Dec. 3, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins suffered their first loss of the season against the Rockford IceHogs 4-1 on Friday at Van Andel Arena during the sixth annual Red Kettle Game presented by The Salvation Army. Despite the loss, the Griffins recorded the most shots in a contest this season with 41.

Grand Rapids drew first blood in the opening minutes of the first period after a Rockford penalty. At 5:19, the Griffins took advantage of the power play when Jonatan Berggren found an open Kyle Criscuolo at the left wing, and he sent a wrister past Collin Delia. This goal extended Criscuolo’ s point streak (5-5—10) to five games.

In the second frame, Rockford was able to convert on its own power play with 13:40 remaining. Andrei Altybarmakian connected with Ian Mitchell who stood at the left circle and fired a one-timer between the legs of goaltender Calvin Pickard, tying the contest.

At the 9:43 mark, the IceHogs grabbed the 2-1 lead after a chaotic play in front of the net. Pickard made an initial save and the rebound slid behind the right post. After multiple shot fakes, Garrett Mitchell decided to send the puck to Alec Regula at the right circle. Regula rifled a one-timer through traffic into the left corner.

With 12:36 left in the final period, Rockford tallied its third unanswered goal and its second on the power play. After a faceoff in the Grand Rapids’ zone, Philipp Kurashev stood just below the blue line and fired a laser over the right shoulder of Pickard to give the IceHogs a two-goal advantage.

As time was running out, Pickard was pulled from net to give the Griffins an extra skater at 17:32. With no goalie, Kurashev was able to skate down the ice and score a shorthanded, empty netter with 13 seconds remaining, giving the IceHogs a 4-1 victory.

Notes

• Ryan Murphy (1-1—2) extended his point streak to two games after bagging an assist. Murphy also appeared in his 250th game in the AHL.
• Pickard made his seventh straight start and his 11^th consecutive appearance.
• Matt Berry has now recorded 250 games as a pro.
• Riley Barber skated in his 50^th game as a Griffin.
• Dennis Yan made his first appearance since Oct. 30, after being sidelined for 12 games due to injury.
  

Box Score
Rockford 0 2 2 - 4
Grand Rapids 1 0 0 - 1

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Criscuolo 7 (Berggren, Murphy), 5:19 (PP). Penalties-Stanton Rfd (cross-checking), 3:46; McIsaac Gr (cross-checking), 7:36; Stanton Rfd (cross-checking), 13:45.

2nd Period-2, Rockford, I. Mitchell 2 (Altybarmakian, Beaudin), 6:20 (PP). 3, Rockford, Regula 1 (G. Mitchell, Gicewicz), 9:43. Penalties-Osipov Rfd (fighting), 3:54; Martin Gr (fighting), 3:54; Criscuolo Gr (cross-checking), 4:32; Murphy Gr (interference), 6:58; Stanton Rfd (cross-checking), 18:29.

3rd Period-4, Rockford, Kurashev 1 (Galvas, McLaughlin), 7:24 (PP). 5, Rockford, Kurashev 2 19:47 (SH EN). Penalties-G. Mitchell Rfd (hooking), 4:16; Witkowski Gr (elbowing), 7:14; Phillips Rfd (tripping), 18:25.

Shots on Goal-Rockford 7-14-10-31. Grand Rapids 14-11-16-41.
Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 2 / 4; Grand Rapids 1 / 4.
Goalies-Rockford, Delia 2-1-1 (41 shots-40 saves). Grand Rapids, Pickard 7-5-2 (30 shots-27 saves).
A-7,305

Three Stars

1. RFD Regula (game-winning goal); 2. RFD Delia (W, 40 saves); 3. GR Criscuolo (power-play goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 7-8-2-1 (17 pts.) Sat., Dec. 4 vs. Rockford 7 p.m.
Rockford: 8-7-1-1 (18 pts.) / Sat., Dec. 4 at Grand Rapids 6 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins