GRIFFINS' REGULATION RUN ENDS WITH 5-4 LOSS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Milwaukee Admirals rode a five-goal first period to a 5-4 win on Saturday at Van Andel Arena, handing the Grand Rapids Griffins their first regulation loss of the season.

Trailing 5-2 after 20 minutes, Grand Rapids (4-1-2-1) rallied with a pair of Landon Wilson power play goals in a 20-second span of the middle period, but former Griffin Drew MacIntyre shut the door the rest of the way, securing the win with 14 saves during the third period and finishing with 34 for the game.

The Griffins, who saw their seven-game point streak come to an end, will look to resume their winning ways next Friday, Nov. 7 when they host the Lake Erie Monsters at 7 p.m.

Tom Galvin’s first goal of the campaign gave the Griffins a short-lived lead during a 4-on-4 only 2:15 into the contest. Backpedaling with the puck above the left circle, he found the top of MacIntyre’s net with a seeing-eye wrister.

The Admirals (4-4-0-1) tied it during the same 4-on-4 on Robert Dietrich’s tally just 13 seconds later. The visitors then took their first lead at the 3:41 mark, as Cal O’Reilly sent a pass from the end boards out to Andreas Thuresson, whose wrist shot beat Daniel Larsson to the left post.

Mattias Ritola evened matters at 10:32 with an unassisted goal from the left boards, but a pair of lamp-lighters by Nick Spaling at 14:33 and 16:04 gave Milwaukee a 4-2 advantage and chased Larsson, whose night ended with just three saves on seven shots.

Jimmy Howard entered in relief but could not stem the bleeding, at least initially, as Cal O’Reilly potted a centering pass from the slot with 1:05 left in the period to make it a 5-2 game at the first intermission.

Afforded 1:13 of a two-man advantage early in the second period, the Griffins did not squander the opportunity, with Wilson quickly netting his two goals. He blasted home a backdoor pass from Ville Leino from the left side during the 5-on-3 at 4:24, then scored during the ensuing 5-on-4 from the same spot to pull Grand Rapids within one.

The Griffins had several chances to tie it in the last minute, spending nearly all of the final 50 seconds in the Admirals’ zone thanks to a 6-on-4 created by a Milwaukee penalty and a pulled goaltender, but the Ads held on for the win. Howard suffered the hard-luck loss, allowing just O’Reilly’s eventual game-winner over the 18 shots he faced.

Three Stars: 1. MIL O’Reilly (1 goal, 2 assists); 2. GR Wilson (2 goals); 3. MIL Spaling (2 goals)