Ben Wilson opened the scoring for Team White in the Lake Erie Monsters intrasquad scrimmage, and the White group managed to lead the Red squad for the entire contest en route to a 5-3 victory at Hoover Arena Operated by IceLand U.S.A . in Strongsville Thursday night.  The Red team, who scored twice late in the game, was unable to claw all the way back in the contest.

After Wilson’s opening goal, A.J. Gale snapped a pass from Wilson to the upper portion of the Red team’s net to extend the White lead to 2-0 in the first period.  Bryan Lerg managed to breakaway and score for the Red team, cutting the deficit in half before the first period expired.

In the second period, Mitchell Heard and Mark Olver scored in succession, giving the White team a 4-1 lead.  David van der Gulik made it three unanswered goals when he made it 5-1 early in the third.  Red added a pair late in the third period, but were not able to complete the comeback attempt.

All four of the Monsters rookie goaltenders saw time in the game, with Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio starting for the White and Red teams respectively.  With eight minutes remaining in the second period, Kent Patterson relieved Pickard to preserve the win, and Kieran Millan entered in place of Aittokallio.
The Monsters practice in Strongsville Friday and Saturday mornings, and hit the road for a pair of preseason games over the weekend.  Saturday at 6:00 PM in Toledo, the Monsters will face Grand Rapids, with the two teams meeting again Sunday night at 7:00 PM in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Team Red and Team White rosters can be found here: Intrasquad Rosters


Opening night for the Monsters at Quicken Loans Arena is Friday, October 12 when they welcome in the Oklahoma City Barons.