HEY NINETEEN

Milwaukee Admirals 1 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3

March 20, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A steely performance by Tom McCollum and a late goal by Andreas Athanasiou lifted the Griffins to a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday before a sold-out Van Andel Arena, extending Grand Rapids' team-record point streak to 19 games (15-0-3-1).

With the score tied at one, less than two minutes remaining and the Griffins on the power play, Athanasiou sped up the left side and launched a slap shot from the top of the circle that snuck through Magnus Hellberg’s five hole and trickled across the line just before the cavalry arrived.

That goal at 18:03 was followed by a Kevin Porter empty-netter at 19:11, as the Griffins secured their seventh straight home ice win and their 10 consecutive game with a point (8-0-2-0) at Van Andel Arena.

McCollum finished with 28 saves to push his personal point streak as a Griffin to 12 games (9-0-3). He has not suffered a loss in regulation time in either the AHL or NHL since Dec. 13.

Grand Rapids, which is now 19-1-3-1 since Jan. 23, continues to stand atop the Western Conference with a 38-17-6-2 mark and 84 points, three better than both Oklahoma City and Utica. The Griffins will have a chance to tie a franchise record for consecutive road games with a point on Saturday when they pay a 7 p.m. visit to the Lake Erie Monsters. They’ve earned points in 11 straight games (9-0-1-1) in foreign buildings.

Milwaukee struck for its lone tally less than five minutes after the puck dropped, as Joe Pendenza’s sharp-angle shot from the right of the net popped off and over McCollum before falling behind the line at 4:43.

Martin Frk tied it for the Griffins with 1:38 left before the first intermission, one-timing an Athanasiou pass between Magnus Hellberg and the near post from the bottom of the left circle.

Those proved to be the only goals scored until the waning minutes of the third period, when a delay of game penalty on Milwaukee’s Johan Alm for shooting the puck over the glass opened the door for Athanasiou to log his fourth game-winner of the campaign.

Hellberg finished with 24 stops for the Admirals, who fell to 3-9-2-0 in their last 14 outings.

Notes: The Griffins’ 19-game point streak is the longest in the AHL since the 2011-12 Norfolk Admirals concluded the regular season with 28 consecutive wins…McCollum played his 187th regular season game as a Griffin, passing Jimmy Howard to take sole possession of second place on the franchise’s all-time list, behind Joey MacDonald (210)…The sellout crowd of 10,834 was the eighth of the season for Grand Rapids, tying last season’s total with six home games still remaining on the docket.

Three Stars: 1. GR Athanasiou (game-winning goal, assist); 2. GR McCollum (W, 28 saves); 3. MIL Hellberg (L, 24 saves)

Milwaukee Admirals 1 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3

March 20, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A steely performance by Tom McCollum and a late goal by Andreas Athanasiou lifted the Griffins to a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday before a sold-out Van Andel Arena, extending Grand Rapids' team-record point streak to 19 games (15-0-3-1).

With the score tied at one, less than two minutes remaining and the Griffins on the power play, Athanasiou sped up the left side and launched a slap shot from the top of the circle that snuck through Magnus Hellberg’s five hole and trickled across the line just before the cavalry arrived.

That goal at 18:03 was followed by a Kevin Porter empty-netter at 19:11, as the Griffins secured their seventh straight home ice win and their 10 consecutive game with a point (8-0-2-0) at Van Andel Arena.

McCollum finished with 28 saves to push his personal point streak as a Griffin to 12 games (9-0-3). He has not suffered a loss in regulation time in either the AHL or NHL since Dec. 13.

Grand Rapids, which is now 19-1-3-1 since Jan. 23, continues to stand atop the Western Conference with a 38-17-6-2 mark and 84 points, three better than both Oklahoma City and Utica. The Griffins will have a chance to tie a franchise record for consecutive road games with a point on Saturday when they pay a 7 p.m. visit to the Lake Erie Monsters. They’ve earned points in 11 straight games (9-0-1-1) in foreign buildings.

Milwaukee struck for its lone tally less than five minutes after the puck dropped, as Joe Pendenza’s sharp-angle shot from the right of the net popped off and over McCollum before falling behind the line at 4:43.

Martin Frk tied it for the Griffins with 1:38 left before the first intermission, one-timing an Athanasiou pass between Magnus Hellberg and the near post from the bottom of the left circle.

Those proved to be the only goals scored until the waning minutes of the third period, when a delay of game penalty on Milwaukee’s Johan Alm for shooting the puck over the glass opened the door for Athanasiou to log his fourth game-winner of the campaign.

Hellberg finished with 24 stops for the Admirals, who fell to 3-9-2-0 in their last 14 outings.

Notes: The Griffins’ 19-game point streak is the longest in the AHL since the 2011-12 Norfolk Admirals concluded the regular season with 28 consecutive wins…McCollum played his 187th regular season game as a Griffin, passing Jimmy Howard to take sole possession of second place on the franchise’s all-time list, behind Joey MacDonald (210)…The sellout crowd of 10,834 was the eighth of the season for Grand Rapids, tying last season’s total with six home games still remaining on the docket.

Three Stars: 1. GR Athanasiou (game-winning goal, assist); 2. GR McCollum (W, 28 saves); 3. MIL Hellberg (L, 24 saves)