April 20, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins rallied with three third-period goals on Tuesday for a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Monsters at Van Andel Arena, snapping the visitors’ six-game winning streak and remaining undefeated in regulation at home this season (4-0-3-0).

Cleveland’s second-ranked power play struck 6:37 into the opening period on the Monsters’ first shot of the game, as Carson Meyer set up shop in the slot to redirect Tyler Sikura’s feed from the right circle past Pat Nagle.

The Griffins answered with a pair of goals 63 seconds apart to seize the 2-1 lead. At 12:52, Troy Loggins sped up the right side, cut in on Daniil Tarasov and put his own rebound home for his second goal of the season. Gregor MacLeod did the honors just over a minute later from between the circles, as he got a stick on a puck that Joe Hicketts threw toward the net from the left point for his first of the campaign.

Grand Rapids surrendered the lead and its second shorthanded goal of the season 3:43 into the second, as Liam Foudy stole the puck at the right point, raced up ice on a breakaway and beat Nagle with a wrister. When Dillon Simpson connected from above the circles at 13:07, it made the Monsters 2-for-3 on the power play and gave them a 3-2 advantage.

Dominic Turgeon tied matters 1:21 into the third, slipping behind the Cleveland defense and reaching out with his stick to deflect Taro Hirose’s pass past Tarasov. Riley Barber then put Grand Rapids ahead during a power play at 6:55, finding time and space in the slot before ripping Turner Elson’s feed inside the right post for his 14th goal. He’s now tied for third in the AHL goal-scoring race and tied for the lead with 11 power play points.

Givani Smith capped off the scoring by intercepting a pass in his zone and sending the puck 150 feet into an empty net with 1:41 remaining. It marked the first time this season that the Griffins won when trailing after two periods (1-6-1-0) and dropped the Monsters to 10-2 when leading after two.

Notes

• Defenseman Jared McIsaac, Detroit's 4th choice (36th overall) in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, made his AHL/Griffins debut tonight. He sustained a shoulder injury in his first game with HPK in Finland’s Liiga last fall and had not played since.
• Right wing Dominik Shine was enlisted for duty on the blue line for the third straight game. Paired with Hicketts, he’s a combined plus-five at his foreign position.
• Smith extended his point streak to seven games (7-2—9) while Hirose pushed his to five (1-4—5).

Box Score
Cleveland 1 2 0 - 3
Grand Rapids 2 0 3 - 5

1st Period-1, Cleveland, Meyer 6 (Sikura, Christiansen), 6:37 (PP). 2, Grand Rapids, Loggins 2 (Pearson, Lukosevicius), 12:52. 3, Grand Rapids, MacLeod 1 (Hicketts, Spezia), 13:55. Penalties-D’Astous Gr (holding), 5:19; Gallant Cle (unsportsmanlike conduct - removing helmet, fighting), 7:38; McIlrath Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct - removing helmet, fighting), 7:38.

2nd Period-4, Cleveland, Foudy 3 3:43 (SH). 5, Cleveland, Simpson 6 (Angle, Newpower), 13:07 (PP). Penalties-Crawley Cle (cross-checking), 2:08; Smith Gr (interference), 3:53; Bjorgvik-Holm Cle (high-sticking), 8:04; MacLeod Gr (hooking), 11:17; Struthers Cle (hooking), 14:06.

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Turgeon 4 (Hirose, Hicketts), 1:21. 7, Grand Rapids, Barber 14 (Elson, Pearson), 6:55 (PP). 8, Grand Rapids, Smith 6 18:19 (EN). Penalties-Crawley Cle (roughing, fighting), 3:31; Criscuolo Gr (roughing, roughing), 3:31; Shine Gr (fighting, game misconduct - third man in), 3:31; Gallant Cle (roughing), 5:51.

Shots on Goal-Cleveland 2-14-6-22. Grand Rapids 9-7-11-27.

Power Play Opportunities-Cleveland 2 / 4; Grand Rapids 1 / 4.

Goalies-Cleveland, Tarasov 2-1-0 (26 shots-22 saves). Grand Rapids, Nagle 5-4-0 (22 shots-19 saves).

A-380

Three Stars
1. GR Barber (game-winning goal); 2. GR Pearson (two assists); 3. CLE Foudy (shorthanded goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 10-6-3-0 (23 pts.) / Wed., April 21 vs. Cleveland 7 p.m.
Cleveland: 11-6-1-0 (23 pts.) / Wed., April 21 at Grand Rapids 7 p.m.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins