After a disheartening 3-2 loss to the Manitoba Moose on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena, the Lake Erie Monsters evened the season series at a game a piece on Saturday night with a convincing 5-2 win over the North Division-leading Moose.

“We needed this win, and we earned it,” said Monsters head coach David Quinn. “I thought we played a good game last night and I think since last Saturday night we’ve all been pulling in the same direction. Every night we’ve gotten better and better.”

The team was lead by the power forward duo of Chris Durno and Ryan Stoa, as each player accounted for two scores in the win.

Durno began the scoring at the 5:16 mark of the first for the Monsters. Firing a puck from the point, Kevin Schaefer’s shot hit Brock Bradford in the back and fell right to Durno, who swept it through the five hole of Moose goalie Daren Machesney from the slot, giving the Monsters an early lead.

Looking to follow up on the veteran’s scoring touch, Stoa, a rookie, would net his second of the season less than 30 seconds later. When Brett Skinner’s shot missed the net wide, it hit the back wall and pin balled to the opposite side of the net to Stoa, who tapped the puck into an empty cage. Derek Peltier registered the secondary assist on the goal.

Before the first period ended, Manitoba fought back and cut the Lake Erie lead in half on Matt Pettinger’s first goal of the season. Crashing the net, Pettinger had a puck thrown from the wall careen off his skate and past Monster goalie Tyler Weiman at the 14:44 mark of the first period. Eric Walsky and Nathan McIver picked up assists on the goal.

Although their lead was cut in half temporarily, Stoa put the Monsters up by two again with his third goal of the season and second of the game just 3:19 into the middle frame. On a give-and-go with Marty Sertich, Stoa fed Sertich the puck and drove to the net. Picking Stoa’s pass out of midair, Sertich drifted back behind the goal and put the puck right on Stoa’s stick, watching as the 6-3, 200-lb. forward one-timed the puck past Machesney. Brock Bradford recorded the second assist on the power play tally. 

Just seven minutes later, Durno would strike again for the Monsters on one of the prettier goals scored thus far in the young season at the midway mark of the second. As Durno cut up the middle of the ice, he was the recipient of a spring board pass from defenseman Wes O’Neill. Having a break away from the red line in, Durno dipped the shoulder, getting Machesney to bite on the fake, before depositing a backhand between the five hole of the helpless Manitoba netminder.

Down but not out, Manitoba’s Guillaume Desbiens put Manitoba back in striking distance with two minutes left in the second period on the power play. Standing in front of Weiman, Desbiens tipped defenseman Evan Oberg’s point shot past the glove of Lake Erie’s All-Star netminder. Marty Murray picked up an assist on Desbiens’ second goal of the season.

Heading into the third with a two-goal lead, highly-touted offseason acquisition Darren Haydar would put the game out of reach for Manitoba with his first goal of the season. Taking the puck from the wall in his own end while shorthanded, Haydar blew past a Manitoba defender. All alone on Machesney, Haydar faked to the forehand and slid the puck between the outstretched goalie’s pads, giving the Monsters a three-goal lead.

The Monsters will now hit the road for a three-game road trip that has the team play the Texas Stars on Tuesday, the Houston Aeros on Wednesday before finishing up the trip on Friday with a game against the Stars.

“I think we’re looking forward to the road trip,” said Quinn. “I think it will be a great opportunity for the guys to get to know each other better. It’s going to be nice to get on the road for a week and play some hockey. We’ve slowly gotten better over the past few games and we’re looking forward to continuing that.”

After the trip, the Monsters return home on Friday, October 30th for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Peoria Rivermen. Tickets can be purchased by calling (216) 420-2000 or by visiting LakeErieMonsters.com.

Sights and Sounds

Ryan Stoa Interview   Coach David Quinn Interview