Christiansen's Return Sparks Monsters In Game 6 OT Win

HERSHEY, Pa. - It has been a lot of waiting and hoping for Cleveland Monsters defenseman Jake Christiansen after sustaining an injury in the team's second game of the 2024 postseason in a Game 2 win over Belleville in the North Division Semifinals.

That was back on May 3, which seems like a distant memory for the Monsters at this point as they've battled all the way back from an 0-3 series deficit to force a winner-take-all Game 7 in Hershey Wednesday night.

For Christiansen, his return couldn't have come any sooner - missing just over five weeks before returning to the Monsters' blue line in time for Monday night's Game 6.

"The guys are like so, so good with me. So accepting of me coming back in the lineup. So happy for me. So with the group we have, it makes it so easy," Christiansen said of his return to the lineup after the lengthy layoff. "And we're all great friends. I was around the rink and with the guys and stuff, just not really in the battle. The guys were so happy for me to come back, so it made it easy."

According to head coach Trent Vogelhuber, Christiansen was trying to talk his way back onto the ice and in the lineup the week after he was injured.

"He was ready to play, and he would have played through anything," Vogelhuber said of Christiansen's persistence in trying to get back on the ice sooner. "He's a hockey player through and through. He kept himself in great shape and was the best teammate you could ask for through the whole thing, even though it was killing him not to play," he added.

The Monsters have built something special in their locker room that goes beyond the camaraderie of on-ice success. As Christiansen explained it, the team's togetherness and tight-knit style locker room has only added to their willingness and determination to be at their best for one another.

"Yeah, it means a lot," Christiansen told InsideAHLHockey.com after Monday's Game 6 win. "I mean, it's it's all those guys. They gave me the opportunity to come back and play. They've been grinding, winning games doing everything they can. It's a tight group special group of gods. So hats off to those guys to even give me the ability to come back this late."

For Christiansen, you couldn't have scripted his return much better than the way Monday's game played out.

"And when you approach it like that you're ready to play when the time comes," Vogelhuber said of Christiansen's diligence in keeping himself in as good of shape off the ice as he could during his injury absence. "I don't care if it's been, you know, whatever it was six weeks, four weeks, five weeks, whatever it is, he's ready to play. And he's been our best defenseman for the majority of the year, right? So when he was cleared to go, he was going right back in and we weren't expecting any for any rust from him."

After Hershey seemingly scored the deciding goal to go ahead 2-1 with 49.3 seconds left in the third period, the Monsters displayed their never-quit mantra once again in front of the Giant Center crowd of Bears fans - scoring an extra attacker goal 17 seconds later to force overtime.

Over 17 minutes into the overtime, Christiansen got to a loose puck along the left wing wall and the rest is history.

"I got the puck on my backhand turned, and I just tried to get it past the first layer. And so I just shot it, and then I saw I heard it hit a bar," Christiansen said.

The puck bounced off the post and in, giving the Monsters the win to force a decisive Game 7.

"Just so happy. So excited for the guys," Christiansen explained of forcing a Game 7 after dropping the first three games of the series. "I mean, so many opportunities, ups and downs in that game. And everybody just stayed so even keeled. So [I'm] just so excited that we got another day together. And just another chance to try to go win a game."