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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins End Four-Game Road Winless Streak With 4-1 Victory Over Manitoba

March 21, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate win
Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate win
(Grand Rapids Griffins, Credit: Jonathan Kozub/Manitoba Moose)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Grand Rapids Griffins rebounded from their loss on Tuesday with a 4-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose at Canada Life Centre on Wednesday, which snapped a four-game road skid for the team.

Sebastian Cossa backstopped the Griffins to victory, as his .970 save percentage (32-of-33) denied the Moose from scoring more than one goal and extended the rookie netminder's point streak to 14 games (9-0-5). Matt Luff's two points (1-1--2) pushed his point streak (2-3--5) to four contests while it also put the veteran at nine points (4-5--9) in his last nine games.

A stretch pass from Antti Tuomisto in the Griffins' zone led to Zach Aston-Reese putting Grand Rapids up by one, as he chased down the puck in Manitoba's zone, skated in on Thomas Milic and ripped it past his blocker side from the low slot at 6:32 in the first period.

Elmer Soderblom scored his second tally against the Moose in as many games when he directed a shot over the glove of Milic from in front of the goal mouth for a 2-0 lead with 12:57 remaining in the middle frame.

Manitoba cut the Griffins' lead in half when Jeff Malott tipped a drive from Brad Lambert past Cossa while in the crease at 12:50.

With roughly seven minutes left in the final stanza, Brogan Rafferty found the back of the net with a blast from the left point with 12:55 remaining, which returned Grand Rapids' lead to two tallies. With Milic pulled from his net at 17:26, Luff took advantage of a miscue in the Moose zone and found the back of the empty net to seal a 4-1 game for the Griffins with 2:43 remaining.

Notes

- Radim Simek, who was acquired in a trade on March 8, made his Griffins debut.

- Dominik Shine extended his point streak (2-4--6) to four games while Soderblom pushed his (2-1--3) to three.

- Rafferty skated in his 250th game as a pro.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 1 1 2 - 4

Manitoba 0 1 0 - 1

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Aston-Reese 11 (Tuomisto, L'Esperance), 6:32. Penalties-Johansson Gr (holding), 2:15; Johansson Gr (holding), 10:20; Hall Gr (tripping), 14:20; Bauer Mb (high-sticking), 16:33; Toninato Mb (hooking), 17:23.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Söderblom 11 (Luff, Kasper), 7:03. 3, Manitoba, Malott 19 (Lambert, Chibrikov), 12:50. Penalties-Hanas Gr (hooking), 4:00; Ford Mb (slashing), 9:09.

3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Rafferty 3 (Lombardi, Shine), 12:55. 5, Grand Rapids, Luff 4 17:17 (EN). Penalties-Toninato Mb (holding), 7:11; Newpower Gr (cross-checking), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-7-7-23. Manitoba 11-8-14-33.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 4; Manitoba 0 / 4.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 15-7-8 (33 shots-32 saves). Manitoba, Milic 12-6-1 (22 shots-19 saves).

A-3,398

Three Stars

1. GR Cossa (W, 32 saves); 2. MB Malott (goal); 3. GR Soderblom (game-winner)

Record / Next Game

Grand Rapids: 30-18-7-4 (71 pts.) / Sat., March 23 at Rockford 8 p.m. EDT

Manitoba: 27-30-1-1 (56 pts.) / Sat., March 23 vs. Abbotsford 2 p.m. CDT

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate win
Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate win
(Jonathan Kozub/Manitoba Moose)		   



American Hockey League Stories from March 21, 2024


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