THREE DOG NIGHT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Hamilton Bulldogs rallied from a two-goal deficit to hand a weary Grand Rapids Griffins squad a 3-2 loss on Sunday evening at Van Andel Arena.

Matt D’Agostini scored on a deflection with five minutes left to break the Griffins’ seven-game winning streak at home and hand Grand Rapids just its second loss in the last 11 games overall.

The Griffins (29-22-4-2), who nonetheless finished their stretch of four games in five nights with an impressive 3-1 mark, will play five of their next six games on the road, beginning with a Wednesday night test against the Rochester Americans.

Matt Hussey scored the lone goal of the opening period during a power play at the 8:56 mark, taking a back-door pass from Jeff Campbell and slamming a shot by Dov Grumet-Morris from the left side.

Tony Voce earned his first point as a Griffin with an assist just 31 seconds into the middle frame. From the right corner he fed Jamie Tardif for a one-timer from the circle, and Tardif’s blast caromed off the Hamilton netminder on its way into the cage.

Hamilton (34-20-2-3) broke a scoreless drought of 164:36 at Van Andel Arena by capitalizing on a power play with 9:01 left in the period. On a goal nearly identical to Hussey’s, Corey Locke hit a streaking Dan Jancevski on the back side for an easy redirection past Jimmy Howard.

The Griffins’ tired legs began to show early in the third, as the Bulldogs tilted the ice and generated constant pressure in Grand Rapids’ zone. The visitors’ persistence paid off in the form of a tying goal at 6:54, when Cory Urquhart’s shot from the high slot sailed through a screen and into the top of Howard’s net.

The Bulldogs took their first and only lead of the night at the 15-minute mark, as Jean-Philippe Cote’s long floater from the left boards was tipped by D’Agostini before fluttering into the upper right corner of the net.

Howard lost in regulation for only the second time in his last nine games, finishing with 17 stops, while Grumet-Morris atoned for last night’s odd shutout/shootout loss with a 25-save victory.