The Lake Erie Monsters played their fifth consecutive home game on Wednesday night, claiming a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Marlies at Quicken Loans Arena. Behind multi-point efforts from four different Monsters, the win came as Lake Erie’s sixth in its last eight games, improving the team’s record to 13-7-2-2 on home ice.

The win also tied the Monsters (22-21-3-4) with Toronto for third place in the North Division.

At 17:32 of the opening period, the Marlies took a 1-0 lead off a goal from Nazem Kadri. From below the goal line on the right side of the net, Marcel Mueller sent a centering pass to Kadri, who went top right corner with a backhand shot. Christian Hanson also assisted.

The Monsters were quick to answer when Ben Walter scored on a wrist shot from close range at the 19:00 mark. Julian Talbot and Travis Gawryletz assisted.

The opening 20 minutes ended in a 1-1 tie, while Lake Erie outshot Toronto 11-6.

The second period was scoreless until 18:29 into the frame, when Greg Mauldin scored his first goal since his return from parent club Colorado on January 14th. Mauldin’s goal came as his sixth of the season with Lake Erie. Talbot assisted for his sixth multi-point game of the season, while Julien Brouillette also assisted.

At the end of the second period, Lake Erie led by a 2-1 score. The Monsters held Toronto to just four shots in the frame, while recording 12 of their own.

The Monsters built a 3-1 lead at 6:37 of the third period. Gawryletz took a pass from Mauldin and fired a shot from the left point that was tipped in by Walter. Walter’s second goal of the night came as his team-leading 36th point (15G, 21A) of the season, while the goal also marked his second two-goal outing and seventh multi-point game of the season. Gawryletz’s assist came as his third multi-point game of the season.

The Marlies cut their two-goal deficit in half with Matt Lashoff’s slap shot from the right point at 13:33 of the period. Lashoff’s power play goal was assisted by Simon Gysbers.

Lake Erie regained its two-goal advantage, making the score 4-2 with Mark Olver’s team-leading 18th goal of the season at 15:45 of the period. Mauldin assisted for his second three-point outing of the season with Lake Erie, while Jonas Holos also assisted.

The game ended in a 4-2 victory for the Monsters, despite Toronto outshooting Lake Erie 9-5 in the third period.

John Grahame kicked aside 17 of the 19 shots he faced. Grahame has started seven of Lake Erie’s last eight games, posting a 6-1-0 record during that stretch. Grahame holds an overall record of 11-8-2 so far this season.

Jussi Rynnas went 24-for-28 in the loss for Toronto.

The Monsters will travel to Hamilton for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff with the Bulldogs on Thursday night.

Three Stars: 1. LE Walter (2 goals); 2. LE Mauldin (1 goal, 2 assists); 3. LE Gawryletz (2 assists)

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Greg Mauldin Postgame Interview