GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins earned a point but fell to the Cleveland Monsters 5-4 in a shootout on Friday at Van Andel Arena. The shootout loss was the first for the Griffins this season, as they sported a 4-0 record in the skills competition heading into the game.  

Alex Doucet posted his fourth multi-point outing of the season (1-1—2) alongside Shai Buium’s first of the year (0-2—2). Sheldon Dries earned his 250th professional point with his 13th goal of the campaign and Austin Watson collected his 11th of the season. Tim Gettinger also tallied his second goal of the year. An assist from Elmer Soderblom marked his fifth point in the last four games (2-3—5) and his eighth in the last nine (3-5—8). Goaltender Jack Campbell returned to the net for Grand Rapids and turned away 21 shots, including three more in the shootout. Despite the loss, Campbell has earned a .917 save percentage and a 2.15 goals-against average in his six appearances this season (2-3-1). The 26 shots by the Griffins in the opening period were the most ever recorded in a period by either the Griffins or their opponent, spanning 2,359 combined regular season (2,170) and playoff (189) games. Grand Rapids' previous record for shots in a period was 24 on March 19, 2011, vs. Rochester. 

The Griffins came out firing in the first period, as Gettinger gave Grand Rapids the early lead with 7:55 left in the first frame. Cleveland controlled the puck behind its net, but Doucet broke up a pass and fired the disc out in front to a cutting Gettinger and he buried the chance from the high slot. Shortly after, Doucet struck again with a power-play goal at 15:19. Nate Danielson dished the puck toward the crease where Doucet attempted to light the lamp. His initial shot bounced into the air, but Doucet slapped the rebound out of midair into the back of the net. The Griffins exited the period with 26 shots, a period high this season. Grand Rapids averages just 25.4 shots per game this year. 

Just 23 seconds into the second period, Dries extended the Griffins’ lead to three. Greaves collected the puck and sent it behind the net, but Dominik Shine intercepted it and put it back out in front. A shot from Joe Snively ricochetted off Greaves but Dries hauled in the rebound and scored with a backhanded shot. However, Cleveland posted their first tally soon after at 1:19 when Dylan Gambrell scored from the left circle. 

Grand Rapids went on a power play at the two-minute mark, but Roman Ahcan stole a pass and netted a short-handed goal to make the score 3-2 at 2:49. Yet, the Griffins remained on the power play and Watson put Grand Rapids back ahead by two at 3:40. Buium sent a shot toward the goalmouth from the blue line and Watson tipped it home. With 4:15 left in the frame, the Monsters scored on the power play, courtesy of Trey Fix-Wolansky. Just 1:44 later, Cleveland tied the game at four, as a Griffins turnover allowed Gambrell to score his second goal of the outing.

Despite eight combined goals in the previous 40 minutes, the final period finished scoreless. The Griffins earned two power plays in the final six minutes but failed to convert, as the game extended to overtime. 

A back-and-forth overtime period saw the Griffins earn multiple scoring chances, but they failed to find the back of the net, as the game went into a shootout. Grand Rapids elected to shoot first but attempts from Snively, Danielson and Soderblom were all turned away. Campbell saved all three initial Monster attempts to send the shootout into an extra round. Watson’s shot bounced off the leg of Greaves and on the Monsters' fourth attempt, Cameron Butler scored the shootout-winner for Cleveland, as the Griffins fell 5-4.

Notes                                                      

• The Griffins have scored four power-play goals in their last two games, despite finishing their previous four outings 0-for-14 on power-play chances. 
• Grand Rapids is 17-0-0-1 when scoring three or more goals. 
• The Griffins outshot their opponent for the ninth time this season, sporting a 44-26 advantage. The 44 shots were a season-high for Grand Rapids, beating out their previous record of 41 against Chicago on Dec. 7. 
• The Griffins will conclude their five-game homestand in a rematch against Cleveland tomorrow (Sat., Jan. 18).

Box Score

Cleveland 0 4 0 0 - 5
Grand Rapids 2 2 0 0 - 4

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 2 (Doucet), 12:05. 2, Grand Rapids, Doucet 5 (Danielson, Buium), 15:19 (PP). Penalties-Doucet Gr (slashing), 5:51; Clayton Cle (fighting), 8:48; Watson Gr (boarding, fighting), 8:48; Svozil Cle (holding), 13:23.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Dries 13 (Shine), 0:23. 4, Cleveland, Gambrell 6 (Fix-Wolansky, Brindley), 1:19. 5, Cleveland, Ahcan 8 (Hunt), 2:49 (SH). 6, Grand Rapids, Watson 11 (Buium, Söderblom), 3:40 (PP). 7, Cleveland, Fix-Wolansky 15 (Svozil, Gambrell), 15:45 (PP). 8, Cleveland, Gambrell 7 (Brindley), 17:29. Penalties-McKown Cle (slashing), 2:00; Tuomisto Gr (cross-checking), 14:49.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-McKown Cle (hooking), 6:51; Dello Gr (roughing), 6:51; LaBate Cle (tripping), 14:03; Pearson Cle (high-sticking), 16:07.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout - Cleveland 1 (Fix-Wolansky NG, Grimaldi NG, Brindley NG, Butler G), Grand Rapids 0 (Snively NG, Danielson NG, Söderblom NG, Watson NG).
Shots on Goal-Cleveland 7-8-8-2-1-26. Grand Rapids 26-10-8-0-0-44.
Power Play Opportunities-Cleveland 1 / 3; Grand Rapids 2 / 4.
Goalies-Cleveland, Greaves 12-5-3 (44 shots-40 saves). Grand Rapids, Campbell 2-3-1 (25 shots-21 saves).
A-7,727

Three Stars 

1. CLE Gambrell (two goals, assist); 2. GR Doucet (goal, assist); 3. CLE Greaves (SOW, 40 saves)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 21-12-3-1 (46 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 18 vs. Cleveland 7 p.m. 

Cleveland: 22-11-1-3 (48 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 18 at Grand Rapids 7 p.m. 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins