SICK OF WINNING? NOT YET

Chicago Wolves 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3

Jan. 20, 2017

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins kicked off the second half of their regular season schedule by doing the same thing they did 25 times during the first half: winning.

The Griffins built and then squandered a two-goal lead against a Chicago club that has been hotly pursuing them in the Central Division standings, but they took advantage of a Wolves own-goal to take a 3-2 victory on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

Tomas Nosek stayed hot by scoring his team-high 14th goal – seven of them having come in the last nine games – to help cool off a Chicago team that had won 10 of its previous 12. The Western Conference-leading Griffins, now 26-10-1-2 overall and 14-4-0-2 at home, will stage game two of a five-game homestand on Saturday when they welcome the Cleveland Monsters to town at 7 p.m.

Having trounced the Wolves 7-1 during their most recent clash in Chicago on Dec. 15, the Griffins had St. Louis’ affiliate singing the blues again in the early going after scoring two goals 2:56 apart. At the 12:06 mark, Matthew Ford set up shop at the top of the crease to tip Evgeny Svechnikov’s wrister through Ville Husso’s five-hole, before Grand Rapids’ league-leading power play connected on Nosek’s shot from the right circle that snuck inside the far post.

Chicago (23-14-3-2) lit the scoreboard 4:58 into the second, as Samuel Blais sped around Brian Lashoff in the right circle and stuffed the puck past Eddie Pasquale. AHL scoring leader Kenny Agostino then set up the power play goal that knotted the game at 2-2, taking a slap shot from the top of the right circle that Ivan Barbashev redirected on the doorstep at 9:40.

Soon after, consecutive Chicago penalties presented the Griffins with 45 seconds’ worth of 5-on-3 power play time, but the Wolves managed to deny the opportunity to keep it deadlocked. However, an own-goal by the visitors at 17:38 proved to be the difference in the contest. Svechnikov fired a shot that sailed high off the glass and bounced out along the right side of the net, and as Husso began to dive back to cover up the puck, defenseman Jordan Schmaltz inadvertently knocked it across the goal line with his stick after rushing in to try to move it out of harm’s way.

Wolves sniper Wade Megan nearly notched his 20th goal of the campaign off a rush up ice with just under six minutes remaining in the third, but his shot rang off Pasquale’s left pipe. Grand Rapids then withstood Chicago’s final push, with Pasquale finishing with 26 saves and Husso recording 33 before being replaced in vain by an extra attacker with a minute remaining.

Notes: Twenty home games into the 2016-17 season, the Griffins are currently on pace to record an average attendance increase for the seventh consecutive year and 10th time in the last 11 seasons. Tonight’s crowd of 10,153 raised the team’s average to 7,610, a slight increase over the last season’s average of 7,571 through 20 games.

Three Stars: 1. GR Svechnikov (game-winning goal, assist); 2. GR Kyle Criscuolo (two assists); 3. CHI Vince Dunn (two assists)