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's 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 net for a 3-0 lead at 15:32. Following Hirose's tally, neither Grand Rapids nor Rockford found the back of the goal 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 the University of North Dakota 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

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo