April 28, 2022

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Grand Rapids Griffins fell short 6-3 in the final season meeting against the Chicago Wolves on Thursday at Allstate Arena. Grand Rapids finished the season series against the Wolves with a 1-10-1-0 record.

Rookie Jonatan Berggren pushed his point streak to 10 games (5-12-17) with two helpers in the contest and now has 62 points (20-42—62) this season. Riley Barber extended his AHL-leading and career-high point streak to 16 games (15-7—22), tallying his 25th goal of the campaign. Dominik Shine notched his third shorthanded tally of the season. Samuel Dove-McFalls recorded his first AHL goal of his career in his 10th game as a pro.

Chicago lit the lamp in the opening 1:37 of the contest. On the first shot of the game, Jack Drury at the right circle sent a wrister over the glove of Victor Brattstrom.

The Griffins tied the game with 5:02 remaining in the first. After a faceoff win, Berggren gathered the puck and took a shot toward the net. Barber at the goal mouth tipped the disc past Jack LaFontaine.

Grand Rapids took a 2-1 lead on a shorthanded goal at 16:26 in the period. On a Chicago power play, Shine poked the rubber away from a Wolves’ winger and skated down the ice. From the slot, Shine turned around and fired a shot through the five-hole.

At 15:47 in the middle frame, Chicago tied the contest at two. David Cotton retrieved a rebound at the goal mouth and placed the puck past Brattstrom’s left shoulder.

The Wolves took a 3-2 advantage when they won a faceoff in Grand Rapids’ zone. Chicago gained possession and sent the puck behind the net where Stefan Noesen sent a centering pass to Andrew Poturalski. The winger ripped a shot over the glove of Brattstrom with 16:01 remaining in the contest.

At 9:49 in the third, Chicago scored its third unanswered goal. Drury received the disc from Jalen Chatfield in the slot and sent a one-timer into the right corner.

With 4:17 remaining in the period, Dove-McFalls collected his first pro goal when he backhanded a rebound after Butrus Ghafari’s shot was saved by LaFontaine, cutting the deficit to one.

Grand Rapids sent Brattstrom off the ice with 2:15 left in the game for an extra skater but Chicago took advantage. Josh Leivo beat his man to a loose puck at the blue line and sent it down the ice into the empty net, giving the Wolves a 5-3 lead.

In the last 17 seconds, Noesen tallied a late score when he got to a free puck at the right goal post and placed it behind Brattstrom, giving Chicago a 6-3 victory.

Notes

• Donovan Sebrango skated in his 100th game as a pro at the age of 20.

• Barber recorded his 300th point in the AHL and as a pro.

• Chicago’s Poturalski (10-16—26) tallied at least one point in each of the 12 contests against Grand Rapids this season.

• This will be the first time the Griffins will finish below the 0.500 mark since the 2009-10 season when Grand Rapids went 34-39-3-4 (0.469).

Box Score

Grand Rapids 2 0 1 - 3
Chicago 1 1 4 - 6

1st Period-1, Chicago, Drury 19 (Leivo, Fitzgerald), 1:37. 2, Grand Rapids, Barber 25 (Berggren, Lashoff), 14:58. 3, Grand Rapids, Shine 17 16:26 (SH). Penalties-Poturalski Chi (boarding), 7:06; Verbeek Gr (delay of game - faceoff violation (batting puck with hand)), 10:09; Spezia Gr (cross-checking), 15:31.

2nd Period-4, Chicago, Cotton 7 (Chatfield, Smallman), 15:47. Penalties-Sebrango Gr (roughing), 2:32; Mattheos Chi (slashing), 2:32; Gunler Chi (high-sticking), 7:21.

3rd Period-5, Chicago, Poturalski 28 (Noesen, Panik), 3:59. 6, Chicago, Drury 20 (Chatfield, Reunanen), 9:49. 7, Grand Rapids, Dove-McFalls 1 (Ghafari, Berggren), 15:43. 8, Chicago, Leivo 22 18:47 (EN). 9, Chicago, Noesen 46 (Poturalski, Reunanen), 19:43. Penalties-Noesen Chi (tripping), 0:31.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 8-7-10-25. Chicago 15-13-9-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 3; Chicago 0 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 10-16-3 (36 shots-31 saves). Chicago, LaFontaine 4-3-4 (25 shots-22 saves).
A-5,120

Three Stars
1.CHI Drury (two goals); 2. CHI Chatfield (two assists); 3. CHI Cotton (goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 32-35-6-2 (72 pts.) / Sat., April 30 at Cleveland 7 p.m.
Chicago: 49-16-5-5 (108 pts.) / Sat., April 30 at Rockford 6 p.m. CDT

Photo by Dale Woltman/Wolves