CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Monsters are gearing up for a decisive Game 5 that could send them to the Eastern Conference Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs, and they will have one of the American Hockey League’s best home crowds behind them.

A back-and-forth North Division Finals has seen the Monsters and Toronto Marlies trade momentum, with both teams splitting their two-game homestands to set up Game 5 of the best-of-five series. The Monsters were unable to capitalize on their 2-1 series lead in Game 4, falling 5-2 to the Marlies in Toronto. The series decider will be played Saturday afternoon in Cleveland, where the Monsters have led the AHL in attendance for four years running, per HockeyDB.

Cleveland is making its third straight trip to the playoffs after falling to Laval in the second round last year. 

Here is everything you need to know about the 2026 North Division Finals.

• Game 1: Thursday, May 14 — 7 p.m. at Rocket Arena
  • Monsters lose. Final score: 5-2
• Game 2: Saturday, May 16 — 7 p.m. at Rocket Arena
  • MONSTERS WIN! Final score: 3-1
• Game 3: Wednesday, May 20 — 7 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto
  • MONSTERS WIN! Final score: 4-0
• Game 4:Friday, May 22 — 7 p.m. at Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto
  • Monsters lose. Final score: 5-2
• Game 5: Sunday, May 24 — 3 p.m. at Rocket Arena

Tickets for Game 5 can be found HERE, with no fees for a limited time. Fans who sign up for a Monsters Hockey Club membership can get tickets to Game 5 for free.

The whole series is available to watch on the league’s streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey. The games are also broadcast locally on WUAB Channel 43. On the radio, the series will be carried on SportsRadio 99.1.

All fans in attendance at Game 5 will receive free playoff rally towels. 

Following each playoff victory, the Monsters will cross off the number of wins needed to claim the Calder Cup at the Center Ice team shop inside Rocket Arena, as well as on a billboard along I-90 eastbound near West 117th Street. Fans can obtain their own replica dasher board with a $7 donation to the Monsters Community Foundation, but only 500 will be available. For more information, click HERE.

The 2026 Monsters Playoff Collection is now available at Center Ice or at the Center Court location at Pinecrest in Orange Village. Merch is also available online HERE. 

Fans can find the most recent information on the Monsters Calder Cup playoff run on the Playoff Central section of the team’s website. Fans can also sign up for text alerts by messaging PLAYOFFS to 30594. The Monsters Mobile App is available for download on Apple and Google Play.