In a bid for setting a franchise record of six consecutive wins, the Lake Erie Monsters came up short by dropping a 2-1 decision to the Houston Aeros in front of 11,821 at Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night. By winning five straight games prior to Saturday’s contest, the Monsters set a season high and tied a franchise record.

The Monsters now hold an overall record of 21-20-3-4, while they are 12-6-2-2 on home ice. Lake Erie’s 49 points tie Toronto for third place in the North Division.

Houston (26-18-1-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead off Robbie Earl’s goal at 7:25 of the opening period. Earl took assists from Jean-Michel Daoust and Justin Falk.

Despite trailing by a goal at the end of the first period, the Monsters outshot the Aeros 9-8 in the frame.

The second period remained scoreless until 19 seconds remaining, when Houston took a 2-0 lead off a power play goal by Warren Peters. Jon DiSalvatore and Patrick O’Sullivan recorded assists.

The Aeros outshot Lake Erie 9-8 in the middle frame.

Trailing by two goals in the third period, the Monsters cut their deficit in half when David van der Gulik scored his second goal in as many games at the 3:25 mark. Cameron Gaunce assisted for his third set of back-to-back points this season, while Ben Walter also recorded a helper for his team-leading 20th assist and 33rd point of the season. Walter has recorded points in 10 of his last 15 games (5G, 6A).

The Monsters outshot the Aeros by a 9-4 count in the third period but were unable to notch the equalizer, resulting in the 2-1 finals score and ending the team’s five-game winning streak.

John Grahame made his sixth consecutive start in net for the Monsters, the most of any Lake Erie goaltender this season, stopping 19 of 21 shots faced. Grahame has won seven of his last 10 starts in net for Lake Erie, including the five-game winning streak, which set a season high. He holds a record of 10-8-2 this season.

At the other end, Anton Khudobin turned aside 25 of 26 shots faced in net for Houston.

The Monsters will continue their stretch of playing 12 of 13 games at home when they host the Peoria Rivermen at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Three Stars: 1. HOU Peters (GW goal); 2. HOU Earl (1 goal); 3. LE van der Gulik (1 goal)

David Quinn Postgame Interview