Goals get the home crowd pumped. Preventing the opposing team from scoring goals wins hockey games. The Monsters beat the Marlies, 3-2, in overtime on Nov. 13 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in front of 8,073 fans when Rocco Grimaldi skated left to right in front of the Toronto net and tucked the puck between goalie Matt Murray’s left pad and the right post 43 seconds before the game would have gone to a shootout. The Monsters have won six of their last seven games to improve to 8-4-0-1. During the surge they allowed two, one, two, two, zero, and two goals in the games they won. They came up on the short end of a 4-2 loss to Toronto in the stretch. PHOTOS: Monsters vs. Marlies, Nov. 13, 2024 “Defending is tied to a lot of the hard things,” Coach Trent Vogelhuber said after the game. “You have to have physical engagements and block shots. You have to sprint to pucks. “A lot of preventing defense happens far away from the net. We’ve loaded on top better. For the most part we’ve gotten harder through the neutral zone so people can’t get as many entries. For me, defending is just a will thing.” The Monsters got on the board first 1:26 into the first period when Owen Sillinger snapped home a shot from the left circle off a pinpoint pass from Grimaldi from below the goal line outside the right post. It was Sillinger’s fifth goal of the season. Curtis Hall of Chagrin Falls reacts to scoring his first goal for the Cleveland #Monsters Wednesday night. His tally tied the score 2-2. The Monsters beat the Marlies, 3-2, in overtime. pic.twitter.com/kC8gLgPZZf — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) November 14, 2024 The Monsters did not find the back of the net again until Curtis Hall, a 24-year-old center from Chagrin Falls, tied the game 2-2 on his first goal of the season with 5:22 left in the third period. Hall got control of the puck in a scrum in front of the Toronto cage and didn’t miss when he saw the left side of the net gaping open. “Obviously I’m super excited about it,” Hall said. “I went to a bunch of (Monsters) games growing up and always loved doing it. To make it my first point of the year with family in the stands is a great feeling.” The early 1-0 lead held up until Toronto’s Fraser Minten raced up the left side of the ice to beat Monsters goalie Zach Sawchenko on a shot to the far post at 12:59 for the only goal in the middle period. The Monsters had only three shots on net in the second frame, but the way they defended and the way Sawchenko patrolled his crease kept the game close. Sawchenko made six saves while the Monsters killed off a 5-on-3 power play early in the second period. Toronto took a 2-1 lead midway through the third period before Hall’s goal led to overtime.