Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Monsters End Griffins' Winning Streak

October 24, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins were unable to convert their road success into a home-ice victory on Friday, as their three-game winning streak was snapped with a 5-4 loss to the Lake Erie Monsters at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits but were never able to grab a lead. After its second loss to Lake Erie in as many home games, Grand Rapids is now 0-2 at home and 3-0 on the road this season.

Following a rare Saturday and Sunday off, the Griffins (3-2-0-0) will continue their four-game homestand next Wednesday, Oct. 29 when they host the Rockford IceHogs at 7 p.m.

Lake Erie (2-3-0-0), which had lost three straight since its 4-0 opening-night win at Van Andel Arena, struck twice in a 2:19 span early in the first period. Markus Lauridsen's shot from the point eluded Petr Mrazek at 5:40, before Michael Schumacher snuck home a wrister from the right circle for a 2-0 Monsters lead.

Grand Rapids answered with its first home goal of the season at the 9:30 mark. Chris Bruton, who scored just two goals in 41 games with Bridgeport last season and entered the night with eight goals in 152 career AHL contests, darted in front of the net to deflect Xavier Ouellet's point shot past Sami Aittokallio.

Awarded a 5-on-3 power play with 2:17 left in the period, the Griffins wasted little time in knotting the score. Andy Miele brought the puck out from the right corner and, after falling on his knees in the slot, slipped a pass across to a crashing Teemu Pulkkinen for a tap-in at 18:17. The marker extended Pulkkinen's goal streak to four games, his longest as a Griffin.

A fortunate bounce of the puck allowed Lake Erie to score the only goal of the second frame. A Monsters pass in the Griffins' zone changed direction off a defender and came to Colin Smith in the slot for a 2-on-0 scoring chance. Kenny Ryan finished off a quick feed from Smith at 17:59 to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage heading in the final 20 minutes.

The Griffins forged another tie 6:06 into the third period, when Alexey Marchenko tracked down a loose puck at the right point and one-timed it past Aittokallio. But Lake Erie took its third lead of the night when Duncan Siemens' blast from the left circle sailed wide of the net, caromed off the end boards and landed on the stick of Andrew Agozzino, who was waiting below the right circle to again put the Monsters ahead 4-3 with 10:13 remaining.

Denis Everberg gave Lake Erie another two-goal cushion at the 14:30 mark, only to have the Griffins respond at 15:34 with a long floater by Nathan Paetsch that found the top left corner. The home team could get no closer, though, despite pulling Mrazek for an extra attacker in the final minutes.

Mrazek finished with 22 saves while Aitokallio made 25 stops for the win.

Notes: Grand Rapids has surrendered at least four goals in six of its seven meetings with Lake Erie since the start of last season, with the only exception being the Griffins' 3-2 win in Cleveland on Oct. 11...Before tonight, Mrazek had not allowed more than four goals in 58 consecutive regular season contests, dating to a 5-2 loss at Rockford on Jan. 11, 2013.

Three Stars: 1. LE Stefan Elliott (three assists); 2. LE Ryan (goal, assist); 3. GR Ouellet (two assists)

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2014


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.

OurSports Central