AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Griffins Rally Past Hartford, 3-2

Published on November 14, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A first-ever clash between traditional AHL powers ended in favor of the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, as they rallied from a pair of deficits for a 3-2 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at Van Andel Arena.

Jakub Kindl's power play goal with eight minutes remaining gave the Griffins their first lead of the night, and they fended off the Wolf Pack from there to post their third consecutive victory on home ice and improve to 7-2-2-1 overall.

Grand Rapids will now hit the road for three straight, beginning with an 8:05 p.m. EST tilt at Quad City on Saturday.

The visitors grabbed the upper hand 6:53 into the opening period, when Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau snapped a shot past a screened Jimmy Howard from the top of the right circle. But Grand Rapids pulled even 1:32 before the first intermission, as Tom Galvin took a pass from Darren Helm and fired a shot from the point that deflected off a Hartford stick in the slot and, slowly but surely, found its way inside Miika Wiikman's left post.

Howard surrendered a goal to one of his best friends, former University of Maine teammate Greg Moore, on a give-and-go play 65 seconds into the middle frame to make it 2-1. Just over five minutes later, however, the Griffins used their potent power play to again knot the score, with Helm connecting through a crowd from the top of the right circle at 6:31.

Grand Rapids had a prime opportunity to make the AHL's most penalized team pay for its continued transgressions midway through the third period, thanks to a pair of minors assessed to Hartford's Dale Weise at 9:07. The Griffins did not disappoint their boisterous crowd of 7,179, as Kindl's slap shot from just inside the blue line cleanly beat Wiikman with 8:00 showing on the clock. Garrett Stafford earned the second assist on the play, marking the 200th point of his pro career.

A game with playoff-like intensity saw Helm and Kindl finish with a goal and an assist each, and Ville Leino notched a pair of assists to push his team-leading point total to 15 (4-11-15).

Howard claimed the win with 20 saves, while Wiikman made 27 stops for Hartford (6-6-0-1), which remains winless through four road outings.

Three Stars: 1. GR Kindl (1 goal, 1 assist); 2. GR Helm (1 goal, 1 assist); 3. HFD Parenteau (1 goal, 1 assist)

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American Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2008


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