The Cleveland Monsters put together a strong, composed effort on Wednesday night, taking down the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 at Van Andel Arena. From start to finish, it was a game that showcased timely scoring, solid special teams play, and a steady performance in net - the kind of win that can build momentum as the season pushes deeper into winter.
It all started with Corson Ceulemans, who got Cleveland on the board just past the midway mark of the first period. The defenseman jumped into the play and buried a setup from Luca Del Bel Belluz and James Malatesta, giving the Monsters an early spark. But Grand Rapids answered late in the frame, with Eduards Tralmaks evening things up at 18:30 to send the teams into the first intermission tied 1-1.
The second period was largely a stalemate - until the final seconds. That’s when Stanislav Svozil delivered a dagger with just two ticks left on the clock.
His goal, assisted by Dysin Mayo, gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead heading into the third, and it was a turning point. Scoring with that little time left in a period can deflate an opponent, and the Monsters took full advantage.
Early in the third, Cleveland’s power play went to work. Owen Sillinger cashed in at 3:31, extending the lead to 3-1 with help from Luca Marrelli and Del Bel Belluz, who picked up his second assist of the night. From there, the Monsters locked things down defensively, and Roman Ahcan put the game on ice with an empty-netter in the final seconds, assisted by Jack Williams.
Between the pipes, Ivan Fedotov didn’t face a ton of volume, but he was sharp when called upon, stopping 19 shots to earn the win. On the other end, Sebastian Cossa was under siege for much of the night. He made 39 saves - a busy outing - but the Griffins couldn’t generate enough offense to back him up.
With the win, Cleveland improves to 20-14-5-1, holding steady in fifth place in the AHL’s North Division. The Griffins, meanwhile, take a rare stumble, dropping to 32-5-2-1 - a reminder that even top-tier teams can get caught on the wrong side of a well-executed game plan.
Next up for the Monsters: a Friday night tilt against the Belleville Senators at Rocket Arena. If Cleveland can bring the same level of structure and opportunism, they’ll be in good shape to keep climbing the standings.