Monsters Upset League-Leading Griffins 3-2 in Tight Battle

Luca Marrelli snapped a one-timer into the top-left corner for the game-winning power-play goal, and the Cleveland Monsters handed the league-leading Grand Rapids Griffins a 3-2 defeat at Rocket Arena on March 6.

Ondrej Becher opened the scoring for Grand Rapids, knocking a rebound between the pads of Zach Sawchenko after Ian Mitchell ripped a shot from the far point 4:47 into the opening period. Cleveland answered on the power play with 4:44 left in the frame, when Brendan Gaunce centered the puck to Luca Del Bel Belluz on the doorstep and he poked it past the goal line to tie the game at one.

The best Griffins chance in the second came just 61 seconds in, when John Leonard grabbed the puck at center ice and sent it ahead to Sheldon Dries, who carried it into the left circle and fired it off the top of Sawchenko's glove. Gaunce then slipped one under Sebastian Cossa's right pad from the right circle at 14:47 to give Cleveland a one-goal edge heading to the third.

The final period opened with Luca Pinelli and William Lagesson dropping the gloves at 2:42, before Gabriel Seger tied the contest at two with 10:19 remaining, deflecting an Antti Tuomisto point shot in front of Sawchenko. Just 1:53 later, Marrelli ended it with a one-timer into the top-left corner, Cleveland's second power-play goal of the night. Cossa headed to the bench with 47 seconds remaining, but the Griffins could not convert with the extra attacker and fell 3-2.

Cossa made 22 saves and finished with a 24-5-3 record. Grand Rapids went 0-for-1 on the man advantage while Cleveland was 2-for-4. Luca Del Bel Belluz, who leads the Monsters with 54 points and 22 goals on the season, picked up an assist on the tying goal.

Despite the defeat, Grand Rapids' record stood at 42-9-3-1, still representing one of the best starts in the AHL's 90-year history through 55 games, and the Griffins remained 31-1 when scoring the game's first goal.

John Leonard led Grand Rapids into the game with 27 goals, while Dominik Shine ranked second on the roster with 21 and Dries sat third with 20. The Griffins held a 4-2-0-0 season-series advantage heading into their final two meetings with Cleveland, but this result made clear the Monsters remain a genuine threat whenever these two clubs share the ice at Rocket Arena.