Monsters edge Belleville

The AHL season has reached a point for the Monsters when one slip-up could be the difference between making the playoffs and going home after the regular season ends.

The Monsters are still sixth in the AHL North, but they closed the gap on fifth-place Belleville to four points on March 7 at Quicken Loans Arena by holding off the Senators, 2-1, in a game that started as though the hosts thought it began at 7:30 instead of the actual 7 p.m. start time.

Belleville took a 1-0 lead 1:34 into the game when Nick Paul scored his 13th goal of the season on a shot from the slot. The Senators outshot the Monsters 10-1 through the first 10 minutes, but in the end the Monsters prevailed. They held Belleville without a shoton-goal in the final 1:05 with the Senators net empty in favor

The two teams are back at The Q March 8. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

of a sixth attacker.

“We obviously pre-scout them,” Monsters coach John Madden said about defending the 6-on-5. “We know who the players to watch are. (Darren) Archibald in front of their net — a couple of their D-men.

“They like to go the blue line and send pucks through and hit sticks. They (Belleville) did get one good look and missed the net. We kind of tightened it up. When it went down to the last 10 seconds there are no rules. Just do anything you can.”

Despite the slow start, the Monsters outshot the Senators, 30-25. Monsters goalie Jean-Francois Berube made 24 saves.

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