Alan Kornspan
Believeland Media
Although the Syracuse Crunch had four more shots on goal than the Monsters in Thursday night's Game One of the North Division Finals, Justin Pearson's third period shot on goal was the only one to find the back of the net.
(Alan Kornspan/Believeland Media)
With 15:57 left in the third period the Monsters were called for a two minute tripping penalty.
Fans, hopeful that the Monsters would be able to kill the penalty, were treated to a thrilling shorthanded goal by Justin Pearson just 43 seconds later.
(Alan Kornspan/Believeland Media)
Pearson's dramatic goal gave the Monsters a 1-0 victory over the Crunch and also a 1-0 series lead in the North Division Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs.
In the post-game press conference, Pearson talked about scoring the game winning goal.
"Just a simple angle on the puck and I saw just a little soft backhand," said Pearson.
"Reading the gap, I thought there was space. Coming downhill on a guy, let the puck do the work and changed the angle on the goalie. So it all worked out perfectly. Couldn't have been happier."
Monsters Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber said that Pearson is a player that works hard and competes at a high level.
"(Pearson) just works," said Vogelhuber.
"He just works, and this time of year, the guys that compete and win more 50/50 battles than they lose get rewarded."
Overall, for the game, Vogelhuber said that the Monsters did a good job in their penalty kills and blocking shots. He was also happy with the rotations and the excellent play of Jet Greaves.
For the Game One shutout, Greaves saved 28 shots on goal.
In having an excellent game, Greaves discussed his mindset in goal.
"It's just one puck at a time," said Greaves.
"That mindset never really changes for me."
Jet said that throughought his career he has improved in his ability to stay calm.
"It's something that you get better at over time as you come into these situations more and more."
(Alan Kornspan/Believeland Media)
The Monsters now take a 1-0 North Division Finals series lead into Game Two on Saturday afternoon at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Puck drop on Saturday afternoon is scheduled for 1pm.
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