GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Behind a five-goal first period, the Grand Rapids Griffins posted a season-high eight goals to defeat the Rockford IceHogs 8-3 on Friday at Van Andel Arena. The eight tallies became the most in a game for Grand Rapids since early in the 2022-23 season when they defeated Chicago in overtime 8-7 on Dec. 22, 2022. 

Eight different Griffins posted multi-point outings, including three-point performances from rookie Nate Danielson (2-1—3), Dominik Shine (1-2—3) and Joe Snively (0-3—3). Shine’s tally moved him into a tie for ninth place with Derek King on the franchise’s all-time scoring list (73). Sheldon Dries (1-1—2) netted his team-high 21st goal of the season, good for his 150th as a professional. Following a call-up to Detroit, Austin Watson (1-1—2) returned to the Griffins’ lineup and extended his goal streak to five games. Amadeus Lombardi (1-1—2) continued to find the back of the net, earning his fourth goal in the last four games. Meanwhile, netminder Sebastian Cossa held the IceHogs at bay, saving 21 shots in his 20th win of the year (20-12-5). The goaltender has maintained a 2.44 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage across 37 appearances this season. 

Dries kicked off the Griffins’ five-goal period 6:09 into the outing on a power play. A rebound from Watson set Dries up for an open look on the doorstep and he took advantage. The IceHogs combatted with a goal of their own at 13:18 to tie the game when Dmitry Kuzmin scored on a rebound. However, with 4:38 left in the period, Emmitt Finnie dropped the puck off to Tim Gettinger in the right circle and his wrist shot found the back of the net to put the Griffins ahead 2-1 with Gettinger's sixth goal of the year. The helper from Finnie marked his first professional point. Grand Rapids then earned a power play with 4:20 remaining in the frame and just 30 seconds after Gettinger’s tally, Lombardi snuck the puck through the five-hole of goaltender Mitchell Weeks to make it 3-1.

With 3:40 left in the opening stanza, the IceHogs earned their first power-play chance and scored on the man-advantage at 16:49 when Gerry Mayhew cashed in from the slot. Yet, the Griffins continued to pour it on with 2:02 to play in the period when Danielson went on the rush and found paydirt with an unassisted goal from the left circle. Then, 59 seconds later, Shine capped off Grand Rapids’ five-goal frame with a tip-in from just outside the crease at 18:57. 

The Griffins suffered a penalty with 55 seconds left in the first and killed it off to start the second period. As Ondrej Becher raced out of the box, Shine threaded the needle and found him on a breakaway. Becher skated in alone and his shot trickled over the goal line after bouncing off of Weeks at 1:19. Following Becher's goal, Rockford pulled Weeks and Nick Grabko went between the pipes for the IceHogs. Rockford secured its third tally of the outing at 3:46 when Jalen Luypen sniped the puck past Cossa. 

The IceHogs drew a penalty against Grand Rapids just 1:35 into the final frame, but the Griffins held strong. As Rockford's man-advantage ticked down, Shine stole the disc and skated into the IceHogs’ zone on a 2-on-1 with Watson. Shine dished the puck to Watson in the low slot and he buried the short-handed chance at 3:28 to extend Grand Rapids’ lead to four. A pair of unsportsmanlike calls made the game a 4-on-4 at 5:27 and Danielson scored his second goal through the five-hole of Grabko, marking the Griffins’ eighth tally with 13:43 left. Grand Rapids continued to shut down the IceHogs in the remaining minutes, securing the 8-3 win. 

Notes

• The five-goal first frame marked the Griffins’ season high for a period, the most goals in a period since they set a franchise home record with six on March 22, 2023 against Chicago.
• The win snapped a four-game losing skid for Grand Rapids.
• The Griffins’ power play finished 66.6% (2-for-3). 

Box Score

Rockford 2 1 0 - 3
Grand Rapids 5 1 2 - 8

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Dries 21 (Watson, Snively), 6:09 (PP). 2, Rockford, Kuzmin 3 (Sanford, Athanasiou), 13:18. 3, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 6 (Finnie, Becher), 15:22. 4, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 16 (Buium, Snively), 15:52 (PP). 5, Rockford, Mayhew 14 (Sanford, Guttman), 16:49 (PP). 6, Grand Rapids, Danielson 10   17:58. 7, Grand Rapids, Shine 12 (Lombardi, Dries), 18:57. Penalties-King Rfd (hooking), 4:56; Felix Rfd (illegal check to the head, fighting), 15:40; Gettinger Gr (fighting), 15:40; Watson Gr (tripping), 16:20; Becher Gr (hooking), 19:05.

2nd Period-8, Grand Rapids, Becher 8 (Shine, Danielson), 1:19. 9, Rockford, Luypen 6 (Ludwinski), 3:46. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period-10, Grand Rapids, Watson 17 (Shine, Tuomisto), 3:28 (SH). 11, Grand Rapids, Danielson 11 (Snively, Tuomisto), 6:17. Penalties-Buium Gr (slashing), 1:35; Sanford Rfd (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:27; Bantle Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 5:27; Harding Rfd (slashing), 12:25.

Shots on Goal-Rockford 12-7-5-24. Grand Rapids 11-14-7-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 1 / 3; Grand Rapids 2 / 3.
Goalies-Rockford, Weeks 11-14-4 (13 shots-7 saves); Grabko 0-0-0 (19 shots-17 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 20-12-5 (24 shots-21 saves).
A-7,521

Three Stars

1. GR Danielson (two goals, assist); 2. GR Shine (goal, two assists); 3. GR Gettinger (goal)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 33-26-4-2 (72 pts.) / Sat., April 5 at Rockford 8 p.m. EDT

Rockford: 28-29-6-2 (64 pts.) / Sat., April 5 vs. Grand Rapids 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins