GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Amadeus Lombardi secured two tallies for the Grand Rapids Griffins, but the Chicago Wolves scored three goals within three minutes in the third period to defeat the Griffins 4-3 on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena.

Alongside Lombardi’s two-goal game, Sheldon Dries (0-2—2) earned assists on both tallies, marking his 10th point in eight matchups against Chicago this season (3-7—10). Tim Gettinger kicked off the scoring for Grand Rapids, claiming his fifth goal of the season. Following a brief stint in Detroit, goaltender Sebastian Cossa returned to the crease for the Griffins, saving 34 shots in his 36th start (19-12-5). 

Just 3:23 into the outing, a Wolves turnover within their zone gave Gettinger a wide-open look in the high slot and he buried the chance on the Griffins’ first shot attempt. Grand Rapids earned a power-play opportunity at 5:45 but turned it over while attempting to get set up, granting Josiah Slavin a breakaway. However, Cossa dove across the crease to make the glove save at 6:39. As the penalty expired, the Griffins gave the puck away again and the Wolves skated into Grand Rapids’ zone 3-on-1. Yet, Cossa came up big with another diving save on Bradley Nadeau with 12:03 left in the first period. Then, with 7:51 remaining in the frame, Slavin got a second chance and tied the game at one, as he shoveled the puck over the line on the doorstep. 

Each team came up empty-handed on a power play to start the second period. Then, with 2:45 left in the frame, Lombardi and Alex Doucet went on a 2-on-1 breakaway toward the Wolves’ net where Lombardi controlled the puck into the left circle and he scored past the blocker of Spencer Martin, putting the Griffins ahead 2-1. Despite falling behind 15-7 in shots through the first 20 minutes, Grand Rapids outshot Chicago 16-7 in the second to take the lead into the final period. 

With 9:22 to play, the Griffins suffered a penalty and the Wolves took advantage, as Justin Robidas scored a power-play goal to tie the game at two with 8:11 remaining. Then, just 1:23 later, Juha Jaaska gave Chicago its first lead behind a flurry of passes in front of the crease. However, Grand Rapids went right back on the offensive. Dries weaved around a defender in the right circle and left a pass out in front for Lombardi who dumped it over the line at 13:35. The referees went to review but confirmed the call and the outing was knotted back up at three. 

With just 5:16 remaining, the Wolves took control once again and Nadeau snuck the puck into the back of the net. Grand Rapids pulled Cossa with 2:05 left in hopes of evening the score. The Griffins struggled to maintain possession of the puck in the Wolves’ zone, but with 17 seconds to go, a stretch pass gave Dries a wide-open breakaway chance. He attempted to shoot over the blocker of Martin, but the puck was turned away and the Griffins fell 4-3. 

Notes

• The Griffins finished 3-5-0-0 in the regular season series against Chicago.
• Grand Rapids fell to 26-3-0-1 when scoring three or more goals.
• It’s been 18 years since the Griffins and the Wolves met in an April regular-season game as playoff contenders, so long ago that the Central Division didn’t exist and the two teams were members of different divisions. The Wolves took a 5-3 win at Allstate Arena on April 7, 2007.

Box Score

Chicago 1 0 3 - 4
Grand Rapids 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 5   3:23. 2, Chicago, Slavin 10 (Legault, Swaney), 12:09. Penalties-Pavlychev Chi (cross-checking), 5:45.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 14 (Dries, Wallinder), 17:15. Penalties-Ryan Chi (tripping), 9:20; Viro Gr (tripping), 11:52.

3rd Period-4, Chicago, Robidas 17 (Suzuki, Smith), 11:49 (PP). 5, Chicago, Jääskä 11 (Smith, Suzuki), 13:12. 6, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 15 (Dries, Doucet), 13:35. 7, Chicago, Nadeau 28 (Pavlychev, Suzuki), 14:44. Penalties-Slavin Chi (delay of game), 4:21; Doucet Gr (tripping), 10:38.

Shots on Goal-Chicago 15-7-16-38. Grand Rapids 7-16-11-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 1 / 2; Grand Rapids 0 / 3.
Goalies-Chicago, Martin 17-6-2 (34 shots-31 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 19-12-5 (38 shots-34 saves).
A-5,800

Three Stars

1. CHI Nadeau (game-winner); 2. GR Lombardi (two goals); 3. CHI Suzuki (three assists)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 32-26-4-2 (70 pts.) / Fri., April 4 vs. Rockford 7 p.m. 

Chicago: 33-28-4-0 (70 pts.) / Sat., April 5 at Manitoba 2 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carillo/Griffins