The Cleveland Monsters Win The AHL's North Division; Jet Greaves Now Stands Alone As The Best Goalie In Monsters History

To say the Cleveland Monsters struggled during the season's final few weeks is an understatement. The Monsters were stripped of their best players due to the Columbus injury issues going down the stretch and they couldn't win a game to save their lives. 

This past Tuesday however, was the Columbus Blue Jackets' final game of the season. Before the dust had even settled, the Jackets announced that they had already sent six players back to Cleveland for the final three regular-season games this weekend. There are still two more players, Brendan Gaunce and Carson Meyer who are injured and could join the Monsters at a later date. 

All there was left was seeding as the Monsters had already clinched a playoff spot before this weekend. There was still a chance the Monsters could've won the division, and a lot had to happen, but none of it would've mattered unless the Monsters won all three games. Those games consisted of one against the Rochester Americans and a pair against the Toronto Marlies. Oh and by the way, all three games were on the road. 

Friday against the Americans it took OT to win, but then they went ahead and beat Toronto on Saturday and Sunday in regulation to pull off something that going into this week, hardly anyone thought they had a chance of doing, and that was winning the division. The Cleveland Monsters won the AHL's North Division for the first time and in dramatic fashion. They will now face the winner of a series featuring the Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators. 

Goalie Jet Greaves stole the show this weekend. He helped his team win the three games, and in the process has become the best goalie in Cleveland history. 

Friday night, Greaves became the single-season leader in wins by a Monster goalie when he picked up his 28th win of the season. On Saturday night, he beat the Toronto Marlies. With that win, he tied former Monsters goaltender Calvin Pickard with the 60th win of his career. 

So Sunday was going to be huge for both the Monsters and Greaves. The young Greaves would be starting his third game in three nights trying to help his team win the division and etch Jet's name into the Cleveland history books. The greatest Monster of all time, Trey Fix-Wolansky scored two goals, and Jet Greaves would make 30 saves to give the Monsters their first North Division title. 

Jet Greaves would win his 30th game of the season, and 61st of his career, sending him past Calvin Pickard to become the Monsters all-time winningest goalie. During the weekend, Greaves made 97 saves and only gave up 6 goals. He would finish tied for second in the AHL with 30 wins, finishing just one win behind Tucson's Matthew Villalta. His final record was 30-12-4.

The Monsters struggled in the final weeks leading up to this weekend's games, but as soon as they got their players back from Columbus they picked up where they left off. Maybe the struggles will get them ready for a long playoff run. The guys who spent the last few weeks with Columbus have to feel good about being back and contributing to the cause. 

Cleveland finished with a 40-24-5-3 record and will head into the playoffs with tons of momentum. 

Good Luck to the Cleveland Monsters in the Calder Cup Playoffs. 

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