Monsters rally past Griffins 6-4, clinch third in North Division

Cleveland’s final regular-season game felt like a playoff preview with a little extra chaos. The Monsters beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 6-4 at Rocket Arena, and the result did more than entertain a Sunday crowd, it locked Cleveland into third place in the North Division and a home start in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Mikael Pyyhtiä set the tone early by scoring shorthanded in the first period, then added a power-play goal in the second to give Cleveland a two-goal star turn. Grand Rapids answered each time and kept swinging back, turning the afternoon into a back-and-forth chase rather than a comfortable finish. By the time the second intermission arrived, the Griffins had battled their way to a 4-3 lead and left Cleveland staring at a third-period response that had to come fast.

The Monsters delivered it. Luca Pinelli tied the game early in the final frame, and Zach Aston-Reese broke the deadlock with the go-ahead goal at 13:29. Brendan Gaunce then closed it out with the empty-netter that made the final score 6-4 and capped one of the weekend’s most entertaining finishes. The offensive balance was spread across the lineup, with assists credited to Stanislav Svozil, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Jack Williams, Hudson Fasching, Will Butcher, Brendan Gaunce and Corson Ceulemans, a reminder that Cleveland did not need one line to carry the whole load.

Ivan Fedotov earned the win after entering in relief and stopping 11 shots, giving Cleveland the calm finish it needed after a game that kept swinging from one side to the other. Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine split the net for Grand Rapids in defeat, while the Griffins still completed a remarkable regular season at 51-16-4-1 and a franchise-best .743 points percentage. Grand Rapids had already become the first team to clinch a 2026 playoff berth, and its tandem of Cossa and Michal Postava had been honored with the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award for allowing the fewest goals per game.

For Cleveland, the win carried immediate postseason weight. The Monsters finished 37-26-6-3, earned a third straight playoff berth that the club called a franchise record, and advanced directly to the North Division Semifinals against the Syracuse Crunch. Game 1 is set for Friday, April 24, at 7 p.m. at Rocket Arena, with Game 2 in Cleveland on Sunday, April 26, before the series shifts to Syracuse for the next three games, if needed. After a season that began on October 10 and ended on April 19, the Monsters arrived at the playoffs with momentum and a home-ice edge they had to fight to earn.