In their second game of back-to-back home contests against the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Lake Erie Monsters were shutout for the second consecutive night, dropping a 3-0 contest Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. The loss drops the Monsters to 7-13-0-2 while the Bulldogs improve to 13-6-1-3.

“I was happy with tonight in a lot of ways; I’m not happy with the end result,” said Monsters head coach David Quinn. “I do know if we put forth this effort and have the type of puck movement we do and clean up the power play a little bit, we will have a lot more success. We are not where we need to be yet.”

The first 20 minutes went by without a score, as Monsters goalie Trevor Cann made seven saves and Hamilton netminder Cedrick Desjardins turned away 12 shots. The Monsters penalty kill was also a factor, as the team buckled down in the beginning stages of the game, killing off two penalties in the first six minutes.

It wouldn’t be until the 36th minute of the game, but the Bulldogs would strike first, taking the lead on David Desharnais’ fifth goal of the season. Taking the puck behind the net, Brock Trotter threw a behind-the-back pass to Desharnais, who had his original shot stopped by Cann before banging in the rebound. Mathieu Curadeau recorded the second assist on the goal.

Just 37 seconds later, the Bulldogs would go up by two on Ryan Russell’s fifth goal of the year. Coming down the left side of the ice, Russell snuck a wrist shot in on the short side, squeezing the puck between Cann’s blocker and the post.

Two minutes later, Trotter would score the game’s final goal at the 18:38 mark of the second, his fifth of the season.Taking a pass from Chad Anderson at the blue line, Trotter cut across the middle and slid a low wrist shot past Cann’s glove side.

Regulation’s final frame would go by without any scoring, as Cann made five saves and Desjardins turned away all 12 Lake Erie shots. By game’s end, Cann made 19 saves on 22 shots while Desjardins turned away all 32 shots the Monsters recorded, earning him first star of the game honors.

“We are all frustrated right now, but it’s important that we stick together and keep plugging away,” said veteran forward Marty Sertich. “Eventually we are going to bounce out of this thing, and hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”

The Monsters return to the ice on Tuesday, when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:00 p.m. at The Q. Tickets can be purchased by calling (216) 420-0000, by visiting LakeErieMonsters.com or by visiting any Northern Ohio Discount Drug Mart.

Sights and Sounds

Head Coach David Quinn Interview   Marty Sertich Postgame Interview