Second-period flurry helps Cleveland sink Admirals

Mid-November hockey games are the ones teams that just miss the playoffs look back on in April and think, “If only we had only played a little harder five months ago, we’d still be playing.”

The Monsters, who missed the playoffs by one point last season, were involved in one of those games Nov. 16 at Quicken Loans Arena and skated off with no regrets. They scored three goals in the final nine minutes of the second period to break a 2-2 tie and went on to sink the Milwaukee Admirals, 5-3.

Rocky River native Carter Camper got the second-period onslaught going with a powerplay goal at 11:48. He stood near the right post, gathered in the puck off a rebound from Sam Vigneault and flicked it past the glove side of Admiral goalie Juuse Saros, who was making his first start of the season for Milwaukee after giving up 16 goals in four starts with the Nashville Predators, Milwaukee’s parent club in the NHL.

Hayden Hodgson opened a 4-2 lead at 18:24 of the middle period with his first goal of the season when he skated past the right post and put the puck behind Saros, who strayed too far from the net. Twenty-nine seconds later, Justin Scott gave the Monsters a 5-2 lead on a shot from low in the left circle under the cross bar on Saros’ stickside.

The Monsters started the night third in the AHL Central Division, three points behind the second-place Admirals.

“You never know what game’s going to help you or hurt you,” said Camper, who had two assists to go along with his goal. “These guys (the Monsters) lost out by a point last year.”

The Admirals scored the first goal of the game at 8:15 of the first period. Calvin Thurkauf got the equalizer at 14:59 with an assist from Miles Koules, then Paul Bittner scored the first of two Cleveland power-play goals on a shot from the right circle with 1:10 left in the first period.

“We played well for two periods then got away from our game in the third,” Monsters coach John Madden said. “That was something I didn’t want to see, but we’ll build on the positives. I thought every man out there played well for two periods.”

Mattiss Kivlenieks, the 21-year-old goalie from Latvia, stopped 21 of 24 shots for his second victory of the season.