UNLUCKY SEVEN

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids and Manchester battled into a seven-round shootout Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena, but the Monarchs came out on top and handed the Griffins a 3-2 loss during the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Grand Rapids (9-5-2-3) skated into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead, scoring the lone goal of the opening period at the 4:18 mark. Ville Leino soared up the right boards and fanned on his shot attempt, but managed to backhand a pass through the goal crease to Darren Haydar, who swatted the bouncing puck past Jonathan Bernier.

The Monarchs (8-6-0-3) tied the game during the second frame when Justin Azevedo buried a one-timer off a centering feed from Kalamazoo native Scott Parse at 6:39.

Midway through the second period, Griffins goaltender Jimmy Howard halted a flurry of shots while the team killed off 1:41 of 5-on-3. As soon as the second penalty to Aaron Gagnon expired, Justin Abdelkader lifted the puck to him as he rushed out of the box creating a breakaway. Gagnon then deked the netminder and slid the puck into the right side of the net at 13:09 for his first-career AHL goal, giving Grand Rapids a 2-1 lead.

Manchester notched the equalizer once again later in the period at the 18:00 mark. Azevedo scored his second of the night by tipping a shot that was fired by Teddy Purcell from the top of the left circle past Howard’s glove.

The score remained 2-2 for the remainder of the game and a shootout ultimately ensued. Parse, Michel Leveille and Azevedo scored for Manchester, while Darren McCarty and Jonathan Ericsson were the only lamp-lighters for the Griffins during the seven-round duel.

Howard stopped 26 shots in net for the Griffins, many of which were in back-breaking fashion, while Bernier turned aside 31 during regulation and five of seven in the skills competition for the Monarchs.

The Griffins continue their three-game home stand on Friday against the Chicago Wolves at 7 p.m.

Three Stars: 1. MCH Bernier (W, 31 saves); 2. MCH Azevedo (2 goals); 3. GR Gagnon (1 goal).