Cleveland Goalie Sawchenko's 46-Save Game Propels Monsters Into North Division Finals

Cleveland Monsters/Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Zach Sawchenko (36) before a San Jose Sharks game against the New York Islanders at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Source: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports)

The Cleveland Monsters beat the the Syracuse Crunch 2-1 after 3OT to qualify for the North Division Finals.

Syracuse outshot Cleveland 12-7 in the first frame. The Crunch were aided by three power play opportunities in the opening period where two of their power plays intersected into a 5v3 advantage for 1:28 minutes. While Syracuse put up five of their 12 shots in those man-advantage situations, they still went 0-for-3. Cleveland also had a four-minute power play but put up only one shot. The Crunch still scored the opening goal thanks to their better shot volume courtesy of defenseman Matteo Pietroniro.

The Monsters turned the tables on the Crunch in the second period, outshooting Syracuse 10-6. All this despite the Crunch getting one opportunity at a power play where they put up two of their six shots while going 0-for-1. This time, the Monsters' shot volume favored them, aiding Cleveland in pocketing the equalizer by defenseman Luca Marrelli.

In a penalty-less third period, the Crunch outshot the Monsters 10-7 but neither team could find the back of the net, setting up overtime for the second consecutive game in the series.

After going through 47:53 minutes of overtime where Cleveland vastly outshot Syracuse 34-19, Zach Aston-Reese scored the game-winner for the Monsters and advanced the team to the North Division Finals.