GRIFFINS CONQUER MARLIES, 6-3

TORONTO – Jakub Kindl, Jeremy Williams, and Tomas Tatar recorded three points apiece to lead the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Marlies at the Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday.

The Griffins (12-5-0-0) jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Evan McGrath scored his fourth goal of the season at 11:41 of the opening period. Kindl drew coverage to the point before connecting with McGrath at the top of the right circle, where he went top shelf with a wrist shot.

The Marlies (7-7-1-2) answered in the final minute of period, when Jay Rosehill snuck a shot past Daniel Larsson from the left side point at the 19:38 mark.

In the second period, the Griffins built a 4-1 lead by scoring three goals on 10 shots. During a power play opportunity, McGrath was credited with his second goal of the night when his pass that was intended for Francis Pare tipped off a Toronto defenseman and ended up in the Marlies’ net at 3:52.

At 11:12, Tatar sent a cross-ice pass to Williams who rifled a one-time shot from the left circle for another power play goal. Then, with 6:10 remaining in the period, Matias Ritola cashed in on a rebound from the top the crease, putting the Griffins ahead by a 4-1 count.

In the third period, the Griffins scored their third power play goal of the night when Jamie Tardif slammed home a one-time shot from close range, giving the Griffins a 5-1 lead.

Alex Foster answered for Toronto when he scored a power play goal of his own at 8:15, before he chipped in a centering pass from Viktor Stalberg at 15:15, making the score 5-3.

Tatar finalized the score at 6-3 with an empty net goal at 18:07.

Grand Rapids scored on three of their five power play attempts, while Toronto scored one goal on five chances with the man-advantage.

Larsson made 25 saves to stretch his winning streak to a career-high seven games, while former Griffins goaltender Joey MacDonald made 17 saves in the loss for Toronto.

On Wednesday, the Griffins will travel to Chicago for an 8:00 p.m. EST face off against the Wolves at Allstate Arena.

Three Stars: 1. GR McGrath (2 goals); 2. GR Williams (1 goal, 2 assists); 3. TOR Foster (2 goals).