Griffins Snap Five-Game Road Loss Streak with 4-3 Overtime Win Against Senators

December 9, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release

BELLEVILLE, Ontario -- The Grand Rapids Griffins snapped their five-game road losing skid with help from Nolan Stevens' two-goal night and Dominik Shine's shorthanded game-winning tally for a 4-3 overtime victory against the Belleville Senators at CAA Arena on Saturday.

With the win, Michael Hutchinson earned his 200th as a pro. The Griffins outshot the Senators 44-16, which tied their previous season-high from their 5-2 win over the Chicago Wolves (Nov. 15). Josiah Didier collected his third assist in two games against Belleville.

Even with Grand Rapids' 10-6 shot advantage in the first period, the Senators struck first on a blast from the top of the left circle, courtesy of Garrett Pilon 16 minutes into the game. Despite trailing after the first period, the Griffins garnered the victory and improved to 2-6-1-0 when trailing after the opening frame.

Following a Griffins turnover, Angus Crookshank registered his third point in two games against Grand Rapids, as he beat Hutchinson over the shoulder from the right circle for a 2-0 Belleville lead with 17:12 left in the second stanza. The Griffins cut into the Senators' lead when Marco Kasper snapped the puck past Mads Sogaard's left shoulder from the left circle for a power-play goal at 5:35. Through the second period, Grand Rapids limited Belleville to three shots while nearly doubling their first-period total with 19.

Early in the final frame, Stevens put the disc between the legs of Sogaard on the rebound from the low slot, which lit the lamp for Stevens' first goal of the year and tied the game at 2-2 with 17:38 remaining. Just under 11 minutes after his first goal, Stevens found twine for his second tally of the evening after he cleaned up another rebound and sent the puck into an open net at 13:07.

The Senators tied the game back up just 17 seconds after Stevens' go-ahead tally with a right-point shot from Nikolas Matinpalo with 6:36 left in the game. Matinpalo's tying goal came after the puck appeared to have bounced off the netting above the boards.

With the game tied at 3-3, the Griffins were put on the penalty kill 26 seconds into overtime. Not even a minute following the penalty, Shine, who returned from a four-game absence, skated in on Sogaard all alone and scored the shorthanded game-winner with a bullet from the high slot for a 4-3 win at 1:11 in the extra frame.

Notes:

- Simon Edvinsson's point streak (3-7-10) ended at seven games.

- The overtime victory is the Griffins' first victory against the North Division this season (1-3-3-0) and the team's first overtime win since March 16, 2022.

- The win is the Griffins' second win on the road in the campaign. They now sit at 2-7-1-1 away from Van Andel Arena.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 0 1 2 1 - 4

Belleville 1 1 1 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Belleville, Pilon 8 (MacKinnon, Lukosevicius), 16:00. Penalties-Currie Bel (tripping), 8:38.

2nd Period-2, Belleville, Crookshank 9 (Matinpalo), 2:48. 3, Grand Rapids, Kasper 2 (Soderblom, Aston-Reese), 5:35 (PP). Penalties-Heatherington Bel (hooking), 3:44; Didier Gr (roughing), 6:54; Lukosevicius Bel (slashing), 6:54; Ostapchuk Bel (holding the stick), 9:41; Highmore Bel (slashing), 12:00.

3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Stevens 1 (McIsaac, Didier), 2:22. 5, Grand Rapids, Stevens 2 (Czarnik), 13:07. 6, Belleville, Matinpalo 2 (Fizer, Boucher), 13:24. Penalties-Edvinsson Gr (interference), 3:28; McIsaac Gr (high-sticking), 3:53; Johansson Gr (tripping), 14:06.

OT Period-7, Grand Rapids, Shine 2 (Newpower, Didier), 1:11 (PP). Penalties-Czarnik Gr (holding the stick), 0:26.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 10-19-13-2-44. Belleville 6-3-7-0-16.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 2 / 4; Belleville 0 / 4.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Hutchinson 5-6-1 (16 shots-13 saves). Belleville, Sogaard 5-3-2 (44 shots-40 saves).

A-2,236

Three Stars

1. GR Shine (over-time winner); 2. GR Stevens (two goals); 3. BEL Crookshank (goal)

Record / Next Game

Grand Rapids: 8-10-2-1 (19 pts.) / Sun., Dec. 10 at Toronto 4 p.m.

Belleville: 10-8-2-2 (24 pts.) / Thu., Dec. 14 at Cleveland 7 p.m.

Grand Rapids Griffins celebrate win (Belleville Senators)

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