CLEVELAND, Ohio– The Grand Rapids Griffins are still alive in the Calder Cup Playoffs, beating the Lake Erie Monsters, 6-1, in game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday. The win forces a game 6 in Grand Rapids on Monday where the Griffins will have a chance to tie the series and force a game 7 back in Cleveland.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored a hat trick for the Griffins in the win, while Andreas Athanasiou had a goal and two assists. Goalie Jared Coreau stopped 35 of 36 shots in net.
Game 6 is on Monday at Van Andel Arena at 7 p.m.. The Griffins, down 3-2 in the series, will once again be trying to stave off elimination and take one more step toward becoming the 4th team in Calder Cup Playoff history to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.