Monsters Lose Goalie Korpisalo to Columbus; Ink Goalie Owuya to PTO Deal

CLEVELAND – In advance of a Tuesday road clash vs. the first-place Milwaukee Admirals at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters announced Monday that rookie goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was added to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ roster on emergency recall for the second time this season.

Selected by Columbus in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft with the 62nd overall pick, Korpisalo is 5-6-2 with two shutouts, a 2.34 goals-against average (GAA) and a .918 save percentage (S%) in 13 appearances for the Monsters so far this season.

A 21 year-old native of Pori, Finland, Korpisalo registered a 1-4-0 record in five appearances for the Blue Jackets in his first NHL call-up in December with a 3.65 GAA and a .886 S%. Korpisalo appeared in three AHL games for the Springfield Falcons last season, posting a record of 0-2-0 with a 3.20 GAA and a .878 S% in his first North American professional action.

In 38 Liiga appearances for Ilves Tampere last season, Korpisalo registered a 14-13-7 record with a 2.34 GAA and a .919 S%. The 6’2”, 172 lb. net-minder logged time with six teams in three European leagues in 2013-14, including eight appearances for Ilves Tampere, for whom Korpisalo posted a 3-1-0 mark with a 1.42 GAA and a .957 S%.

The Monsters also announced on Monday that goaltender Mark Owuya signed a 25-game Professional Tryout (PTO) contract. A 6’1”, 198 lb., 26 year-old native of Stockholm, Sweden, Owuya is 0-1-0 in one appearance this season for the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies with a 3.08 GAA and a .921 S%.

In 30 career AHL appearances for the Toronto Marlies spanning parts of two seasons from 2011 to 2013, Owuya posted a 15-10-2 record with two shutouts and a .912 S%. Last season, Owuya went 2-6-2 with a 2.98 GAA and a .898 S% in 13 KHL appearances for Croatian club Zagreb Medvescak.

In 33 career ECHL appearances spanning parts of three seasons from 2011 to 2016 with the Reading Royals, Las Vegas Wranglers and Utah, Owuya went 20-9-3 with two shutouts and a .926 S%. Owuya also posted a 7-6-0 record in 16 appearances for the SHL’s Lulea HF over the course of the past two seasons with three shutouts, a 1.91 GAA and a .923 S% while playing alongside current Monsters skaters Dean Kukan and Daniel Zaar. Prior to his time with Lulea HF, Owuya logged four-plus SHL seasons with Djurgardens IF Stockholm from 2007 to 2011.

Next up for the Monsters, it’s a Tuesday road clash vs. Milwaukee.