MOVIN' ON UP

ROSEMONT, Ill. – Five different Griffins tallied goals, while Jimmy Howard gave another stellar performance in the crease with 37 saves, lifting Grand Rapids to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Wolves Sunday afternoon at Allstate Arena.

With the win, the Griffins (18-19-2-5, 43 pts.) are just one game below 0.500 and tied with Syracuse for third place in the North Division, while sitting just two points in back of second-place Manitoba.

The Griffins jumped out to strong start, earning a two-goal lead within the first half of the opening period. Jonathan Ericsson opened the scoring just 3:25 into the game by snapping a shot into the upper left corner of the net from the high slot, where he skated uncontested after receiving a drop pass from Mark Hartigan.

Carl Corazzini added the second at 7:53, pounding a big rebound past Ondrej Pavelec that resulted from Tom Galvin holding the puck in the zone along the right boards and sending it towards the net. Grand Rapids held Chicago’s high powered offense to just four shots through the first frame.

An impressive individual effort by Ryan Oulahen gave the Griffins a 3-0 lead at 10:01 of the second period. After playing chase with the Chicago defenseman behind the net, Oulahen forced a turnover at the hash marks and caught Pavelec by surprise with a quick shot.

Shortly after, the Wolves had their chance to get on the scoreboard during a 4-on-3 power play, but Howard stood strong in his crease and turned away each of Chicago’s chances.

The goal lamp remained dark until late in the third when it would be illuminated multiple times before all was said and done. The Wolves finally found the back of the net at 16:17 during a power play as Brett Sterling literally crashed the net and into Howard while Bryan Little jammed in a rebound.

Evan McGrath then answered for Grand Rapids at 17:34 by collecting Jakub Kindl’s wide shot off the end boards and popping past Pavelec. But the Wolves would not stop howling and notched another power play tally as Sterling slid one past Howard at 18:58.

Chicago stepped up its intensity after pulling Pavelec, who finished the evening with 32 saves, in the waning moments of the contest. However, Jamie Tardif quickly ended the Wolves’ hopes of a comeback by taking advantage of the empty net after speeding past the defense and receiving a pass from Hartigan.

Grand Rapids will travel to Milwaukee Friday to battle the Admirals at 8 p.m. before hosting these Chicago Wolves Saturday at 7 p.m.