Griffins lose to Cleveland in a shootout after buzzer-beater to tie game

CLEVELAND, OH — Despite a valiant effort to tie the game, the Grand Rapids Griffins could not complete the comeback on Wednesday night.

The Griffins were trailing the Cleveland Monsters, American Hockey League affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, by one heading into the final minute of the third period. In the chaotic closing moments, Tim Gettinger managed to beat the Monsters’ Jet Greaves just before time expired, sending the game into overtime.

Grand Rapids had many opportunities in overtime to seal the deal, with the returning Carter Mazur hitting the post late in the extra frame. Yet, the two teams went into a shootout, and the Monsters prevailed after Mikael Pyyhtia beat Sebastian Cossa. The 4-3 loss extends the team’s winless streak to five games.

The game started with the Griffins obtaining all the chances, outshooting the Monsters 13-7 in the opening period. They were rewarded with Jonatan Berggren setting up Gettinger for the first goal of the game. However, they were unable to take the lead into the intermission, as the Monsters’ Trey Fix-Wolansky potted his third of the year late in the first.

Period two was where the game turned in favor of the home side. Cleveland carried the play, leading the stanza’s shot count 15-5, with Yegor Chinakhov continuing to be a thorn in the side of Grand Rapids, scoring twice in the period. The Griffins did get on the board, as Simon Edvinsson finished off a cute feed from Amadeus Lombardi for his third goal of the season.

GR ramped up the pressure down a goal in the third, outshooting the Monsters 13-5, before coming up with seven shots to Cleveland’s one in overtime.

With the loss in the shootout, the Griffins have a record of 2-3-1-1, while the Monsters improve to 5-2-0-0.

Cossa ended up making 26 saves in 65 minutes of action, but was beaten on two of the three shots he faced in the shootout. The two-goal night for Gettinger marked the second time this season that the former member of the Hartford Wolfpack has posted two points in a game. The other instance came in the team’s win over the Colorado Eagles on Oct. 14.

With an assist in his first game back with the Griffins, Berggren now has four assists in three games with Grand Rapids. Mazur looked impressive in his return from a lower-body injury suffered during the Traverse City Prospects Tournament in September. The former Denver Pioneer registered three shots, while ending a +1 on the night.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Griffins stay on the road this weekend, heading to Wisconsin for a clash with the Milwaukee Admirals, the top affiliate of the Nashville Predators, on Saturday night.

The Admirals, hot off an appearance in the Western Conference Finals, are off to a 3-2-0-0 start. They have one game before they host Grand Rapids on Saturday, taking on the Iowa Wild on Thursday.

Milwaukee had their way with the Griffs last season, winning six of the eight matchups.

Check out more Grand Rapids Griffins’ articles on MLive

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Home games in BOLD)

• Saturday, Nov. 4 @ Milwaukee Admirals (7 p.m. ET)
• Friday, Nov. 10 vs. Toronto Marlies (7 p.m. ET)
• Saturday, Nov. 11 vs. Toronto Marlies (7 p.m. ET)
• Wednesday, Nov. 15 vs. Chicago Wolves (11 a.m. ET)
• Friday, Nov. 17 @ Texas Stars (8 p.m. ET)
• Saturday, Nov. 18 @ Texas Stars (8 p.m. ET)

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