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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Fall 3-2 in Home Opener

October 17, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The San Antonio Rampage scored a pair of power play goals during the third period to rally for a 3-2 victory over Grand Rapids on Friday in a special teams duel at Van Andel Arena, spoiling the home debut of new Griffins head coach Todd Nelson.

With 5:09 remaining in the third period, and minutes after Tom McCollum had made a ridiculous save to maintain a 2-2 tie, Zach Redmond connected on a bank shot from below the right goal line to keep the Griffins (0-3-0-0) winless on the season.

Grand Rapids will have an opportunity for redemption on Saturday when it hosts a rematch with the Rampage (1-0-1-0) at 7 p.m.

San Antonio needed only 2:08 of the opening period to strike first, as Ben Street's pass from the right circle found Andrew Agozzino wide open on the back door for an easy tap-in.

The Griffins answered with a power play goal by Ryan Sproul less than three minutes later. Anthony Mantha whipped a shot on net from the top of the circles that Calvin Pickard denied, and after Eric Tangradi's cleanup try from the doorstep was also stopped, Sproul swooped in to knock the loose puck home at the 4:22 mark.

Grand Rapids converted another power play 5:41 into the second to grab a 2-1 advantage. Tyler Bertuzzi fought his way down the left side before throwing the puck out to the right hashmarks to Xavier Ouellet, who ripped a shot through a crowd to give the Griffins their first lead of the season.

Consecutive penalties to Grand Rapids near the end of the period afforded the Rampage 53 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time on fresh ice to start the third period, and Street and Agozzino teamed up again to capitalize with three seconds left in the two-man advantage. Street one-timed a rocket from the right faceoff dot that Agozinno tipped into the top of McCollum's cage just 50 seconds into the final frame.

McCollum made his unbelievable save during a scramble around the Grand Rapids net to keep the score tied with less than eight minutes left. Down on all fours and facing his net, McCollum stuck out his left arm to stone a point-blank attempt by Andreas Martinsen then corralled the puck with the paddle of his stick to keep it from crossing the goal line.

The Rampage kept plugging away, though. and their persistence paid off when Redmond banked his shot off McCollum to put the visitors ahead for good. The Griffins pulled McCollum for an extra attacker in the final minute and frantically tried to solve Pickard for a third time, but the San Antonio netminder finished his 39-save performance without another blemish. McCollum made 26 stops in the loss.

The teams combined for 15 power play chances, with the Griffins going 2-for-7 and the Rampage 2-for-8.

Notes: For Nelson, the first player ever signed by the Griffins in 1996, tonight's game marked his first at Van Andel Arena since guiding the Oklahoma City Barons to a 4-1 win as their head coach on Dec. 5, 2014, and his first on Grand Rapids' bench since serving as an assistant to Danton Cole during a 2-1 defeat to Houston on May 22, 2003 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals...Grand Rapids has thrown a total of 106 shots on goal during its three losses, with just three power play goals and one even-strength tally to show for it...The Griffins sold out their home opener for the 20th consecutive season (10,834)...Grand Rapids assigned defenseman Scott Czarnowczan to the ECHL's Toledo Walleye after the game.

Three Stars: 1. SA Redmond (game-winning goal); 2. SA Pickard (W, 39 saves); 3. SA Agozzino (two goals)

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