Monsters pull away in third, down Checkers 6-3

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Cleveland Monsters scored three-straight to defeat the Charlotte Checkers 6-3 on Saturday night at home.

The Monsters are now 14-11-4-1 and sit in fifth place in the AHL’s North Division.

Riley Bezeau got the Monsters on the board at 16:22 in the first period on assists from Hunter McKown and James Malatesta, but Charlotte’s Brian Pinho tied the game at 19:27 to send the teams to the first intermission even.

It was a busy back-and-forth second period. Tate Singleton put the Monsters back in front at 5:59 with a feed from Hudson Fasching, but Pinho struck again at 8:30 to make it 2-2.

Roman Ahčan restored Cleveland’s lead at 13:38 on passes from Jack Williams and Corson Ceulemans, but Nate Smith answered for Charlotte at 15:00.

In the final minutes of the second, Luca Del Bel Belluz converted on a play set up by Singleton and Ceulemans at 18:25 to give the Monsters a 4-3 edge headed into the final intermission.

Cleveland would have the final say in the third, McKown scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 4:22, and Malatesta added an empty-netter late in the period with helpers from Williams and Del Bel Belluz to secure the 6-3 victory.

Ivan Fedotov made 22 saves in the win, while Charlotte goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk stopped 31 shots in defeat.

The teams meet again Monday, Jan. 5, at 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena.