DES MOINES, Iowa — Jamie Sifers scored in overtime to lift the Cleveland Monsters to a 2-1 victory over the Iowa Wild in an American Hockey League game Wednesday in the Wells Fargo Arena.
The Monsters trailed the entire game and had been held scoreless for 11 periods over four games against Iowa before Dean Kukan broke the ice, scoring on a power-play with just 1:08 left in regulation and setting up overtime.
Sifer’s goal followed just 1:45 into OT to give the Monsters the win and snap Iowa’s franchise-record six-game winning streak. The Monsters are now 22-18-2-3, in fifth place in the AHL Central Division, while Iowa is 24-19-4-2, just ahead of the Monsters in fourth place.
Prior to Kukan’s goal, the last time the Monsters scored vs. Iowa was in the first period of a 2-1 shootout loss on Dec. 16. Iowa blanked Cleveland in two consecutive games last weekend at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Wild had been idle since Saturday’s 1-0 win over Cleveland, while the Monsters had a Tuesday night game in Milwaukee before traveling to Des Moines.
- Game summary
- AHL standings
Iowa scored on a power play just 1:18 into the game, Zack Mitchell scoring with Dillon Heatherington off for tripping.
Brad Thiessen stopped 17 of 18 shots to improve to 1-3-1, while Iowa’s Alex Stalock stopped 32 of 34 shots. Cleveland had a 33-17 advantage in shots during regulation and each team had one shot in overtime.
- AHL Notebook: Cleveland working hard to defend title
Recall: The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand for the third time this season Wednesday, this time on an emergency basis. Bjorkstrand currently leads the Monsters with 14 goals this season and ranks tied for third on the team with 23 points in 35 games. He had two goals in Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. In five appearances for Columbus this season, Bjorkstrand has one assist.
Up next: The Monsters return to Quicken Loans Arena this weekend to face the Manitoba Moose on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. … The Monsters begin a seven-game road swing on Feb. 15 at the Rockford IceHogs.
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