Griffins Close out 2012 in First Place
December 31, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Time will tell if 2013 truly becomes a happy new year for the first-place Grand Rapids Griffins, but they closed out 2012 in celebratory style on Monday with a 3-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs in their 16th annual New Year's Eve affair at Van Andel Arena.
Tomas Tatar scored twice and Petr Mrazek was nearly perfect with 28 saves to help the Griffins (18-10-1-1) break their standings deadlock with Rockford (17-14-1-1) and reclaim sole possession of the top spot in the Midwest Division.
With their third straight New Year's Eve victory, the Griffins finished December with an 8-4 mark and improved to 5-1 on their season-high seven-game home stand, which they'll conclude by hosting the Oklahoma City Barons on Friday at 7 p.m.
A hard-hitting first period featured 21 penalty minutes for each team but a goal for only the Griffins, who scored within the game's first 2:16 for the fourth time in as many meetings with the IceHogs this season. On a rush into the Rockford zone, Jeff Hoggan lauched a rocket from the top of the right circle that Carter Hutton turned aside, but Luke Glendening got a stick on the rebound in the slot before Landon Ferraro put it home at the 2:01 mark for his 10th goal of the season.
Rockford tied it with a power play goal 6:14 into the second period, as Dylan Olsen collected an errant Adam Almquist clearing attempt above the right circle and ripped a shot low to the ice that eluded Mrazek's glove.
The Griffins pulled ahead 2-1 during their own advantage with 3:58 left before intermission, when Tatar fired a wrister from the top of the right circle that found its way through traffic and into the top of the cage. Tatar's 76th career goal as a Griffin moved him past Kip Miller into sole possession of fourth place all time.
Exactly 10 minutes into the third period, Tatar tallied again to make it a 3-1 lead for Grand Rapids. He chipped the puck off the boards in his zone and sped down the left side, crossing over the IceHogs' blue line on a 2-on-1 before unleashing a slap shot from the top of the circle that blew past Hutton, sending the crowd of 10,004 into a frenzy.
Any last-ditch chance for the IceHogs to pull closer in the waning minutes was snuffed by a tripping penalty to Kyle Beach with 1:55 remaining, enabling the Griffins to finish out the game on the power play.
Mrazek claimed his fourth consecutive win - a span during which he's allowed only six goals - to improve to 11-3-0 on the season. Hutton fell to 13-12-1 with a 25-save effort.
Three Stars: 1. GR Tatar (two goals); 2. GR Mrazek (W, 28 saves); 3. GR Ferraro (goal)
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American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2012
- New Year, New Beginning - Manchester Monarchs
- Heat Close 2012 with 2-1 Shootout Loss - Abbotsford Heat
- Griffins Close out 2012 in First Place - Grand Rapids Griffins
- New Year's Celebration Starts with 2-1 Win - Peoria Rivermen
- Sharks Close out 2012 with a Bang in Manchester - Worcester Sharks
- Eberle's Natural Hat Trick Leads Barons over Stars 5-2 - Texas Stars
- Hogs Fall in 2012 Finale in Grand Rapids - Rockford IceHogs
- B-Sens Round out 2012 with 4-2 Win over IceCaps - Binghamton Senators
- IceCaps Drop New Year's Eve Game to Senators - St. John's IceCaps
- Whale Harpooned by Portland Comeback - Connecticut Whale
- Penguins End Year with Loss to Crunch - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Comeback City Closes 2012 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Crunch Close out 2012 with Win over Penguins - Syracuse Crunch
- Poulin Propels Sound Tigers to 4-3 Shootout Win over Phantoms - Bridgeport Islanders
- Amerks Ring in the New Year with 2-0 Win over Bulldogs - Rochester Americans
- Americans Blank Bulldogs 2-0 - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Stars Weekly - Stars Ring in New Year at Oklahoma City - Texas Stars
- Admirals to Give Away Green Bay Playoff Tickets - Milwaukee Admirals
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Houston Aeros Sign Derek Couture - Houston Aeros
- Crunch Weekly - Syracuse Crunch
- Brittain Joins Admirals, Cousineau Sent to Fort Wayne - Norfolk Admirals
- Sharks Hitting Stride into 2013 - Worcester Sharks Weekly - Worcester Sharks
- IceHogs Grab a Share of First After Week 12 - Rockford IceHogs
- Hamilton Bulldogs Weekly - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Amerks Defenseman T.J. Brennan Named Ccm/AHL Player of the Week - Rochester Americans
- Rochester's T.J. Brennan Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Falcons Weekly Notes - Springfield Falcons
- Right In Between To Start 2013 - Hershey Bears
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