The Monsters' leading scorer, Greg Mauldin, gets called up to the Avalanche, leaving Lake Erie punchless in a 4-0 loss to Milwaukee at The Q.
View full sizeGreg MauldinMauldin was not available because the parent Colorado Avalanche, dealing with injuries, had called Thursday and requested his services.
Such is the main hazard of being a minor-league franchise: The better the players perform, the more likely they are to be on the move.
The Mauldin-less Monsters managed eight shots in the final two periods in a 4-0 defeat at The Q.
"Losing Greg is part of life in the American Hockey League, but that doesn't excuse what happened here," Monsters coach David Quinn said. "I told our players, 'Hey, that was unacceptable.' You just can't do what we did."
Lake Erie (6-6-1-2) was shut out for the second time this season. It had no answers for goalie Mark Dekanich, who made 21 saves. Dekanich entered as the AHL leader in goals-against average (1.63) and save percentage (.941).
Dekanich crafted his second straight shutout, having beaten Grand Rapids, 1-0, Wednesday. The question is, will his shot at three in a row come early this afternoon, when the Admirals again face the Monsters at The Q? Lake Erie can only hope the quick turnaround leads Milwaukee coach Lane Lambert to go with backup Jeremy Smith.
Milwaukee (8-3-1-2) scored once in the first and second periods and twice in the third. Former Monsters forward Chris Mueller notched two goals and one assist.
Mueller gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead when he beat Jason Bacashihua at 14:29 of the first. Defenseman Aaron Johnson's goal at 5:11 of the second made it 2-0.
Right winger Matt Halischuk scored at 2:02 of the third. Mueller accounted for the final margin with an empty-netter at 17:58.
"We were ready to play -- we had some great chances, particularly in the first 10 minutes -- but as the game wore on, they really took it to us," Quinn said. "We faded and they turned it up a notch. They out-everything-ed us in the last 30 minutes."
While the Monsters were losing, Mauldin was having the time of his NHL life several hours' drive down I-71. Mauldin scored his first goal in eight career NHL games as part of the Avalanche's 5-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena.
Colorado signed Mauldin, 28, as a free agent in July. He played 77 games for Bridgeport of the AHL and one for the New York Islanders last season.
Mauldin has five goals and seven assists and a plus-6 rating in 14 games for the Monsters.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664