BOOTLAND'S LATE GOAL GROUNDS AEROS, 3-1
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Darryl Bootlands second goal of the night, with 1:43 remaining in the third period, broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-1 win over the Houston Aeros at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday.
Joey MacDonalds tremendous 37-save performance backstopped Grand Rapids to its third win in the last four outings, moving the Griffins past both Houston and San Antonio into fourth place in the West Division.
The Griffins (24-22-1-1) will host the Utah Grizzlies this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in their final game before the AHL All-Star break.
Speaking of all-stars, defenseman Niklas Kronwall initiated a play that resulted in a 1-0 Griffins lead midway through the opening period. He fired a slapshot from the high slot that ricocheted off Ryan Barnes backside and Bootlands leg before trickling past Houston netminder Josh Harding at 11:23.
Nine minutes into the second, the Aeros were presented with four minutes of power play time when Tomas Kopecky was whistled off for spearing, but solid penalty killing and several sprawling saves by MacDonald maintained the Griffins slim margin.
After watching MacDonald deny 27 shots over the first two periods, Houston needed a 5-on-3 advantage to finally get on the board in the final frame. Raymond Giroux skated to the left faceoff dot and telegraphed a wrist shot through traffic into the far corner of the net at 7:53.
As time ticked down, Bootland stormed off the Griffins bench into the Aeros zone, took a perfect pass across the slot from Jiri Hudler and beat Harding from the left side for his 11th goal of the campaign. Kip Miller then added an empty-netter with 32 seconds remaining.
MacDonalds victory, his 54th as a Griffin, tied him with Marc Lamothe for second on the franchises all-time list, just one behind leader Mike Fountain. In four games against the Aeros this season, MacDonald now owns a 3-1-0 record with a 1.23 GAA and a 0.965 save percentage.
Harding finished with 22 stops for Houston (22-19-3-2).
Joey MacDonalds tremendous 37-save performance backstopped Grand Rapids to its third win in the last four outings, moving the Griffins past both Houston and San Antonio into fourth place in the West Division.
The Griffins (24-22-1-1) will host the Utah Grizzlies this Friday at 7:30 p.m. in their final game before the AHL All-Star break.
Speaking of all-stars, defenseman Niklas Kronwall initiated a play that resulted in a 1-0 Griffins lead midway through the opening period. He fired a slapshot from the high slot that ricocheted off Ryan Barnes backside and Bootlands leg before trickling past Houston netminder Josh Harding at 11:23.
Nine minutes into the second, the Aeros were presented with four minutes of power play time when Tomas Kopecky was whistled off for spearing, but solid penalty killing and several sprawling saves by MacDonald maintained the Griffins slim margin.
After watching MacDonald deny 27 shots over the first two periods, Houston needed a 5-on-3 advantage to finally get on the board in the final frame. Raymond Giroux skated to the left faceoff dot and telegraphed a wrist shot through traffic into the far corner of the net at 7:53.
As time ticked down, Bootland stormed off the Griffins bench into the Aeros zone, took a perfect pass across the slot from Jiri Hudler and beat Harding from the left side for his 11th goal of the campaign. Kip Miller then added an empty-netter with 32 seconds remaining.
MacDonalds victory, his 54th as a Griffin, tied him with Marc Lamothe for second on the franchises all-time list, just one behind leader Mike Fountain. In four games against the Aeros this season, MacDonald now owns a 3-1-0 record with a 1.23 GAA and a 0.965 save percentage.
Harding finished with 22 stops for Houston (22-19-3-2).
