Jan. 5, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A season-high seven goals were more than enough to push the Grand Rapids Griffins to their third straight victory against the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday when they won 7-2 at Van Andel Arena. The three-game win streak is tied for the longest by the Griffins this campaign.

Grand Rapids now has a six-game point streak against Milwaukee (5-0-1-0) this season. Turner Elson has scored a goal in five of his last six contests. Dennis Yan (2-0—2) and Tyler Spezia (1-2—3) joined Elson (1-1—2) with multi-point games. Kyle Criscuolo also extended his point streak (7-11—18) to 10 outings, which is tied for the ninth-longest scoring run in Grand Rapids history and the longest since Matt Puempel’s 11-game tear from Oct. 23-Nov. 15, 2019.

The opening period was all Grand Rapids, as it notched three goals in the frame. To start, Donovan Sebrango took an initial shot from the blue line, but Spezia got to the tip in front of the net to give the Griffins an early 1-0 lead at 1:09.

With 15:19 remaining, Elson, after fighting for possession of the puck, weaved past the defense at the left circle and sent a one-timer past the glove of goaltender Connor Ingram.

At 11:02, Max Humitz skated around the net and connected with Yan who waited for the biscuit at the right post. Yan managed to send a wrister into the left corner, extending the Griffins’ lead to three.

After three unanswered scores, the Admirals got on the board with 43 seconds left in the first. After fighting for possession, Cole Smith got the puck and himself free from the defense. He then skated toward the net and sent a shot past the outstretched leg of Calvin Pickard, cutting the deficit to two going into the break.

A high-scoring first didn’t stop the Griffins from extending their lead early in the middle frame. At 2:56, Yan took a long shot from the left wing and placed the disc over the glove of Ingram, giving him his second goal of the night, which tied his highest goal count in a single game. After surrendering its fourth goal in 22:56 of play, Milwaukee switched goaltenders and gave Devin Cooley the nod for the remainder of the contest.

Shortly after, the Admirals responded with their own tally. From the right boards, Dylan Blujus passed the rubber through traffic to Mathieu Olivier at the goal mouth. Olivier then sent his shot past the blocker of Pickard to reduce the Griffins advantage to two with 16:22 remaining in the middle frame.

At the 9:23 mark, Elson found Wyatt Newpower on the wing, and he fired a laser from the right circle. This tally was first waved off but after continuing play for 1:11, an official’s review was called and the goal was counted. Elson’s assist marked 50 helpers in a Grand Rapids uniform.

After four chances on the power play, Grand Rapids converted on its fifth opportunity. With 8:45 left, Jared McIsaac took a long shot from the blue line and sent the puck into the left corner.

With time running down, Humitz at the right goal post put the puck over Cooley, for his first goal of the season to cap off a 7-2 victory for the Griffins.

Notes

• Erik Bradford recorded his first point as a Griffin during his season debut.
• Grand Rapids has now outscored its opponent 13-4 in its last eight first periods.
• Spezia’s three points (1-2—3) notched a new career high for the forward.

Box Score
Milwaukee 1 1 0 - 2
Grand Rapids 3 2 2 - 7

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Spezia 6 (Sebrango, Martin), 1:09. 2, Grand Rapids, Elson 10 (Pearson, Criscuolo), 4:41. 3, Grand Rapids, Yan 4 (Humitz), 11:02. 4, Milwaukee, Smith 6 (Knott, Healey), 19:17. Penalties-McLain Mil (cross-checking, fighting), 2:34; Renouf Gr (fighting), 2:34; Davies Mil (tripping), 14:56; Smith Mil (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:07.

2nd Period-5, Grand Rapids, Yan 5 (Lashoff), 2:56. 6, Milwaukee, Olivier 3 (Blujus), 3:38. 7, Grand Rapids, Newpower 3 (Elson, Hirose), 9:23. Penalties-Renouf Gr (holding), 0:18; Lashoff Gr (roughing), 12:20.

3rd Period-8, Grand Rapids, McIsaac 2 (Spezia, Bradford), 11:15 (PP). 9, Grand Rapids, Humitz 1 (Spezia, Berry), 17:52. Penalties-Renouf Gr (high-sticking), 3:18; Afanasyev Mil (tripping), 6:38; Donovan Mil (roughing), 9:30; Sherwood Mil (roughing), 13:47; Healey Mil (delay of game), 15:24; Berry Gr (holding), 19:46.

Shots on Goal-Milwaukee 7-15-5-27. Grand Rapids 16-11-8-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Milwaukee 0 / 4; Grand Rapids 1 / 7.
Goalies-Milwaukee, Ingram 9-10-2 (18 shots-14 saves); Cooley 3-5-0 (17 shots-14 saves). Grand Rapids, Pickard 11-7-3 (27 shots-25 saves).
A-3,121

Three Stars

1. GR Yan (two goals); 2. GR Elson (goal, assist); 3. GR Spezia (goal, two assists)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 12-10-3-1 (28 pts.) / Fri. Jan. 7 vs. Iowa 7 p.m.

Milwaukee: 12-16-2-0 (26 pts.) / Fri. Jan. 7 vs. Cleveland 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins