SHOTS STILL UP, BUT STILL SHOT DOWN

Rockford IceHogs 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 1

Nov. 6, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Another significant shot advantage failed to pay dividends for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, as they fell 4-1 to the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena.

Despite outshooting their guests by a hefty 41-22 margin, the Griffins were unable to halt a frustrating early-season trend. Through eight games, Grand Rapids’ offense ranks first in the AHL by averaging 35.63 shots per game but stands 29th – or next-to-last – in the league by scoring just 1.38 goals per game, a head-scratching dichotomy that has contributed largely to the team’s 1-7-0-0 record.

Rockford, meanwhile, exacted a measure of revenge in the teams’ first meeting since the Griffins’ four-games-to-one triumph in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, improving to 6-0-0-1 in its last seven outings and 7-3-0-1 overall.

Grand Rapids, which has played only two games in the last 14 days, will finally enter a stretch of three consecutive three-game weeks, beginning with Wednesday’s visit by the Iowa Wild. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Griffins’ offense found a spark just 2:44 into the contest on Martin Frk’s team-high third goal of the campaign. From behind the net, Tomas Nosek chipped the puck out front to a waiting Frk, who popped the bouncing biscuit past Michael Leighton at the left post. Grand Rapids became the last AHL team this season to score a first goal, as the Griffins had fallen behind 1-0 in each of their previous seven outings.

Rockford answered exactly four minutes later off a rush into the Griffins’ zone, when Ryan Hartman gathered a loose puck at the right point and skated into the circle before snapping a shot behind Tom McCollum, giving him goals in four consecutive games.

A giveaway by the Griffins during a second-period power play led to a 2-1 lead for the IceHogs. Pierre-Cedric Labrie picked up the forfeited puck in front of Grand Rapids’ bench, carried it into the Griffins’ zone and angled down the slot through three defenders before putting a backhand home for a shorthanded goal at the 7:44 mark.

Despite holding shot advantages of 16-3 during the second and 27-13 through 40 minutes, the Griffins still found themselves trailing by a goal entering the third period. Early chances by Anthony Mantha and Mark Zengerle managed to stay out of the net, and the IceHogs eventually pulled away on a power play goal by longtime Chicago Blackhawk Bryan Bickell at 8:31 and a nightcap by Nolan Valleau – his first professional goal – with 5:17 remaining.

Leighton, who posted just a 0.887 save percentage during last spring’s playoff series loss to the Griffins, made 40 stops on the night, while McCollum finished with 18 saves.

Notes: Frk is the only Griffins player with more than one goal this season. He has accounted for three of the team’s 11 tallies…Bickell, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks, appeared in his first AHL contest since the 2009-10 campaign, when he played 65 games with Rockford. His experience was balanced by the Van Andel Arena debut of Griffins right wing Daniel Cleary, himself a former Blackhawk who played the last 10 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the cup in 2008.

Three Stars: 1. RFD Leighton (W, 40 saves); 2. RFD Labrie (game-winning goal); 3. GR Frk (goal)

Rockford IceHogs 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 1

Nov. 6, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Another significant shot advantage failed to pay dividends for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, as they fell 4-1 to the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena.

Despite outshooting their guests by a hefty 41-22 margin, the Griffins were unable to halt a frustrating early-season trend. Through eight games, Grand Rapids’ offense ranks first in the AHL by averaging 35.63 shots per game but stands 29th – or next-to-last – in the league by scoring just 1.38 goals per game, a head-scratching dichotomy that has contributed largely to the team’s 1-7-0-0 record.

Rockford, meanwhile, exacted a measure of revenge in the teams’ first meeting since the Griffins’ four-games-to-one triumph in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals, improving to 6-0-0-1 in its last seven outings and 7-3-0-1 overall.

Grand Rapids, which has played only two games in the last 14 days, will finally enter a stretch of three consecutive three-game weeks, beginning with Wednesday’s visit by the Iowa Wild. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Griffins’ offense found a spark just 2:44 into the contest on Martin Frk’s team-high third goal of the campaign. From behind the net, Tomas Nosek chipped the puck out front to a waiting Frk, who popped the bouncing biscuit past Michael Leighton at the left post. Grand Rapids became the last AHL team this season to score a first goal, as the Griffins had fallen behind 1-0 in each of their previous seven outings.

Rockford answered exactly four minutes later off a rush into the Griffins’ zone, when Ryan Hartman gathered a loose puck at the right point and skated into the circle before snapping a shot behind Tom McCollum, giving him goals in four consecutive games.

A giveaway by the Griffins during a second-period power play led to a 2-1 lead for the IceHogs. Pierre-Cedric Labrie picked up the forfeited puck in front of Grand Rapids’ bench, carried it into the Griffins’ zone and angled down the slot through three defenders before putting a backhand home for a shorthanded goal at the 7:44 mark.

Despite holding shot advantages of 16-3 during the second and 27-13 through 40 minutes, the Griffins still found themselves trailing by a goal entering the third period. Early chances by Anthony Mantha and Mark Zengerle managed to stay out of the net, and the IceHogs eventually pulled away on a power play goal by longtime Chicago Blackhawk Bryan Bickell at 8:31 and a nightcap by Nolan Valleau – his first professional goal – with 5:17 remaining.

Leighton, who posted just a 0.887 save percentage during last spring’s playoff series loss to the Griffins, made 40 stops on the night, while McCollum finished with 18 saves.

Notes: Frk is the only Griffins player with more than one goal this season. He has accounted for three of the team’s 11 tallies…Bickell, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks, appeared in his first AHL contest since the 2009-10 campaign, when he played 65 games with Rockford. His experience was balanced by the Van Andel Arena debut of Griffins right wing Daniel Cleary, himself a former Blackhawk who played the last 10 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, winning the cup in 2008.

Three Stars: 1. RFD Leighton (W, 40 saves); 2. RFD Labrie (game-winning goal); 3. GR Frk (goal)