Former Monster Chris Mueller has two goals and an assist as Milwaukee beats the Monsters for the second consecutive night.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Monsters have seen enough of Milwaukee Admirals right winger Chris Mueller.
For the second time in less than 24 hours, Mueller put on a show against his former team on its ice. He scored two goals, including the game-winner in a short-handed situation at 18:53 of the third period, as the Admirals prevailed, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at The Q.
Friday night, Mueller notched two goals and one assist in a 4-0 victory. He entered the weekend with one goal in 13 games.
Mueller insisted it is not personal when he faces the Monsters, for whom he had five goals and 11 assists in 59 games in 2008-09.
"It was my first [full] season as a pro, so Lake Erie always will have special meaning to me," he said. "I enjoyed my time here. It's fun to come back."
At 18:19 of the third, a Milwaukee boarding penalty gave Lake Erie the man-advantage in a tie game. The Monsters applied pressure, then Milwaukee blocked a shot. The puck slid toward Lake Erie center Ryan Stoa.
Suddenly, Mueller was on top of Stoa and poked the puck away.
"I don't think he saw me coming," Mueller said. "We bumped into each other, and I was able to get control."
Mueller sliced from right to left and slipped a backhander through the five-hole and behind goalie Trevor Cann.
"It squeaked through there," Mueller said. "I was fortunate."
Still on the power play, Lake Erie failed to seriously threaten the Admirals and goalie Jeremy Smith the rest of the way.
"It's disappointing because, when the power play started, I thought we'd have a chance to win the game in regulation," Monsters coach David Quinn said. "That was the best our power play had looked all weekend. Instead, there's a loose puck in the neutral zone, we lose the one-on-one battle and it goes the other way."
One of the reasons Lake Erie is 6-7-1-2 is Stoa's substandard play. Last season, he had 23 goals in 54 games for the Monsters as a rookie out of the University of Minnesota. He played 12 games with the parent Colorado Avalanche, scoring two goals.
This season, Stoa has managed four assists in 15 games.
The Admirals took a 1-0 lead at 5:59 of the first period when Mueller beat Cann. Mueller capitalized on a Monsters turnover.
Lake Erie used a shorthanded goal to tie it at 16:17, center Mike Carman scoring while Tom Zanoski was in the penalty box for interference. Left winger Justin Mercier earned the assist. Carman and Mercier have been superb on the penalty kill this season.
Milwaukee (9-3-1-2) regained the advantage at 5:49 of the second. In a 4-on-4 situation, defenseman Roman Josi found the back of the net from the edge of the right circle.
Mercier scored at 8:26 of the third to tie the game. Carman and defenseman Cameron Gaunce got the assists.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664