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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Fall 5-3 at Sold-Out Van Andel Arena

April 13, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A pair of goals by Lukas Sedlak paced the Lake Erie Monsters to a 5-3 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday at a sold-out Van Andel Arena, in a clash that could prove to be a preview of coming playoff attractions.

The third-place Griffins now trail the second-place Monsters by three points both in the Central Division standings and in their quest for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs - a series in which they could very well face Lake Erie. With two regular season games remaining for each club, the Monsters only need one win or one regulation loss by Grand Rapids to clinch a higher seeding than the Griffins.

Grand Rapids (44-28-1-1) will look to pull out of a three-game slump and generate momentum for the postseason during a Friday trip to Rockford, which is now tied with the Griffins at 90 points with Grand Rapids holding the tie-breaker. A Griffins win in regulation over the IceHogs in their 8 p.m. EDT matchup would guarantee a division semifinal series between Grand Rapids and Lake Erie.

Eric Tangradi took sole possession of the Griffins' goal-scoring lead and put the home team ahead early by scoring his 28th goal of the season 5:37 into the opening period. Nick Jensen teed up a slap shot from the point and Tangradi flashed across the top of the crease to redirect it past Joonas Korpisalo.

The Monsters (41-22-6-5), who claimed a 5-2 win in the teams' last meeting on March 26 in Grand Rapids, answered almost eight minutes later. T.J. Tynan left a drop pass above the right circle for John Ramage, whose cannon hit the far goal post and settled behind Tom McCollum at the 13:28 mark. Lake Erie then took the lead to the locker room thanks to Sedlak's first goal with 53 seconds remaining, as he popped home a pass from Justin Falk while stationed just outside the paint.

The scoring sequence repeated itself in the second period, with the Griffins tallying first only to see the Monsters respond with two of their own. Jeff Hoggan slammed Tomas Nosek's centering feed past Korpisalo 9:54 into the frame, but Lake Erie soon scored twice within 19 seconds to make it a 4-2 contest. Sonny Milano stood in front of McCollum to tip Ramage's point shot into the back of the net during a power play at 12:02, before Michael Chaput took advantage of a Griffins turnover to score unassisted from the high slot and stake the visitors to their two-goal cushion.

For insurance, Lake Erie notched its third straight goal on a Sedlak redirection off a faceoff win in the Griffins' zone during a 4-on-4 at 6:59 of the third period. Mark Zengerle provided the final margin by scoring through a screen from the top of the left circle with seven seconds remaining in the contest.

McCollum and Korpisalo each finished with 20 saves, with the Griffins' netminder suffering his second straight loss on the heels of a 10-1 run.

Notes: Tonight's "Water for Flint" drive resulted in the collection of 28,000 bottles of water - equivalent to 3,700 gallons - through the donations of fans as well as the donations and efforts of the Griffins, Michigan Office Solutions and Pepsi and their employees. All water donations will be delivered tomorrow to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan for distribution to Flint residents...The capacity crowd of 10,834 marked the Griffins' sixth sellout of the season and their sixth straight crowd in excess of 9,200.

Three Stars: 1. LE Sedlak (two goals); 2. LE Ramage (goal, assist); 3. GR Hoggan (goal)

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