Griffins Rally But Fall to Rockford, 4-3
Published on November 27, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A furious third-period rally before a boisterous crowd of 8,985 came up just short for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, as they dropped a 4-3 decision to the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena.
Down 4-1 four minutes into the third, the Griffins responded with goals from Mattias Ritola and Tomas Tatar but could not net the equalizer, despite generating several other scoring chances and pulling Thomas McCollum for an extra attacker in the final minute.
The Griffins (12-7-0-0) will look to snap a two-game skid on Saturday when they visit Peoria for an 8 p.m. EST start against the Rivermen.
For the fourth time in their last nine outings, the Griffins fell behind 1-0 before the game was five minutes old. At the 2:32 mark, Jassen Cullimore took a shot from the left point that was denied by McCollum, but Pete MacArthur banged home the rebound from the doorstep.
Grand Rapids tied matters with 1:45 remaining in the frame, prompting a cascade of 1,000 stuffed animals to rain down from the stands as part of the team's 10th annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit Hug-A-Bears of Kent County. Speeding down the right boards, Francis Pare dropped a pass inside the Rockford line for Evan McGrath, who ripped a shot from the top of the circle past Alec Richards' blocker.
The IceHogs (10-11-2-1) grabbed another lead midway through the second, as Kyle Greentree finished off an odd-man rush by potting Bracken Kearns' pass from the left side for a 2-1 lead at 9:37. Rockford then increased its advantage to two thanks to a fortunate bounce at the 18:03 mark, when Akim Aliu's try from below the goal line banked off McCollum's stick and into the net.
A turnover in the Griffins' zone resulted in a Nathan Davis goal and a short-lived 4-1 lead for the visitors 3:54 into the third period, but Ritola answered during a goal-mouth scramble 2:03 later to cut Grand Rapids' deficit back to two.
Tatar pulled the Griffins within one at 11:52, tapping home a Jan Mursak pass to extend his goal streak to three games and his point streak to four, but Grand Rapids could get no closer.
McCollum finished with 29 saves, while Richards earned his first career AHL win behind 27 stops.
American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2009
- Syracuse Crunch Top Houston Aeros 4-3 in Shootout - Houston Aeros
- Overtime Ends on Wagner's First of the Year - Peoria Rivermen
- Back-To-Back Starts With 4-0 Loss For Lake Erie - Cleveland Monsters
- Heat Down Wolves 3-1 - Abbotsford Heat
- Abbotsford Halts Chicago's Home Win Streak At Six - Chicago Wolves
- Near Capacity Crowd Sees Milwaukee Shut Down Texas For 2-0 Win - Texas Stars
- Wolf Pack beats Pirates in OT - Connecticut Whale
- Bulldogs Spook Monsters With 4-0 Win - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Marlies Bounce Back; Beat B-Sens 5-4 - Binghamton Senators
- Birds Of Prey Become Monarchs' Prey - Manchester Monarchs
- Packed House Watches Hershey Down Phantoms 5-1 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Sharks win another tight one, defeat Providence 2-1 - Worcester Sharks
- Rats Fall 4-3 In Overtime - Albany River Rats
- Richards Earns First AHL Win In Grand Rapids - Rockford IceHogs
- Munroe, Sound Tigers Shut Down Devils, 3-0 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Moose Sunk By Rivermen In Overtime, 2-1 - Manitoba Moose
- Griffins Rally But Fall to Rockford, 4-3 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- P-Bruins Fall To Sharks 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- Falcons Rally Comes Up Just Short In Manchester - Springfield Falcons
- Crunch Fly Past Aeros - Syracuse Crunch
- Wishart Wins it in Overtime for Admirals - Norfolk Admirals
- Griffins' Home Weekend Features Dollar Beers And Dogs, Winter Hat Giveaway - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Hurricanes Reassign Justin Peters To Albany - Albany River Rats
- Crunch Players To Sign Autographs At Tully's Good Times - Syracuse Crunch
- Columbus Recalls Left Wing Alexandre Picard - Syracuse Crunch
- 2010 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting Presented By Reebok Begins - AHL
- Flyers Assign Danny Syvret To Adirondack - Adirondack Phantoms
- Coyotes Recall Boedker, Orpik Joins Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- San Jose Sharks Activate Forward Torrey Mitchell From Injured Reserve - Worcester Sharks
- Marlies Announce 2009-10 Bobblehead Pack Schedule - Toronto Marlies
- Dallas Returns Fortunus To Texas - Texas Stars
- Minnesota Wild Recalls Jaime Sifers - Houston Aeros
- Columbus Assigns Left Wing Tom Sestito - Syracuse Crunch
- Sharks Goaltender Alex Stalock To Wear A Special W6 Tribute Mask - Worcester Sharks
- Rangers Recall Bobby Sanguinetti From Wolf Pack - Connecticut Whale
- Lightning Assign D Matt Smaby To Admirals For Conditioning - Norfolk Admirals
- 2010 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting Presented By Reebok Begins - AHL
- Crunch Defenseman Grant Clitsome To Sign Autographs To Benefit Prostate Cancer Foundation And The La - Syracuse Crunch
- Florida Panthers Assign D Ville Koistinen To Rochester - Rochester Americans
- Amerks Launch Newsletter - Rochester Americans
- Amerks Host Penguins Tonight At The Blue Cross Arena - Rochester Americans
- Senators Recall Erik Karlsson From Binghamton, Re-Assign Brian Lee - Binghamton Senators
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
