by Mike Ries, Staff Writer, AHL Report
BRAMPTON, ON — It was yet another of the dreaded three-in-three weekends for the Brampton Beast. As if three games in less than 72 hours was not a challenge enough, the middle game on Saturday was played on the road with the other two contest within the friendly confines of the Powerade Centre. Entering the weekend, the Beast were riding a modest two game win streak.
As the weekend began on Friday night, it was the Beast struggling to find their game legs as they faced off against the Toledo Walleye. The Beast kept the high-flying Walleye off the scoreboard in the first period taking a scoreless draw into the middle period. But Toledo would pull away with a commanding 3-1 lead after 40 minutes and seal a 5-2 victory with an empty net goal.
The Beast hit the road on Saturday pulling into Kalamazoo to face the Wings. Brampton put forth a much stronger effort than the previous night. After 40 minutes, the Beast had earned a hard fought 4-3 lead thanks in part to a pair of goals from Brandon MacLean and the first goal for Beast defenceman Paul Cianfrini.
But the Wings would get a pair of goals from former London Knight forward Justin Taylor to force an additional frame. The hero of the game was Beast forward David Vallorani who ended it in overtime returning Brampton to the winning track.
The Beast returned home for an afternoon contest welcoming the Atlanta Gladiators for their initial visit to the Powerade Centre. Veteran forward David Vallorani continued his hot streak since rejoining the Beast this season with a goal to open the second period and tie the game at 1-1. Another Beast veteran Brandon MacLean scored his third goal in two games giving his team a 2-1 lead. Brampton would go on to a 3-1 victory and another modest two game winning streak.
With the season in full swing, the Beast have had little in the way of player movement this week. The one that will have a minor impact on the Beast is the recall by the Laval Rocket of the AHL of goaltender Zac Fucale and the subsequent resigning of goaltender Brandon Billie to a standard player contract. Both forward Bryan Cameron and defenceman Tyson Wilson remain on injured reserve with no timetable for their return.
The win against Atlanta the fans at the Powerade Centre said farewell to the Beast as they head out on a seven game road trip that will not see them return home until January 7th. This weekend the Beast will play a two-game series in Wheeling against the Nailers.
