GRIFFINS TAKE 14-GAME WINNING STREAK INTO CHRISTMAS BREAK

Texas Stars 1 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 6

Dec. 19, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins will have a very Merry Christmas indeed.

In a game that they controlled from the start, the Griffins shot down the Texas Stars 6-1 on Saturday to extend their franchise record with their 14th consecutive win and equal a team standard with their 10th straight victory at Van Andel Arena.

Led by Martin Frk’s goal and two assists, six Griffins logged multi-point nights, while Jared Coreau made 28 saves to record his 10th win in a row, two shy of Jimmy Howard’s record for a Grand Rapids goalie.

The Griffins – who lasted tasted defeat 12 days before they tasted Thanksgiving dinner – will enjoy nearly a week off before reconvening on Christmas afternoon to bus to Cleveland for next Saturday’s 7 p.m. tilt against Lake Erie. When they take to the ice against the Monsters, it will be exactly six weeks since their last loss on Nov. 14.

The Griffins used their resurgent power play to open the scoring 5:12 into the first period, as Frk uncorked his lethal slap shot from the left circle off a slick pass by Andy Miele. It marked the team’s fourth power play goal over the last three games after having gone 0-for-19 with the advantage over their previous five contests.

After being outshot 11-9 by the Stars over the first 20 minutes, Grand Rapids enjoyed a 14-7 advantage during the second frame en route to scoring two more goals and building a 3-0 lead. Brian Lashoff tallied his first of the season at the 1:47 mark, taking a drop pass from Dan Cleary in the left circle and whipping a shot past Jack Campbell’s glove, while Tomas Nosek staked his claim just outside the paint to chip home the rebound of Robbie Russo’s shot at 13:55.

Third-period goals by Anthony Mantha and Miele ensured that the Griffins’ streaks would continue. Mantha scored his fifth goal in as many games at 8:53, potting Andreas Athanasiou’s cross-crease pass at the right post, before Miele banged a rebound past Campbell from along the left goal line at 12:57 to make it 5-0.

Former Griffin Mattias Backman spoiled Coreau’s shutout bid and momentarily halted the crowd’s holiday revelry at 13:39 when his shot from the left corner snuck through, but Athanasiou converted Mantha’s centering pass 38 seconds later to provide the final 6-1 margin.

Campbell finished with 31 saves for the Stars, who have lost their last seven games against the Griffins as well as their last seven visits to Van Andel Arena.

Notes: Since 1992, only four AHL teams have posted a winning streak longer than the Griffins’ 14 games: Norfolk – 28 in 2011-12; Philadelphia – 17 in 2004-05; Syracuse – 15 in 2007-08; and Albany, 15 in 1995-96…The two prior Griffins teams to win 10 straight at home were the 2003-04 and 2000-01 editions…Last in the AHL with a 0.227 winning percentage as Nov. 18 dawned, the Griffins now rank third in the Central Division, fourth in the Western Conference and sixth in the league with a 0.660 mark.

Three Stars: 1. GR Frk (power play goal, two assists); 2. GR Athanasiou (goal, assist); 3. GR Mantha (goal, assist)

Texas Stars 1 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 6

Dec. 19, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins will have a very Merry Christmas indeed.

In a game that they controlled from the start, the Griffins shot down the Texas Stars 6-1 on Saturday to extend their franchise record with their 14th consecutive win and equal a team standard with their 10th straight victory at Van Andel Arena.

Led by Martin Frk’s goal and two assists, six Griffins logged multi-point nights, while Jared Coreau made 28 saves to record his 10th win in a row, two shy of Jimmy Howard’s record for a Grand Rapids goalie.

The Griffins – who lasted tasted defeat 12 days before they tasted Thanksgiving dinner – will enjoy nearly a week off before reconvening on Christmas afternoon to bus to Cleveland for next Saturday’s 7 p.m. tilt against Lake Erie. When they take to the ice against the Monsters, it will be exactly six weeks since their last loss on Nov. 14.

The Griffins used their resurgent power play to open the scoring 5:12 into the first period, as Frk uncorked his lethal slap shot from the left circle off a slick pass by Andy Miele. It marked the team’s fourth power play goal over the last three games after having gone 0-for-19 with the advantage over their previous five contests.

After being outshot 11-9 by the Stars over the first 20 minutes, Grand Rapids enjoyed a 14-7 advantage during the second frame en route to scoring two more goals and building a 3-0 lead. Brian Lashoff tallied his first of the season at the 1:47 mark, taking a drop pass from Dan Cleary in the left circle and whipping a shot past Jack Campbell’s glove, while Tomas Nosek staked his claim just outside the paint to chip home the rebound of Robbie Russo’s shot at 13:55.

Third-period goals by Anthony Mantha and Miele ensured that the Griffins’ streaks would continue. Mantha scored his fifth goal in as many games at 8:53, potting Andreas Athanasiou’s cross-crease pass at the right post, before Miele banged a rebound past Campbell from along the left goal line at 12:57 to make it 5-0.

Former Griffin Mattias Backman spoiled Coreau’s shutout bid and momentarily halted the crowd’s holiday revelry at 13:39 when his shot from the left corner snuck through, but Athanasiou converted Mantha’s centering pass 38 seconds later to provide the final 6-1 margin.

Campbell finished with 31 saves for the Stars, who have lost their last seven games against the Griffins as well as their last seven visits to Van Andel Arena.

Notes: Since 1992, only four AHL teams have posted a winning streak longer than the Griffins’ 14 games: Norfolk – 28 in 2011-12; Philadelphia – 17 in 2004-05; Syracuse – 15 in 2007-08; and Albany, 15 in 1995-96…The two prior Griffins teams to win 10 straight at home were the 2003-04 and 2000-01 editions…Last in the AHL with a 0.227 winning percentage as Nov. 18 dawned, the Griffins now rank third in the Central Division, fourth in the Western Conference and sixth in the league with a 0.660 mark.

Three Stars: 1. GR Frk (power play goal, two assists); 2. GR Athanasiou (goal, assist); 3. GR Mantha (goal, assist)