On Friday the Monsters make their third stop of a four-game road trip that began Sunday in Houston. After playing two games in Texas, the Monsters will head to Virginia to take on the Norfolk Admirals for the second time this season.

In their first matchup in franchise history against the Admirals, the Monsters lost, 4-2, on October 17th at Quicken Loans Arena. In the game, Lake Erie received their scoring from right wing Brian Willsie, now with the Colorado Avalanche, and center Phil Dupuis. Karri Ramo made 39 saves for Norfolk while Tyler Weiman turned aside 25 shots in the loss.

Lake Erie finishes up the road trip on Saturday, with their second and final regular season meeting against the Philadelphia Phantoms in The City of Brotherly Love. In their only game against the Phantoms this year, Lake Erie shutout their East Division foe, 3-0, on January 11th at The Q. The shutout was Weiman’s and the Monsters’ fourth of the year and the team received scoring from three different sources as T.J. Galiardi, Darcy Campbell and Nathan Smith tickled the twine.

After Saturday, the team, along with the rest of the league, will enjoy an All-Star break. The Monsters won’t return to action until January 30th, when they visit the Syracuse Crunch at Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter. Lake Erie returns to The Q on Saturday, January 31st to play the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.

The 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, presented by Charter Communications, will be held on Monday, January 26th in Worcester, Massachusetts. Lake Erie defenseman Kyle Cumiskey and goaltender Tyler Weiman will represent the Monsters in the game. Cumiskey leads all Lake Erie defensemen in goals (4), assists (12), points (16) and plus/minus with a +7 rating. Weiman is tied for first in the AHL with five shutouts, is fifth in the league with a 2.34 GAA and is seventh in the AHL with a 0.921 save percentage.