More than 30,000 fans poured into Rocket Arena for two games over the weekend to honor the Lake Erie Monsters winning the 2016 Calder Cup. The current version of Monsters made the trek downtown in frigid weather worth it. One night after beating the Belleville Senators, 6-5, in a nailbiter before 14 ,532 screaming customers, the Monsters completed the sweep on Jan. 31 by nipping the visitors from Canada, 6-5, in an overtime thriller before a throng of 16,278. It was the largest crowd of the season. The Monsters squandered a 5-2 third-period lead on Jan. 31, but finished what they started when Dysin Mayo fired a backhand shot to beat Belleville goalie Hunter Shepard’s stick side at 3:10 of overtime. The #Monsters and 16,287 fans celebrate a 6-5 overtime thriller against the Belleville Senators Saturday night. Watch a replay of Dysin Mayo's game winner on the humungatron. @monstershockey pic.twitter.com/LpRrILUEEO — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) February 1, 2026 The game-winner ignited a celebration in the stands and on the ice. The Monsters (22-14-5-1) are tied for second in the AHL North, pending the outcome of other games played Jan. 31. They are 8-5 in overtime. “I jumped at the puck at the blue line but missed it, but Brendan (Gaunc) was right there to pick it up,” Mayo said. “I went for the breakaway and he made a good play to get it to me. “I tried to get a good shot on net. The guy (Wyatt Bongiovanni of the Senators) had good pressure on me. I had no idea where the puck went. I was crashing to the net, but the horn went off and I realized I scored, so it was a fun way to win the game.” The Monsters have something going here after a rough start to the season, when they were scoring challenged. They are on a five-game winning streak and scored four or more goals four times during the stretch. They scored four goals only once in their first 12 games and lost eight of them. Coach Trent Vogelhuber sums up how @monstershockey beat Belleville, 6-5, in overtime Saturday night to stretch their winning streak to five games. pic.twitter.com/XwYIqXFzUH — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) February 1, 2026 Six players scored goals for the Monsters in the Jan 31 game — Hunter McKown, Mikael Pyyhtia, Hunter Fasching, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Brendan Gaunce in regulation and Mayo with the game-winner. Six players scored a goal apiece in the 6-5 win over Belleville on Jan. 30. Gaunce was the only player to score in both games. “The four lines for the majority of the game, I felt good about all of them,” Coach Trent Vogehuber said. “Anybody can score and you never know where it’s coming from. That’s a beautiful thing to have as a coach. “It takes time to adjust. Some guys are in different roles, a little lesser roles. It takes some time for me to figure out who’s going in what position with some new players in there, but depth is a good thing to have.” Things are not perfect. The Monsters wasted the 5-2 lead but regrouped in time to send themselves and the fans home happy. ...read more read less