Dec. 30, 2022

MILWAUKEE – The Grand Rapids Griffins were handed their second-shutout loss of the season in a 3-0 contest against the Milwaukee Admirals at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday.

With just 17 shots on goal tonight, the Griffins matched their season-low from Oct. 22 against the Toronto Marlies. Victor Brattstrom drew the start between the pipes for Grand Rapids, recording 36 saves on 39 shots. The Griffins are 1-1-0-0 on the season against Milwaukee and 13-8-0-0 since 2017-18 with six games remaining this campaign.

The Griffins allowed 22 shots in the opening frame, a season-high. On a power play at 7:42 in the first, Kiefer Sherwood rifled a one-timer from the left circle past Brattstrom to take the early lead. With 56 seconds remaining in the stanza, the officials awarded the Admirals a goal after determining that Brattstrom knocked the cage off its foundation purposely before Cole Schneider found the back of the net in the crease to make it 2-0.

After 33 combined shots in the initial frame, the teams could only muster 11 in the second. The Griffins recorded three attempts, a season-low in a period. Milwaukee notched the lone goal of the stanza at 3:51, as Jimmy Huntington fired in a shot from the goalmouth on an open net to make it 3-0.

The Griffins matched their season-low of three shots in a period in the second frame with just three shots again in the final stanza. With 1:18 remaining, Alex Chiasson skated up the slot and shot from the goal line in an attempt to tally a goal before the end of the game. However, Chiasson's shot bounced off the back of Yaroslav Askarov’s skate, sending Grand Rapids home with a loss.

Notes
- After failing to capitalize on their lone power-play chance in the contest, the Griffins are now 3-for-24 in their last seven games on man-advantage opportunities.
- Grand Rapids is 4-13-1-0 when outshot by their opponent, while 7-3-0-0 when they outshoot the opposing team.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 0 0 0 - 0
Milwaukee 2 1 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Milwaukee, Sherwood 13 (Tomasino, Gross), 7:42 (PP). 2, Milwaukee, Schneider 12 (Leonard, Evangelista), 19:04. Penalties-McIsaac Gr (holding the stick), 0:52; Tyutyayev Gr (cross-checking), 7:35; Kampfer Gr (hooking), 9:14; Thompson Mil (cross-checking), 15:11.

2nd Period-3, Milwaukee, Huntington 6 (Tomasino, Gross), 3:51. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 11-3-3-17. Milwaukee 22-8-9-39.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 1; Milwaukee 1 / 3.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 2-6-1 (39 shots-36 saves). Milwaukee, Askarov 13-5-2 (17 shots-17 saves).
A-5,890

Three Stars
1. MIL Sherwood (goal); 2. MIL Jordan Gross (two assists); 3. MIL Askarov (W, 17 saves).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 11-16-1-0 (23 pts.) / Sat., Dec. 31 vs. Milwaukee 6 p.m. EST
Milwaukee: 17-10-0-2 (36 pts.) / Sat., Dec. 31 at Grand Rapids 5 p.m. CST

Photo by the Milwaukee Admirals