their last three games against West Division teams, the Monsters return to North Division action where they are 8-6-0-2.

Lake Erie will play three of its next four games against division opponents (Hamilton, Rochester twice).

Leaders of the Pack

Center Ben Walter leads the Monsters in assists (18) and points (28) this season. Walter has scored a goal and assisted one other in Lake Erie’s 3-1 win over Texas on January 8th.

Ryan Stoa’s 14 goals lead the club, while his 25 points rank second on the team. Stoa has registered four points (2G, 2A) in his last two games and nine points (5G, 4A) in his last eight outings.

Julian Talbot’s 23 points (6G, 17A) rank third on the team, while his plus-8 efficiency is best on the club.

Patrick Rissmiller has eight points (2G, 6A) in his last eight games.