Sports stats



AHL Grand Rapids Griffins

Sebastian Cossa Blanks Rockford in 3-0 Victory

April 5, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Grand Rapids Griffins News Release


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Sebastian Cossa denied 24 shots en route to a 3-0 Grand Rapids Griffins shutout victory over the Rockford IceHogs on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

Cossa's victory tied the home game point streak for a goaltender at 13 games (9-0-4) while it also extended his record-breaking overall point streak to 19 contests. The Griffins' win pushed their record-setting home point streak to 19 consecutive games. Jonatan Berggren stretched his point streak (8-7--15) to nine outings. Taro Hirose collected his 50th goal and 200th point as a Griffin, which made him the sixth player for Grand Rapids to accumulate 200 points and the 29th to score 50 tallies for the club. The Griffins tied their season-high five-game home winning streak.

Under two minutes into the tilt, Berggren squeaked a rebound by the right pad of Drew Commesso from the left circle for a power-play goal and an early 1-0 lead at 1:03 in the first frame.

A string of passes by the Griffins led to another man-advantage tally, as Zach Aston-Reese's bullet from the left circle beat Commesso on his glove side with 2:40 remaining in the second period.

A 5-on-3 penalty from the middle frame bled into the start of the final stanza, which Grand Rapids' penalty killers promptly killed off. The Griffins cashed in for their third goal when a shot from Hirose from the top of the right circle pinballed into the goal for a 3-0 lead at 15:32. Following Hirose's tally, neither Grand Rapids nor Rockford found the back of the net and the Griffins skated away with a 3-0 shutout win.

Notes

- The Griffins' magic number for clinching a first-round playoff bye and a berth in the Central Division Semifinals is now one point, over Texas.

- Hunter Johannes made his professional debut against Rockford tonight, which made him the ninth player from North Dakota State University to suit up for Grand Rapids.

Box Score

Rockford 0 0 0 - 0

Grand Rapids 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Berggren 24 (Luff, Mazur), 1:03 (PP). Penalties-served by Teplý Rfd (too many men - bench minor), 0:40; Tuomisto Gr (tripping), 1:26; Dach Rfd (tripping), 16:12.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Aston-Reese 14 (L'Esperance, Lombardi), 17:20 (PP). Penalties-Del Mastro Rfd (cross-checking), 10:43; Del Mastro Rfd (hooking), 16:54; Hanas Gr (holding), 18:49; Aston-Reese Gr (tripping), 19:15.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Hirose 9 (Johansson, Lombardi), 15:32. Penalties-Hardman Rfd (hooking), 12:24; Tuomisto Gr (roughing), 15:00.

Shots on Goal-Rockford 7-7-10-24. Grand Rapids 12-11-9-32.

Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 0 / 4; Grand Rapids 2 / 5.

Goalies-Rockford, Commesso 15-15-4 (32 shots-29 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 19-7-9 (24 shots-24 saves).

A-8,243

Three Stars

1. GR Cossa (SO, W, 24 saves ); 2. GR Berggren (goal); 3. GR Hirose (goal)

Record / Next Game

Grand Rapids: 34-19-8-4 (80 pts.) / Sat., April 6 at Rockford 8 p.m. EDT

Rockford: 33-24-5-2 (73 pts.) / Sat., April 6 vs. Grand Rapids 7 p.m. CDT

Check out the Grand Rapids Griffins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2024


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.

Other Recent Grand Rapids Griffins Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central