On Saturday night, the Lake Erie Monsters were crowned Calder Cup champions in a thrilling 1-0 overtime victory in game four of the American Hockey League finals at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Monsters, who were up 3-0 against the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League championship series, got a goal from Oliver Bjorkstrand with just 1.9 seconds to go in the first overtime, giving the them their first Calder Cup in team history, in front of 19,665 fans.
Saturday night’s attendance of 19,665 spectators at the Quicken Loans Arena was not only a sell out, but it was also the largest crowd to watch a professional hockey game in the state of Ohio and the second largest crowd in American Hockey League playoff history.
One player on this year’s Lake Erie Monsters roster, was also a former draft pick of the Soo Greyhounds.
Defenceman John Ramage, who was selected by the Hounds in the 4th round (67th overall) during the 2007 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection, completed his third season in the American Hockey League and first one with the Lake Erie Monsters.
Ramage, who only played one game during the 2016 American Hockey League postseason, had a career high year for goals (8), assists (19), and points (27) through 68 games played during the regular season with the Monsters.
The Mississauga, Ontario product was selected by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round (103rd overall) at the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft after his first season of NCAA with University of Wisconsin, where he had 2 goals and 12 points through 41 games.
Ramage, who played with the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Heat (2013-2014) and Adirondack Flames (2014-2015), before coming over to the Lake Erie Monsters (2015-2016), also suited up for one game with the Calgary Flames (2014-2015) and one game with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2015-2016).
