AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins fall short in SO

February 28, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


CLEVELAND - For the second night in a row, the Grand Rapids Griffins charged back in the third period but fell one goal short in the final score. After tying the game 2-2 late in the third, the Griffins dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Lake Erie Monsters at the Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night.

Daniel Larsson stopped 19 shots through 65 minutes of action in net for the Griffins (34-15-6-6), while the Monsters (27-29-1-5) got 22 saves from Jason Bacashihua, who entered the game with a shutout streak of 123:58. Darren Haydar notched an assist on the second Grand Rapids goal, extending his point streak to five games.

Matt Hendricks scored the only goal of the first period 14:00 into the game, taking a feed from Phillipe Dupuis and beating Larsson during a Monsters' power play for his eighth goal of the season. Just 1:57 into the second period, T.J. Hensick made it 2-0 with his seventh goal of the season. Chris Durno took a shot from the point that went wide right of the net, but the long bounce off the end boards went to Hensick on the left side and he buried it from in close.

The Griffins struggled offensively during the first two-thirds of the game, recording just eight shots on goal through 40 minutes, including a season-low total of two shots during the second period. The third period, however, belonged to Grand Rapids, who outshot the Monsters 14-5 in the period, including a drive from Garrett Stafford that rang off the post behind Bacashihua in the early going.

Cory Emmerton put the Griffins on the scoreboard with 8:50 remaining in the game, snapping Bacashihua's shutout streak at 175:08. The goal was Emmerton's fourth in the last five games and came off assists from Evan McGrath and Darren McCarty. With 5:27 left in the contest, Aaron Gagnon worked a give-and-go with Haydar and then set up Francis Pare for a goal from the right side of the net, tying the game at 2-2 and sending the game into overtime.

When neither team scored during the extra five minutes, it came down to a shootout to decide who won the extra point. Haydar wristed his try through Bacashihua's pads to put the Griffins up 1-0 after the first round, but Hendricks tied it in the top of the third round with his shot that went under Larsson's right arm. After Durno scored in the fifth round, Stafford had the Griffins' last chance, but clanged his shot off the crossbar to end the game.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2009


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