GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Dominik Shine (1-1—2) recorded his third-consecutive multi-point effort and his seventh point in three games (6-1—7), as the Grand Rapids Griffins took down the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday. 

The Griffins recorded their sixth win in their last seven outings, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard potted the game-winner in the second period for his ninth goal of the season. Grand Rapids improved its league-best record to 38-7-2-1 through 48 games (79 pts.), while its home record boosted to 20-5-1-0. Sheldon Dries notched a goal to extend his point streak to four games, and Sebastian Cossa tallied 22 saves and boasted his record to 22-4-2. 

Shine gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead just 62 seconds into the first period. He picked up the puck near the far boards, powered to the net and stuffed it past the skate of Ivan Fedotov. Cleveland capitalized on the power play when Mikael Pyyhtia put one ahead for Owen Sillinger at the net front, and he popped it past Cossa at the 10:14 mark. With 8:11 remaining, Ian Mitchell sent one from the left circle to Dries on the doorstep and he tapped it in to reclaim a one-goal lead for Grand Rapids.

The lone goal of the second frame came with 3:08 on the clock. Ondrej Becher centered one from the far boards to Brandsegg-Nygard in the top of the right circle. The Oslo, Norway, native, spun around and fired a wrister past Fedotov, extending the Griffins’ lead to two. 

Gabriel Seger nearly put Grand Rapids ahead by three in the third slate when Alex Doucet sent him one from below the goal line, and Seger tried to knock it past Fedotov, but the netminder made the pad save 2:06 in. At 4:07, the Monsters made it 3-2 when Brendan Gaunce skated over the blue line and snapped the puck in from the right circle. Cleveland pulled Fedotov for an extra attacker with 2:55 to go, and the Griffins killed the entire man-advantage to claim the 3-2 victory.

Notes

• The Griffins improved to 28-0 when notching the game’s first goal.
• Austin Watson skated in his 100th game with Grand Rapids.

Box Score

Cleveland 1 0 1 - 2

Grand Rapids 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Shine 21 (Danielson), 1:02. 2, Cleveland, Sillinger 12 (Pyyhtiä), 10:41 (PP). 3, Grand Rapids, Dries 18 (Mitchell, Shine), 11:49. Penalties-Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (tripping), 10:30; Rychlovský Gr (interference), 18:31.

2nd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 9 (Becher), 16:52. Penalties-Bantle Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 4:00; Aston-Reese Cle (interference), 7:01; MacDonald Cle (goaltender interference), 20:00.

3rd Period-5, Cleveland, Gaunce 9 (Pinelli, Svozil), 4:07. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Cleveland 9-6-9-24. Grand Rapids 6-12-7-25.

Power Play Opportunities-Cleveland 1 / 3; Grand Rapids 0 / 2.

Goalies-Cleveland, Fedotov 17-10-4 (25 shots-22 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 22-4-2 (24 shots-22 saves).

A-4,611

Three Stars

1. GR Shine (goal, assist) 2. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (game-winner) 3. CLE Gaunce (goal)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 38-7-2-1 (79 pts.) / Fri., Feb. 20 vs. Chicago 7 p.m.

Cleveland: 25-16-6-1 (57 pts.) / Fri., Feb. 20 vs. Toronto 7 p.m.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins