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AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Pulkkinen Scores Twice But Griffins Fall in Overtime

February 13, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Rocco Grimaldi's goal from the bottom of the left circle 5:30 into overtime on Friday thwarted the Grand Rapids Griffins' comeback bid and gave the San Antonio Rampage a 5-4 win at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins fought back from a 4-2 deficit with a pair of third-period tallies to guarantee at least a point in a game in which they twice trailed by two goals. Teemu Pulkkinen's second of the night pushed his league-leading goal and point totals to 29 and 55, respectively, before Mark Zengerle forced overtime with less than two minutes left in regulation. But their heroics couldn't stop Grand Rapids from dropping its second straight overtime decision, following last Saturday's 4-3 home loss to Rochester.

A rematch between the Griffins (25-17-5-1) and Rampage (28-16-4-0) awaits on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.

Pulkkinen opened the scoring with 4:08 remaining in the opening period. Carrying the puck up the right boards, Rampage defenseman Blake Parlett attempted a pass just inside his blue line that deflected off the skate of Louis-Marc Aubry and into the slot to an unmarked Pulkkinen, who patiently walked in on Dan Ellis before scoring five-hole to put the Griffins up 1-0 at intermission.

The Rampage stormed ahead by scoring three times in a six-minute span of the second period, with the last two goals coming on odd-man breaks just 48 seconds apart. Brett Olson got things rolling for the visitors by beating Tom McCollum from the right circle at 4:08, and San Antonio went ahead on a shorthanded marker 5:12 later. Jonathan Racine forced a turnover at the right point and sped up ice on a 2-on-1 with Bobby Butler, who deposited Racine's centering pass inside the right post.

On the ensuing shift, Xavier Ouellet broke his stick on a shot attempt from the left point, enabling Vincent Trocheck to race off on a breakaway and rip the puck over McCollum's glove for a 3-1 Rampage lead.

The Griffins pulled back within one at the 13:37 mark, when Anthony Mantha stole the puck behind the San Antonio net and quickly fed it out front to Andreas Athanasiou for the latter's third point in as many contests since returning from a broken jaw that cost him 20 games.

Another defensive breakdown at 18:52 resulted in San Antonio taking a two-goal lead into the final period, as Garrett Wilson ripped a shot from the high slot that caromed off both posts and across the line. The goal was upheld upon video review, giving the Rampage a 4-2 cushion.

Pulkkinen trimmed the deficit to one at 5:15 of the third, when the sniper took a drop pass from Andy Miele along the right boards just inside the San Antonio line and blistered a slap shot inside Ellis' far post. Then in the waning minutes, with the Griffins on the power play and McCollum on the bench to give Grand Rapids a 6-on-4 advantage in skaters, Zengerle collected a rebound of Nathan Paetsch's point shot in the slot and slipped it through a sea of bodies to tie it with 1:51 remaining.

Grand Rapids eventually lost despite a near 2-to-1 advantage in shots, as Ellis earned the win by turning back 36 of 40 and McCollum suffered the loss while making 17 saves on 22 attempts.

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