“It was outstanding. I think that we put on a pretty good show. The ‘W’ would have been nice but to see that type of support here in our first game makes us feel good, makes us feel proud and I’m very pleased with the people that showed up. It was a nice, raucous crowd too, so it was a lot of fun,” said Monsters Head coach Joe Sacco.

The first 20 minutes of the game featured a tough defensive battle as the Monsters and Griffins each landed themselves three penalties.

The second period was a different story as the Griffins came out firing at Monsters goaltender Jose Theodore. Theodore was assigned to the Monsters from their parent team the Colorado Avalanche for a rehab assignment. The first goal of the game was scored by the Griffins' Matt Cullen at the 1:18 mark of the second period.

The Monsters continued their preseason trend of scoring most of their goals in the third period as they answered the Griffins goal with two of their own. Matt Hussey scored the first official goal in franchise history at the 1:12 mark of the third session.

“Yeah it was nice, we got that goal and then scored another right after it.  It gave us the lead, just got the crowd into it.  The crowd was fantastic for this first game, probably one of the biggest crowds that I’ve played in the American Hockey League, so it’s exciting," said Monsters center Matt Hussey.

Hussey’s tally was followed only minutes later on the power play by defenseman Kyle Cumiskey. Cumiskey was assisted by fellow defenseman Mike Vernace who recorded two assists in the game.

As the game looked to be in the hands of the Monsters with just over 14 minutes to play, Grand Rapids defenseman Jonathan Ericsson notched his first goal of the season to lock the game at 2-2.

With less than three minutes to play, Ryan Oulahen scored the game winner for the Griffins and put the game out of reach for the Monsters.

Three Stars
Ryan Oulahen (GRA)	Matt Hussey (LEM)	Mike Vernace (LEM)
A Picture is Worth...
View photos from the Monsters franchise opener.	Monsters Head Coach Joe Sacco is interviewed following Saturday's loss.
Quote, Unquote
"I thought it was a very exciting night, especially for our players and the people here that came to see our first game. And it was an exciting game, we got better as the game went on. - Monsters head coach Joe Sacco | More game quotes

“It was outstanding. I think that we put on a pretty good show. The ‘W’ would have been nice but to see that type of support here in our first game makes us feel good, makes us feel proud and I’m very pleased with the people that showed up. It was a nice, raucous crowd too, so it was a lot of fun,” said Monsters Head coach Joe Sacco.

The first 20 minutes of the game featured a tough defensive battle as the Monsters and Griffins each landed themselves three penalties.

The second period was a different story as the Griffins came out firing at Monsters goaltender Jose Theodore. Theodore was assigned to the Monsters from their parent team the Colorado Avalanche for a rehab assignment. The first goal of the game was scored by the Griffins' Matt Cullen at the 1:18 mark of the second period.

The Monsters continued their preseason trend of scoring most of their goals in the third period as they answered the Griffins goal with two of their own. Matt Hussey scored the first official goal in franchise history at the 1:12 mark of the third session.

“Yeah it was nice, we got that goal and then scored another right after it.  It gave us the lead, just got the crowd into it.  The crowd was fantastic for this first game, probably one of the biggest crowds that I’ve played in the American Hockey League, so it’s exciting," said Monsters center Matt Hussey.

Hussey’s tally was followed only minutes later on the power play by defenseman Kyle Cumiskey. Cumiskey was assisted by fellow defenseman Mike Vernace who recorded two assists in the game.

As the game looked to be in the hands of the Monsters with just over 14 minutes to play, Grand Rapids defenseman Jonathan Ericsson notched his first goal of the season to lock the game at 2-2.

With less than three minutes to play, Ryan Oulahen scored the game winner for the Griffins and put the game out of reach for the Monsters.

Three Stars
Ryan Oulahen (GRA)	Matt Hussey (LEM)	Mike Vernace (LEM)
A Picture is Worth...
View photos from the Monsters franchise opener.	Monsters Head Coach Joe Sacco is interviewed following Saturday's loss.
Quote, Unquote
"I thought it was a very exciting night, especially for our players and the people here that came to see our first game. And it was an exciting game, we got better as the game went on. - Monsters head coach Joe Sacco | More game quotes