Monsters defuse Rockets

Brad Thiessen, 32, doesn’t fit the mold as a developmental goalie for the Columbus Blue Jackets and consequently doesn’t get many opportunities to play for the Monsters.

When Thiessen does get a chance, he usually makes the most of it, just as he did on March 1 when he stopped 22 of 23 shots to carry the Monsters past the Laval Rocket, 4-1, before a crowd of 10,135 at Quicken Loans Arena.

Thiessen made his most critical save with 8:20 to play when, protecting a 2-1 lead, he kicked out his left pad to thwart Laval center Lukas Vejdemo on a twoon-none breakaway.

The Monsters, sluggish 24 hours earlier in a 5-4 loss to Laval (after leading 4-2), bounced back with energy to improve their record to 27-24-6-1.

“If I want to nit-pick about our game, I didn’t like the way wesat back inthe third period once we got the lead,” Coach John Madden said. “We’re a team that plays on our toes andgoesafterother teamsand puts them in bad situations.

“I think they were trying to conserve a little energy, knowing we have to get on a bus (headed to Toronto) for 5 ½ hours and play at five o’clock tomorrow. I don’t blame them, but at the same time we have to take care of business here.”

Zac Dalpe got the Mon- sters on the board first when he redirected a shot from the point by Adam Clendening on a power play at 16:17 of the first period.

Laval tied the score at 13:05 of the second period. The score remained 1-1 until Monsters center Mark Letestu picked an open spot on the left side of the Rocket net to bury the puck 43 seconds into the third period. The last two Monsters goals were empty netters by Justin Scott and Dalpe.

The night, then, belonged to Thiessen and the defense in front of him. It was just the 10th start of the season for the veteran goaltender of 254 AHL games. He is 5-3-1- 0 this season and 132-86 with 16 more losses in overtime for his career.

“I thought Brad Thiessen playedparticularlywell,” Mad- densaid. “He controlledalotof reboundssotheydidn’tget second chances. I thought our D dida great jobin frontof him.”

The game was Thiessen’s first since a 4-2 road loss to Belleville on Feb. 16. His last start before that was a 4-3 shootout victory at Syracuse on Jan. 11.

“It’s kind of my job right now to make sure in practice I’m getting my reps and staying sharp so when opportunities like this come up you want to take advantage of it,” Thiessen said. “They’re a team that comes to the net pretty hard. The defense was up to the challenge of keeping those guys out of my way and did a really good job.”

Thiessen had to be at his best in the third period. The Rocket launched 12 shots on net in the final 20 minutes.

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