SLOW-COOKED PORK

Rockford IceHogs 3 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5

March 24, 2017

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins overcame a strong early challenge by the Rockford IceHogs to eventually pull away to a 5-3 victory on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

The Central Division leaders fell behind 1-0 and 2-1 to the last-place IceHogs and entered the third period tied 3-3, but Martin Frk tallied the game-winning goal with 6:35 remaining and added an empty-netter in the final minute to push the Griffins closer to clinching a spot in the postseason.

The Griffins’ magic number for securing their fifth consecutive playoff berth – which would tie the franchise record set from 1999-00 through 2003-04 – now stands at four points. Given the schedules of fifth-place Cleveland (four pts.) and sixth-place Iowa (three pts.), both of which are idle tomorrow, Grand Rapids could clinch as early as Sunday in Milwaukee. But first, the Griffins will travel to Rockford on Saturday for an 8 p.m. EDT rematch with the IceHogs.

The game started inauspiciously for the Griffins (41-18-1-4), as the IceHogs (22-32-9-3) registered the first five shots and the first goal 4:31 into the contest. Martin Lundberg fired a puck from the slot that glanced off Jared Coreau’s left pad and rebounded hard off the end boards, and the carom was inadvertently knocked into the net by defenseman Filip Hronek, who made his Griffins and AHL debut.

Grand Rapids answered only 25 seconds later on its first shot of the night, with Eric Tangradi converting a wrister from the left circle off a feed from Mitch Callahan. But Rockford stretched its shot advantage to 9-2 and took a 2-1 lead at the 8:08 mark, when Brandon Mashinter set up in the slot to deflect Gustav Forsling’s shot from the left point.

After being out-shot 14-7 over the opening 20 minutes, the Griffins used their league-leading power play to even the score 1:58 into the middle frame. Lars Johansson denied the initial shot by Evgeny Svechnikov, but as several players tussled for the rebound to the right of the net, Matthew Ford got his stick on the puck and slipped it through the netminder’s pads. Ford’s 10th tally gives the Griffins 10 players with double-digit goal totals this season.

The Griffins grabbed their first lead at 3-2 when Matt Lorito potted his 20th goal of the campaign off a nifty Kyle Criscuolo drop pass on the doorstep at 11:19. But they held it for all of 24 seconds, as Tyler Motte got a step on his defender rushing into the zone and ripped a shot from the left circle that ticked off Coreau before trickling across the line.

Having gone from a 2-to-1 deficit in shots during the first period to a 3-to-1 advantage in the second (18-6), the persistent Griffins were rewarded at the 13:25 mark of the third. Dylan McIlrath’s blast from the right point hit Criscuolo’s stick in the high slot and redirected into the left circle to Frk, who made no mistake in slamming the puck into a yawning net. Frk soon added the empty-netter at 19:03 for his team-leading 25th goal.

Coreau logged 22 saves to notch his third straight win and extend his point streak as a Griffin to six games (4-0-2), while Johansson countered with 31 stops in the loss.

Three Stars: 1. GR Frk (two goals, assist); 2. GR Criscuolo (two assists); 3. RFD Motte (goal)