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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Checkers Jump Griffins Late

January 9, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A pair of third-period goals by the Charlotte Checkers on Friday brought an end to the Grand Rapids Griffins' five-game point streak, as the visitors rallied for a 2-1 win at Van Andel Arena.

Former Griffin Drew MacIntyre made 29 stops for the Checkers, several during the frantic final minutes while the Griffins had a power play and used an extra attacker, helping Charlotte avenge its 3-2 overtime loss here on Wednesday.

The Griffins (18-12-3-1) will host a crucial clash against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday at 7 p.m. The two teams are currently tied for third place in the Midwest Division, just a single point behind Milwaukee.

Midway through a scoreless game, Charlotte's Patrick Brown was whistled for a double minor for high-sticking, giving the Griffins four minutes of power play time. Grand Rapids needed almost all of it to capitalize on the opportunity, as Kevin Porter finished off a goal-mouth scramble by backhanding the puck past MacIntyre at the 14:47 mark, when only 10 seconds remained in the advantage.

Early in the third, seconds after an alert MacIntyre prevented a Checkers defenseman from deflecting the puck into their own net, Chad LaRose took a pass in the neutral zone, cut to the top of the left circle and launched a wrist shot through his defender's screen that sailed past Jared Coreau's glove. That tying goal came just 1:47 into the period.

Charlotte (13-18-4-1) tallied the game-winner with 5:55 remaining when Phil Di Giuseppe threw the puck toward the net from the left corner, enabling a darting Brendan Woods to redirect it through the gap between Coreau's pad, blocker and the near post.

Grand Rapids went on the penalty kill with just under four minutes left before going on a shortened 1:32 power play of its own in the waning minutes. Coreau went to the bench in favor of an extra attacker to give the Griffins a 6-on-4 advantage for a time, but despite a flurry of activity around the Charlotte cage, they were unable to dent MacIntyre for a second time.

Coreau suffered just his second regulation loss of the season in a 23-save effort.

Notes: Andrej Nestrasil, a member of the Griffins 2013 Calder Cup championship team who logged 46 points (22-24 - 46) in 120 games for Grand Rapids from 2011-14, made his debut for the Checkers and played his first game as a visitor at Van Andel Arena. On Thursday, Nestrasil was assigned to Charlotte for conditioning by the Carolina Hurricanes, who claimed him off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings in late November.

Three Stars: 1. CHA Woods (game-winning goal); 2. GR Porter (power play goal); 3. CHA LaRose (goal)

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