GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- In the final outing of their season-high five-game homestand, the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Cleveland Monsters 4-2 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. 

Dominik Shine secured the game-winner for Grand Rapids and his goal moved him into a tie for 10th place in the franchise's all-time goals-scored list. Darryl Bootland is tied with Shine at 72 career goals apiece. Shine also extended his point streak to three (1-3—4) and Sheldon Dries increased his streak to three with a goal (2-1—3). Elmer Soderblom found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season and his sixth point in the last five games (3-3—6). Soderblom (2-2—4) and Austin Watson (2-1—3) also extended their point streaks to three. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa saved 24 shots in the win and improved to a .917 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against average. 

The Monsters struck first when Samuel Knazko scored from the left circle at 5:18. However, the Griffins quickly tied the game at one with a tally from Dries at 10:58. On the rush, Dries broke away into the Cleveland zone with a defender on his back. The Monsters’ defender knocked him down, but not before Dries’ shot trickled through the five-hole of Jet Greaves. 

Grand Rapids took its first lead just 2:09 into the second period. Gabriel Seger fired a shot and the puck leaked behind Greaves in the crease while Tim Gettinger snuck inside and shoved the disc over the red line. With 8:15 left in the frame, Antti Tuomisto sent a shot toward the goalmouth from the blue line and Shine tipped it in to make the score 3-1. 

The Griffins held onto their two-goal lead in the final period until Hunter McKown deflected a shot past Cossa with 6:15 remaining. The Monsters pulled Greaves with 2:30 left but the Grand Rapids defense turned away all scoring chances. With 44 seconds remaining, Watson stole the puck from the Monsters and sent it down the length of the ice, hoping for the empty netter. The puck sailed just wide, but Soderblom chased it down before Cleveland could reach it, waving off the icing call and scoring the empty-net goal to seal a 4-2 Griffins victory. 

Notes

• Tuomisto earned his third multi-point outing of the season (0-2--2).
• The Griffins finished their season-high five-game homestand 2-2-0-1. 
• Grand Rapids outshot its opponent for the 10th time this season and for the fourth time in consecutive games, sporting a 29-26 advantage.
• Following the conclusion of the game, Griffins players and staff members will be skating for 24 hours straight in the 20th Annual Great Skate Winterfest at Rosa Parks Circle. 

Box Score

Cleveland 1 0 1 - 2
Grand Rapids 1 2 1 - 4

1st Period-1, Cleveland, Knazko 1 (Grimaldi, Pearson), 5:18. 2, Grand Rapids, Dries 14 (Shine, Tuomisto), 10:58. Penalties-Clayton Cle (tripping), 12:23.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 3 (Seger, Doucet), 2:09. 4, Grand Rapids, Shine 11 (Tuomisto), 11:45. Penalties-Tuomisto Gr (holding), 12:24.

3rd Period-5, Cleveland, McKown 4 (Ahcan, McCue), 13:45. 6, Grand Rapids, Söderblom 5 (Watson), 19:16 (EN). Penalties-Buium Gr (holding), 6:29.

Shots on Goal-Cleveland 11-3-12-26. Grand Rapids 9-15-5-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Cleveland 0 / 2; Grand Rapids 0 / 1.
Goalies-Cleveland, Greaves 12-6-3 (28 shots-25 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 12-7-3 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-9,723

Three Stars 

1. GR Shine (game-winner, assist); 2. GR Dries (goal); 3. CLE McKown (goal)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 22-12-3-1 (48 pts.) / Thu., Jan. 23 at Manitoba 8 p.m. EST

Cleveland: 22-12-1-3 (48 pts.) / Wed., Jan. 22 vs. Chicago 7 p.m. 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins