Christiansen said the Monsters -- boasting a bevy of CBJ prospects and also a number of players who have played NHL minutes in recent years -- came into the season expecting a lot. An early season bout of adversity in the form of some tough results hurt, but the team is now where it wants to be -- in second place in the AHL's North Division with a 9-3-2-3 record through 17 games.
"It's great," Christiansen said of the vibe in Cleveland. "I feel like there's a lot of returners and then there's some guys that have joined us that are awesome guys. The start of the season was weird, I feel like. We were underachieving for what we had expected because we have a really good group of guys in the room and a really skilled team. It felt like every game was going to overtime. We have fought through it and a little bit of adversity is always good for a team early in the season."
Cleveland is on a bit of a hot run, having a 4-0-1-0 record in the last five games and having earned points in seven of the last eight contests. This past weekend, the team won a 5-1 contest at home vs. Toronto on Friday, then dropped a 4-3 overtime final a day later in Toronto.
Just about everybody got on board in the opening win, as Brent Gallant, Tyler Sikura, Liam Foudy, Christiansen and Trey Fix-Wolansky all scored. Christiansen added two assists, while Kevin Stenlund had a three-helper night and goalie Daniil Tarasov stopped 35 shots.
The Monsters battled in the finale but still picked up a point in the overtime setback. Stenlund, Dillon Simpson and Adam Helewka got on the board, with Helewka adding two assists for a three-point night. Jean-Francois Berube made 27 saves.
On the season, Christiansen leads the team in scoring, while Gaunce is right behind with a 7-8-15 line. Tyler Angle has been one of the top assist men in the league all season, compiling 13 helpers among his 14 points, while Foudy and Carson Meyer each have five goals. In addition, Fix-Wolansky has three goals and four points in four games since returning from a knee injury.
In net, Tarasov is 5-2-2 on the season with a 2.96 GAA and .897 save percentage. The Russian prospect has given up just one goal in three of his last four starts, posting a .926 save percentage in that span.
Next up, the team plays home games Friday and Saturday against Milwaukee and also hosts Grand Rapids for a Monday night contest.