April 9, 2022

TORONTO - Riley Barber registered his first hat trick with the Griffins, as Grand Rapids took down the Toronto Marlies 7-5 on Saturday at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. After trailing 4-1 early in the second period, the Griffins rattled off six unanswered goals to help claim the victory.

This was Barber’s third-ever hat trick and the first for a Griffin since Matt Puempel lit the lamp three times on Jan. 5, 2020 at San Antonio. Barber also extended his point streak to nine games (8-4—12). Rookie Jonatan Berggren joined Barber with three points (0-3—3), which added to his team-high 49 points (16-33—49) this campaign. Drew Worrad bagged his first point as a pro during a two-assist night (0-2—2). In his first Griffins game since March 9 due to recall, Taro Hirose amassed two helpers.

The Marlies got off to a fast start when they tallied two goals in the opening 3:50 of play. After a face-off win in the Griffins’ zone, the puck found Dmitry Ovchinnikov in the slot and his one-timer zipped under the right armpit of Victor Brattstrom at 2:40. Nick Robertson scored Toronto’s second goal at 3:50 after a Grand Rapids’ turnover led to his shot from the left circle.

Joseph Blandisi made it a 3-0 game when he scored a shorthanded attempt on a breakaway with 3:30 remaining in the first. During the same power play, Dominik Shine recorded the Griffins’ first tally of the contest. Following a shot from Jared McIsaac that was saved, Shine gathered the puck in the crease and slid it past Michael Hutchinson at 17:09.

Teemu Kivihalme restored the Marlies’ three-goal advantage 48 seconds into the middle frame when he tallied his first goal of the season. Brattstrom was relieved of his duties by netminder Kaden Fulcher, who made just his second appearance for the Grand Rapids this season.

The Griffins responded once more when Turner Elson bagged his team-leading 20th goal of the season at 1:15. From the slot, Elson snapped the puck over the left shoulder of the netminder.

Grand Rapids registered its second power-play tally of the contest with 10:07 remaining in the stanza. Following a pass from Hirose, Barber converted on the doorstep to cut the Griffins’ deficit to one.

Dan Renouf tied the game at four apiece at the 14:07 mark of the middle period when his shot from the slot slipped through the five-hole of Hutchinson. The goals continued to roll in for Grand Rapids, as it scored its fourth consecutive tally a minute and two seconds later. On another power play, Barber smashed a tough-angled shot into the right corner to give the Griffins a 5-4 lead going into the final period.

Toronto swapped goaltenders to begin the third, as Billy Christopoulos manned the pipes for the Marlies the rest of the way.

Barber did not care who was in net and he went on to record his first hat trick as a Griffin during yet another power play at 4:52. From the high slot, Barber snapped a shot through the five-hole to make it a 6-4 game.

As time winded down, captain Brian Lashoff fired the puck 185-feet into an empty net to give him a shorthanded tally with two minutes to play. Toronto then halted the Griffins’ six-goal unanswered run with a tally at 19:32. Bobby McMann placed the disc over the left shoulder of Fulcher, but the Griffins came away with a 7-5 victory.

Notes

• This was the first meeting between the two clubs in Toronto since April 2, 2016, and the Griffins first win against the Marlies since Nov. 8, 2019.
• The last time Grand Rapids had won in regulation was back on March 11.
• The Griffins scored four times on the power play, which marked a season high.
• Fulcher made eight saves on nine shots in 39:12 of play.
• Since being reassigned by Detroit on March 2, Barber has notched 20 points (10-10—20) in 18 games.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 4 2 - 7
Toronto 3 1 1 - 5

1st Period-1, Toronto, Ovchinnikov 2 (Clune, Douglas), 2:40. 2, Toronto, Robertson 11 (Der-Arguchintsev, McMann), 3:50. 3, Toronto, Blandisi 9 16:30 (SH). 4, Grand Rapids, Shine 15 (McIsaac, Worrad), 17:09 (PP). Penalties-Myers Tor (hooking), 10:54; Hollowell Tor (cross-checking), 16:11; Barber Gr (tripping), 18:44.

2nd Period-5, Toronto, Kivihalme 1 (Ho-Sang, Hollowell), 0:48. 6, Grand Rapids, Elson 20 (Berggren), 1:15. 7, Grand Rapids, Barber 16 (Hirose, Berggren), 9:53 (PP). 8, Grand Rapids, Renouf 3 (Ghafari, Spezia), 14:07. 9, Grand Rapids, Barber 17 (Criscuolo, Berggren), 15:09 (PP). Penalties-Duszak Tor (slashing), 7:59; Spezia Gr (slashing), 11:48; Renouf Gr (fighting), 14:07; Myers Tor (roughing, fighting), 14:07.

3rd Period-10, Grand Rapids, Barber 18 (Hirose, Worrad), 4:52 (PP). 11, Grand Rapids, Lashoff 5 (Dickinson), 18:00 (SH EN). 12, Toronto, McMann 20 (Steeves, Der-Arguchintsev), 19:32. Penalties-Douglas Tor (boarding), 2:59; Shine Gr (slashing), 6:51; Abramov Tor (slashing), 8:23; Ghafari Gr (tripping), 11:54; McIsaac Gr (holding), 17:32.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 6-13-7-26. Toronto 14-4-6-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 4 / 6; Toronto 0 / 5.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 7-13-3 (15 shots-11 saves); Fulcher 1-1-0 (9 shots-8 saves). Toronto, Hutchinson 7-6-3 (19 shots-14 saves); Christopoulos 3-4-0 (6 shots-5 saves).
A-3,877

Three Stars
1. GR Barber (hat trick); 2. GR Hirose (two assists); 3. GR Berggren (three assists)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 29-30-6-2 (66 pts.) / Sun., April 10 at Toronto 4 p.m.
Toronto: 33-26-3-1 (70 pts.) / Sun. April 10 vs. Grand Rapids 4 p.m.

Photo by Toronto Marlies