March 11, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Grand Rapids’ offensive dominance through the first two periods pushed the Griffins past the Cleveland Monsters 6-1 on Friday at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins now have a six-game point streak (5-0-1-0) against Cleveland, dating back to the final meeting last season.

Tyler Spezia (2-0—2) recorded two goals in the outing, which tied his career high. Turner Elson notched his 15^th tally on the campaign and now leads the team in goals. Several Griffins had multi-point outings, including Riley Barber (1-1—2), Jon Martin (0-2—2), and Ryan Murphy (1-1—2). Calvin Pickard notched 27 saves and moved to 4-0-0 this season against the Monsters. Grand Rapids scored three times on the power play, which marked the first game its notched multiple goals on the man advantage since Oct. 31 when the team went 2-for-6 on the power play against Chicago.

The Griffins got off to a fast start, lighting the lamp a total of three times in the opening 20 minutes. On Grand Rapids’ first power play, Dennis Yan fed the puck to Elson in the slot. The winger redirected the disc through the five-hole of Jean-Francois Berube at 6:46.

During a Griffins’ power play with 11:10 remaining in the frame, Barber at the right circle sent a wrister that went over Berube and into the net, giving Grand Rapids a 2-0 lead. Although, the Griffins have had a 2-0 lead in 11 of their first 27 games this season, tonight marked just the fourth time in their last 27 games that they’ve held a 2-0 lead.

At 17:04, Spezia gave Grand Rapids a 3-0 advantage when he walked down the right boards and fired a laser into the top left corner.

After a scoring barrage in the opening stanza, the Griffins continued their momentum in the second. On a breakaway, Spezia highlighted his speed and outskated three defenders and placed the puck between the pads of Berube just 47 seconds into the period.

After losing a faceoff in the Cleveland zone, Martin kept the puck in the opposing third and connected with Brett McKenzie. From the slot, the fourth-year pro sent the rubber past the glove of the netminder at 17:15, giving Grand Rapids a 5-0 lead.

Murphy got in on the fun at 19:25 during a Griffins’ power play when he fired a rocket from the blue line that slipped past the pads of the Monsters’ goaltender. The last time Grand Rapids led 6-0 in any contest was on Oct. 13, 2017, in a 7-3 victory at San Jose. The last time the Griffins held a 6-0 lead at home was on Feb. 18, 2017, in a 6-0 win against San Antonio.

Cleveland avoided the shutout when it scored on a power play at 14:44 in the final frame. Kevin Stenlund from the left circle ripped the puck past Pickard and into the right corner. The lone goal in the third gave the Griffins’ a 6-1 victory over the Monsters.

Notes

• Butrus Ghafari made his Griffins debut.
• Grand Rapids has outscored the Monsters 18-8 over the last five meetings.

Box Score
Cleveland 0 0 1 - 1
Grand Rapids 3 3 0 - 6

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Elson 15 (Yan, Murphy), 6:46 (PP). 2, Grand Rapids, Barber 10 (McIsaac, Berggren), 8:50 (PP). 3, Grand Rapids, Spezia 11 (Lashoff, Renouf), 17:04. Penalties-served by Gallant Cle (bench minor - too many men), 5:22; Gallant Cle (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating), 8:14; Yan Gr (fighting), 8:14; Payne Cle (tripping), 14:17; Yan Gr (tripping), 15:10; Angle Cle (tripping), 15:29.

2nd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Spezia 12 (Barber), 0:47. 5, Grand Rapids, McKenzie 3 (Martin), 17:15. 6, Grand Rapids, Murphy 11 (Dickinson, Martin), 19:25 (PP). Penalties-Scott Cle (boarding), 7:06; McKenzie Gr (tripping), 10:57; Sweezey Cle (roughing), 17:36.

3rd Period-7, Cleveland, Stenlund 7 (Christiansen, Fix-Wolansky), 14:44 (PP). Penalties-Lashoff Gr (hooking), 13:19.

Shots on Goal-Cleveland 10-7-11-28. Grand Rapids 13-11-3-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Cleveland 1 / 2; Grand Rapids 3 / 6.
Goalies-Cleveland, Berube 4-10-4 (27 shots-21 saves). Grand Rapids, Pickard 19-14-5 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-8,104

Three Stars
1. GR Spezia (two goals); 2. GR Barber (game-winning goal, assist); 3. GR Murphy (power-play goal, assist)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 24-23-5-2 (55 pts.) / Sun., March 13 at Chicago 4 p.m. EDT
Cleveland: 20-23-6-4 (54 pts.) / Sun., March 13 vs. Rockford 3 p.m.

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins