CLEVELAND -- In a 1-0 shootout victory for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, goaltender Ville Husso saved 31 shots, shutting out the Cleveland Monsters while Joe Snively scored the shootout-winner. The win marked the Griffins' second 1-0 shootout victory on the road in franchise history and their first in more than a quarter-century, as their previous win came on April 18, 1999, when Neil Little posted 22 saves at Detroit. 

Husso increased his record to 6-1-0 with his second shutout of the season, improving to a .935 save percentage and a 1.86 goals-against average. Snively's shootout-winner gave the Griffins' their fourth shootout victory of the year. Grand Rapids is undefeated in the shootout this season (4-0). The Griffins' penalty kill denied all power-play scoring attempts (3-for-3, 100%), as Grand Rapids collected its 20th win. In three straight games against the Monsters, Grand Rapids earned wins in all three (3-0-0-0) while outscoring Cleveland 11-2 in three contests.

A brawl between Austin Watson and Max McCue gave the Griffins their second power-play opportunity of the first period at 8:55. However, a Grand Rapids penalty shifted the advantage to Cleveland for 1:02. During the Monsters’ power play, a turnover allowed Dominik Shine to skate into the Cleveland zone alone, but the short-handed chance was turned away at 11:49. Both teams exited the first frame scoreless, as the Griffins sported a 9-8 lead in shots. 

The Monsters threatened to take the lead in the second, as a collision gave Cleveland a breakaway at 1:56 but Husso extended across the crease to block the puck. The Griffins' defense held strong to kill off a pair of penalties in the period and despite a flurry of scoring chances on either side, the game remained tied at zero through the first 40 minutes. 

Grand Rapids earned the lone power play of the third frame at 4:06 but failed to score. Later, a pair of roughing penalties made it 4-on-4 with 7:13 remaining. However, the score remained knotted at zero through the final minutes, and the game extended to overtime. 

Just 37 seconds into the extra period, a Griffins turnover gave Cleveland an open look against Husso, but he denied the shot. With 1:28 remaining, the Monsters poked the puck away from Grand Rapids and skated into the Griffins’ zone 2-on-0. A pass across the faceoff circles gave Rocco Grimaldi a game-winning look, but Husso dove across the net, blocking the puck away. Grand Rapids kept the Monsters at bay for the final minute and sent the matchup into a shootout. 

Snively shot first for the Griffins and buried the chance past Jet Greaves for the only goal Grand Rapids would need. Husso saved the first two Cleveland attempts, as the next two Griffins failed to find the back of the net and the Monsters leaned on Gavin Brindley to extend the shootout in the final round. Brindley tried to snipe the puck past Husso, but he rejected the shot and the Griffins skated off with a 1-0 victory. 

Notes

• The Griffins increased their win streak to three.
• Grand Rapids outshot its opponent for the eighth time this season, sporting a 36-31 advantage. 
• The Griffins are 8-1-3-0 when a game is decided by one goal.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 0 0 0 0 - 1
Cleveland 0 0 0 0 - 0

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Del Bel Belluz Cle (high-sticking), 6:46; Watson Gr (fighting), 8:55; McCue Cle (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 8:55; served by Hanas Gr (too many men - bench minor), 9:53.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Watson Gr (hooking), 9:17; Wallinder Gr (tripping), 13:36; Watson Gr (roughing), 17:00; Gaudet Cle (roughing), 17:00.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Pearson Cle (slashing), 4:06; Doucet Gr (roughing), 12:47; Bjørgvik-Holm Cle (roughing), 12:47.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout - Grand Rapids 1 (Snively G, Danielson NG, Gettinger NG), Cleveland 0 (Del Bel Belluz NG, Grimaldi NG, Brindley NG).
Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-10-14-2-1-36. Cleveland 8-11-8-4-0-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 3; Cleveland 0 / 3.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Husso 6-1-0 (31 shots-31 saves). Cleveland, Greaves 9-5-3 (35 shots-35 saves).
A-10,171

Three Stars 

1. GR Husso (SOW, SO, 31 saves); 2. CLE Greaves (SOL, 35 saves); 3. GR Snively (shootout-winner)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 20-9-3-0 (43pts.) / Sat., Jan. 4 at Milwaukee 7 p.m. EST 

Cleveland: 18-10-1-3 (40 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 4 at Toronto 4 p.m. EST

Photo by Cleveland Monsters