I think it can be said that its been a very good weekend for the Lake Erie Monsters. A 5-3 victory Saturday night against Oklahoma City Barrons in which the Monsters came back from being down by one at the end of the second period. Scoring three unanswered power play goals in the third period the Monsters put the Barrons away. Both teams will meet for the final time this year Tuesday with the Monsters hoping to take the season series 3 games to 1.

The Monsters continued their strong weekend today in Texas with a tilt against the Texas Stars at the Cedar Park Center. The number one star in today’s match was goaltender Calvin Pickard. Stopping all 25 shots he faced today, he would earn his second shut out in as many starts. The Monsters also were 1 for 1 on the power play and were able to kill off their two penalties as well.

If both these games are a signal of things to come, we are seeing a team learning to be more disciplined and being able to capitalize on special teams play. Again 5 games a season does not make, but this team seems to have a solid base to build from and move forward. I always like to see an early road trip as well to get the team to gel together and focus on getting early wins. The Monsters play off hopes last season were decided by a mere 2 points, so to have a start like this is also encouraging.

Monsters take the ice Tuesday October October 23 in Oklahoma City to face the Barrons. Puck drop is 7:00 pm CST.