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(aeros.com) — Andrew Agozzino scored his second goal of the game with 1:04 remaining in regulation, breaking a 3-3 tie and pushing Lake Erie (14-13-1-1, 30 points) to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Aeros (14-9-1-3, 32 points) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland on Thursday night.
Lake Erie goalie Calvin Pickard (6-7-1) stopped 20 of 23 Houston shots for the win, ending a personal five-game winless skid (0-4-1).
Aeros forwards Jarod Palmer and Nick Palmieri each finished with two points in the defeat. Aside from Palmer, Joel Broda and Drew Bagnall also scored, as Houston fell to 6-5-0-1 on the road and 0-1-0-1 against the Monsters this season.
Houston goalie Matt Hackett (11-7-2) suffered the defeat with 17 saves. Houston will remain in Cleveland for a second game with Lake Erie on Saturday at the Q.
Lake Erie opened the scoring at 11:39 of the first period of play, taking a 1-0 lead off David van der Gulik’s seventh goal of the season. Thomas Pock and Stefan Elliott each had an assist on the game’s first goal.
Houston countered at 13:54 after Captain Drew Bagnall scored his first goal of the season. Palmer and Palmieri each had an assist on the Aeros’ first goal of the night.
Lake Erie opened the second period of play with two goals in nearly seven minutes of play. Forward Bill Thomas beat Hackett at 2:05 of the middle frame for a 2-1 Monsters lead. Mike Sgarbossa and Tyson Barrie each had an assist on Thomas’ ninth goal of the season.
Lake Erie made it 3-1 at 8:48 of the second period behind Agozzino’s ninth goal of the season. Mike Connolly and Dean Strong helped set up the two-goal lead.
The Aeros pulled close prior to the end of the second period. With 37 seconds remaining in the frame, Palmer scored his second goal of the season. Palmieri and David McIntyre each had an assist, as Houston trailed 3-2 after 40 minutes of play.
Just 2:57 into the third period, Broda jammed in a loose puck, beating Pickard for a 3-3 tie. Center Zack Phillips had the lone assist on Broda’s second goal of the season.
Agozzino scored with 1:04 left on the clock, beating Hackett off a turnover in the Houston zone. His second of the game and 10th goal of the season made it a 4-3 final.
