MIELE'S OT WINNER EXTENDS DIVISION LEAD

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 at Rockford IceHogs 2 (OT)

March 7, 2015

ROCKFORD, Ill. – 24 hours after losing to Milwaukee in overtime, the Grand Rapids Griffins earned an overtime win of their own, taking down the Rockford IceHogs 3-2 at BMO Harris Bank Center Saturday night.

The Griffins are on a run of 15 straight games (12-0-3-0) with at least a point and have earned a point in 19 of their last 20 games played.

With the extra point earned with the victory, Grand Rapids (35-17-6-1) extend its lead in the Midwest Division over Rockford (33-18-5-2) to four points.

Following a pass from Nathan Paetsch, captain Jeff Hoggan skated with the puck toward the net and started to go backhand but went forehand to score under the pads of Antti Raanta for the first goal of the game at 6:55 of the second period.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd, the IceHogs battled back with two straight goals of their own early in the third period.

Brandon Mashinter tied the game at 2:12 when he put the rebound past Grand Rapids goaltender Tom McCollum following a shot from Zach Miskovic.

The IceHogs took the lead at 6:26 following a missed swipe at the puck by McCollum. The puck went to Peter Regin who found a streaking Miskovic as he was crashing the net and put the puck into the net.

The lead didn’t last long as Anthony Mantha scored his 13th goal of the campaign 1:09 after Miskovic’s goal. Mantha’s backhand goal that tied the game 2-2 was assisted by Hoggan.

The game-winning goal was setup by Mark Zengerle who was streaking into the IceHogs’ zone on an odd-man rush. Zengerle kept the puck and skated around the net, giving the puck to Nick Jensen. Jensen passed the puck to a trailing Andy Miele and Miele backhanded the puck over Raanta’s stick 1:27 into the extra frame for his 20th goal of the season.

McCollum turned away 29 of 31 shots and earned his first win since Jan. 10. Raanta took the loss as he made 24 saves on 27 shots.

Grand Rapids went 0-for-4 on the power play while Rockford didn’t score on two power play chances.

The Griffins will continue their road trip Tuesday night, taking on Charlotte at 7 p.m.

Note: Now in his fourth season as Grand Rapids’ athletic trainer and 14th in the sport, tonight marked John Bernal’s 1,000th career game in professional hockey. Prior to joining the Griffins, the Pinckney, Mich., native spent three seasons as the assistant athletic trainer for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes (2008-11), following a four-year stint as head athletic trainer for the club’s AHL affiliates in San Antonio (2005-08) and Utah (2004-05).

Three stars: 1. GR Hoggan (goal, assist); 2. RFD Miskovic (goal, assist); 3. GR Miele (game-winning goal)

GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 at Rockford IceHogs 2 (OT)

March 7, 2015

ROCKFORD, Ill. – 24 hours after losing to Milwaukee in overtime, the Grand Rapids Griffins earned an overtime win of their own, taking down the Rockford IceHogs 3-2 at BMO Harris Bank Center Saturday night.

The Griffins are on a run of 15 straight games (12-0-3-0) with at least a point and have earned a point in 19 of their last 20 games played.

With the extra point earned with the victory, Grand Rapids (35-17-6-1) extend its lead in the Midwest Division over Rockford (33-18-5-2) to four points.

Following a pass from Nathan Paetsch, captain Jeff Hoggan skated with the puck toward the net and started to go backhand but went forehand to score under the pads of Antti Raanta for the first goal of the game at 6:55 of the second period.

Playing in front of a sellout crowd, the IceHogs battled back with two straight goals of their own early in the third period.

Brandon Mashinter tied the game at 2:12 when he put the rebound past Grand Rapids goaltender Tom McCollum following a shot from Zach Miskovic.

The IceHogs took the lead at 6:26 following a missed swipe at the puck by McCollum. The puck went to Peter Regin who found a streaking Miskovic as he was crashing the net and put the puck into the net.

The lead didn’t last long as Anthony Mantha scored his 13th goal of the campaign 1:09 after Miskovic’s goal. Mantha’s backhand goal that tied the game 2-2 was assisted by Hoggan.

The game-winning goal was setup by Mark Zengerle who was streaking into the IceHogs’ zone on an odd-man rush. Zengerle kept the puck and skated around the net, giving the puck to Nick Jensen. Jensen passed the puck to a trailing Andy Miele and Miele backhanded the puck over Raanta’s stick 1:27 into the extra frame for his 20th goal of the season.

McCollum turned away 29 of 31 shots and earned his first win since Jan. 10. Raanta took the loss as he made 24 saves on 27 shots.

Grand Rapids went 0-for-4 on the power play while Rockford didn’t score on two power play chances.

The Griffins will continue their road trip Tuesday night, taking on Charlotte at 7 p.m.

Note: Now in his fourth season as Grand Rapids’ athletic trainer and 14th in the sport, tonight marked John Bernal’s 1,000th career game in professional hockey. Prior to joining the Griffins, the Pinckney, Mich., native spent three seasons as the assistant athletic trainer for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes (2008-11), following a four-year stint as head athletic trainer for the club’s AHL affiliates in San Antonio (2005-08) and Utah (2004-05).

Three stars: 1. GR Hoggan (goal, assist); 2. RFD Miskovic (goal, assist); 3. GR Miele (game-winning goal)