HEAT WAVE MELTS GRIFFINS

Abbotsford Heat 3 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2

Jan. 18, 2014

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Courtesy of an early shorthanded goal and a three-point performance by Max Reinhart, the Grand Rapids Griffins were burned, 3-2, by the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins (27-11-1-2), heading into the game leading the AHL in points by one, fell to third place overall after tonight’s loss to Abbotsford (26-14-1-1). Despite the defeat, Grand Rapids still maintains its Midwest Division lead by 11 points.

Finishing a six-game home stand with a 4-2 record, the Griffins will travel to Texas next weekend for tilts against the Texas Stars on Friday (8:30 p.m. EST) and Saturday (8 p.m.) and the San Antonio Rampage (5 p.m.) on Sunday.

An exchange of penalties between the two teams in the first period came to a head when Abbotsford’s Evan Trupp was sent off for tripping at 10:10. Despite having the extra skater, Grand Rapids yielded a two-on-one rush to the net for the visitors, which allowed Carter Bancks to dump the puck through Tom McCollum’s five hole at 10:46 for a shorthanded tally.

Nathan Paetsch redeemed the Griffins’ power play just 43 seconds later, when he blistered the puck from the top of the right circle directly past Joni Ortio, tying the game at 1-1. Martin Frk earned an assist on the power play goal, his first AHL point through 19 games with the Griffins.

Later in the first frame, Max Reinhart picked up an across-ice pass from Dean Arsene just beyond the reach of Griffins defenseman Adam Almquist. Reinhart maneuvered his way around McCollum and snuck the puck past his right leg, putting the Heat up 2-1 at 14:55.

Shortly after, an Abbotsford attack and a crowding of McCollum’s crease saw the puck buried deep in net. However, the goal was immediately waved off as referee Trevor Hanson ruled incidental contact against McCollum to keep the Griffins trailing by only one goal.

The Griffins tied up the contest 2-2 at 4:59 of the second period, courtesy of an Xavier Ouellet slapshot, but were eventually dragged down by the Heat at 7:53 of the same frame with a goal by Markus Granlund, who was able to solve the home defenders and lift the puck over McCollum’s shoulder.

Entering the final 90 seconds of a scoreless third period, McCollum retreated to the bench in favor of a sixth attacker. Although Grand Rapids fired at Ortio a handful of times, Abbotsford refused to crack under the pressure and defeated its Western Conference foe, 3-2.

Ortio turned away 31 shots through a full 60 minutes, while McCollum finished with 33 saves after shutting out the Heat the previous night.

Three Stars: 1. ABB Reinhart (goal, two assists); 2. ABB Granlund (game-winning goal); 3. ABB Bancks (shorthanded goal)