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Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

Confident Tarasov Helps Cleveland Win

Originally posted on Full Press Hockey
By Elaine Shircliff | Last updated 3/9/23

CLEVELAND – On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Monsters took a big step on their path towards the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins. Trey Fix-Wolansky and Yegor Chinakhov led the way with both a goal and an assist. To add to the fun, they provided the primary assist on each other’s goal.

The play leading up to each Monsters goal started on the opposite end of the ice. In fact, Cleveland constantly drove their plays from coast-to-coast all night. According to head coach Trent Vogelhuber, the Monsters work on connectedness in practice a lot. From arrivals on the back end to providing slash support in the neutral zone to turning rushes into chances, the whole game is connected. Vogelhuber went on to explain the reason why it looked smooth and quick is because of the amount of time they spent rehearsing each piece of the puzzle. When the pieces all fit perfectly, then things go a bit smoother for a team.

On top of the connectedness, the Monsters had a healthy and confident Daniil Tarasov in net for the game. “That’s his third game back from injury which kept him out for a long time,” said Vogelhuber of Tarasov. “That’s a difficult, difficult position to come back and get up to speed in, especially this time of year when teams are playing their best hockey.”

Speaking of “playing their best hockey”, Tarasov was on fire pretty much all game. He was frequently seen poke checking the puck through opponents’ legs and flashing the leather on slappers. One interesting move Tarasov employed on Tuesday night was slamming his glove on the side of the net to prevent the Griffins from attempting a wraparound or shot from below the goal line. Having fun allowed Tarasov to put on a show for the 5,556 people in attendance at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“I feel more confidence now and I can enjoy it,” said Tarasov. “This win was awesome. I feel pretty good now.”

Things Daniil Tarasov does to stop pucks :

– Poke checks
-Flashes the leather
– Kick Saves
– Rolls around

and this

Slams his glove against the netting to make sure the play ends before someone attempts a wraparound#CLEMonsters #GOGRG @FPC_AHL pic.twitter.com/uX6C8ANLPw

— Elaine Shircliff (@imaraindancer) March 8, 2023

Skating away with two points allowed the Monsters to climb into the sixth position in the North Division. As of Wednesday morning, they were sandwiched between the Laval Rocket and Belleville Senators (who played each other on Wednesday evening — Belleville won, 5-1). No matter how things shake out between those teams, Cleveland needs to make sure they continue to win; the Monsters dropped to last place after the Rocket/B-Sens game. The race is tight in the North. As of Thursday morning, eight points stand between the second place Utica Comets and last place Cleveland.

With 17 games remaining in the season, the Monsters need to continue to play simple and hard for a full 60 minutes every game. Coach Vogelhuber explained the key to these wins is to not let the players “get bored with the way we have success”. He then went on to say that the way they’ve been playing isn’t “sexy sometimes but it works”.

One of the challenges along the way will be playing the Griffins two more times in the next week and a half. “We got two more this week against the same team,” said Tarasov. “It’s pretty funny.” Yes, the Griffins and Monsters somehow managed to be scheduled to play each other three times in a row during the most intense part of the regular season – the battle for an appearance in playoffs.

Emotions will likely be high between Grand Rapids and Cleveland as they play each those two more times during this final stretch of the season, especially since they have never really liked each other. Vogelhuber has seen the Griffins more times than he would like during his time with the Monsters as both a player and a coach. In the 2015-16 season, the Monsters and Griffins met for two preseason games, 12 regular season games, and then six games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. “By the time the season is over, you don’t like each other very much,” Vogelhuber said about the rivalry the Griffins and Monsters have cultivated over the years.

It appears the key to continuing on this winning path towards the playoffs is channeling their hatred for the Griffins into a solid 60 minutes of unsexy hockey.

This article first appeared on Full Press Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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