Monsters Topple League-Leading Griffins, 3-2, at Rocket Arena Friday

The Cleveland Monsters beat the Grand Rapids Griffins (42-9-3-1) 3-2 on Friday at Rocket Arena. With the win, the Monsters are now 30-18-6-1 and are currently in third place in the AHL’s North Division standings.

The scoring unfolded evenly: the first period finished 1-1, Cleveland held a 2-1 edge after the second, and each club added one goal in the third for a final of Cleveland 3, Grand Rapids 2. The teams finished dead even in shots at 25-25.

Grand Rapids received identifiable contributions despite the loss. Gabriel Seger and Ondrej Becher notched goals for the Griffins, while defenseman Ian Mitchell collected his 16th assist of the season to extend his point streak to three games. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa bagged 22 saves and moved to a 24-5-3 record on the year. Even with those performances, the Griffins were held off the board on the power play, going 0-for-1 on the night.

Special teams and discipline were decisive in the margins. Cleveland converted 2-of-4 on the power play and posted a perfect penalty kill at 1-for-1; Grand Rapids was 2-for-4 on the penalty kill. Penalty disparity was stark: the Monsters were assessed 11 minutes on four infractions, while the Griffins logged 27 minutes on eight infractions, a factor that helped tilt the game in Cleveland’s favor.

The defeat does not erase how dominant Grand Rapids has been this season. Despite losing 3-2 to the Cleveland Monsters on Friday at Rocket Arena, the Griffins claimed the second-best start in the AHL’s 90-year history through 55 games with a 42-9-3-1 record (88 pts.). Grand Rapids still sits with strong home and road splits — 23-6-2-0 at home and 19-3-1-1 on the road — and has been a model of consistency across recent seasons in the head-to-head series with Cleveland.

The matchup also shifted the small-print rivalry numbers: the season series now stands at 3-2-0-0 and the all-time series reads 81-43-9-14 in favor of Grand Rapids. Cleveland entered the game with a 7-3-0-0 mark in its last 10 and the Griffins were 7-2-1-0 over their last 10, so the result tightened an already-close divisional race.

The Monsters have a rematch against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, March 7th, at 4:00 p.m. at Rocket Arena. Follow the game with full coverage on Rock Entertainment Sports Network, SportsRadio 99.1 Powered by Rock Entertainment Group, AHLTV on FloHockey and the Monsters Hockey Network. Stay up to date on all Monsters news with the Monsters Mobile App presented by University Hospitals available to download at the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Copyright © 2026 Rock Entertainment Sports Network.