The Grand Rapids Griffins swept the Lake Erie Monsters in the teams’ back-to-back preseason games held at Toledo’s Huntington Center. On Saturday, the Griffins defeated Cleveland 3-1; today, the Griffins took a 5-2 decision:
That’s A Wrap On Preseason
GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5 at Cleveland Monsters 2
TOLEDO, Ohio — The Grand Rapids Griffins received goals from five different players in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Monsters at the Huntington Center.
Ondrej Becher (1-2—3) led all Griffins with three points, while Noah Dower Nilsson (1-1—2) and Jesse Kiiskinen (0-2—2) chipped in with two points. Rookie netminder Trey Augustine showed 23 saves on 25 shots.
Defenseman Ronnie Attard got things going in the first period with his wrister from the high slot that sailed over the glove of Pheonix Copley 9:28 into the outing.
Dylan James made it a two-goal game on a breakaway at the 9:08 mark of the second frame. Cleveland’s Luca Pinelli responded with 5:13 remaining from the top of the crease. Dower Nilsson capped off the second period with a power-play goal at 16:45 from the right circle, giving the Griffins a 3-1 lead going into the third.
Sutter Muzzatti collected his first goal as a Griffin at the 7:13 mark of the third period to give Grand Rapids a 4-1 advantage. The Monsters’ Dante Sheriff made it a two-goal deficit with 10:10 remaining, and Becher made it a 5-2 contest with his shot from the low slot at 12:15.
Notes
- Cleveland has been the Griffins’ opponent for 10 of their last 11 preseason games, dating back to 2012.
- The Griffins will begin the regular season this Friday when they travel to Rocket Arena to face Cleveland.
Here’s a clip of post-game comments from Trey Augustine, Ronnie Attard and coach Dan Watson:
