Monsters defeat Phoenix 5-1 in game 2 of the second round and keep their season alive

The Monsters put pressure on the Phoenix net throughout the game (photo: Don Davis)

By Eddie Graveline, Glovedropper.com

After losing the first game of their second round playoff series on Sunday night, the Fresno Monsters had their backs against the wall when they took to the Selland Arena ice on Monday. It was the first time all season that the team found itself in a true must-win situation, but you wouldn't have known it by the way they played. The Monsters were strong in both ends and controlled play from start to finish in what turned out to be a 5-1 victory over the Phoenix Polar Bears.

The first period went scoreless for the second game in a row, but the Monsters still played much better than they did in the first 20 minutes of Sunday's game. They outshot Phoenix 11-5 and had some good opportunities.

The Monsters kept the pressure on as the second period unfolded. Jouni Elo and Ryan Parkhouse had some great scoring chances, but it was Monte French who got them on the board. He and Jouni Elo had a 2-on-1 and Elo made a perfect pass right in front of the net. Brent Putney was also credited with an assist for the pass that got the play going. That was it for scoring in the second, but the Monsters held a 19-12 advantage in shots on goal through 40 minutes.

The Monsters got an early power play in the third period and Don Coyle scored, with an assist going to Cody Osburn. J.R. Lafferty got another one off a rush less than a minute later. Ryan Parkhouse and Rob Kolander earned assists on that one. Alex Johansson made it 4-0 at 10:34. Jimmy Bashara had taken a shot from the point and Johansson got a piece of it on the way in. With a little over 5 minutes left to play, Ben Conroy scored the Monsters' fifth and final goal. Brendan McCarthy made a great play at center ice at the end of a penalty kill and got a breakaway. His shot missed the mark, but Conroy was trailing and put the rebound in the back of the net.

Phoenix scored their lone goal at 15:59 of the third period on an awesome slap shot that Colin Frederickson fired from the point. It was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect performance for Peter Megariotis in the Monsters' net. With everything on the line, "Megatron" came up big for his team. He was rock solid, but it was a much better overall performance from the entire team.

"We kept everything simple tonight," co-coach Eric Ballard said just after the game. "That's what we talked about, just getting the puck deep. The guys played the way we thought they would with their backs against the wall. Other than a possible lineup change due to an injury, we'll keep going with what works."

The win kept the Monsters' playoff hopes alive. They will face Phoenix in another must-win game at 7:05 PM on Tuesday at Selland Arena. Should the team win the game and the series (which would result in a division title), they will play a best-of-3 series against the Boulder Bison, starting Thursday night at Save Mart Center.