GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Scoring his first AHL goal, Royal Oak, Michigan native and former Michigan Wolverine captain Nolan Moyle tallied the game-winner in the third period, as the Grand Rapids Griffins captured a 6-4 win over the Milwaukee Admirals at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday. 

The Griffins’ 20-1-0-1 (41 pts.) record tied the 2004-05 Manchester Monarchs (20-1-1-0) for the second-best start in AHL history through 22 games. Grand Rapids’ 20-1-0-1 ledger remained a franchise best, and its 11-1 start at home also stood as a franchise record. Ondrej Becher recorded two assists, extending his point streak to four games, while Dominik Shine notched a helper to extend his streak to three. John Leonard (1-1—2) picked up his league-leading 18th goal of the season, and Sebastian Cossa tallied 29 saves between the pipes.

Grand Rapids lit the lamp 4:12 into the first period when Antti Tuomisto circled behind the net, tapped a pass across the slot to Tyler Angle and he fired it past the glove of Matthew Murray. With 13:12 left, Milwaukee tied it when Daniel Carr sent one toward the net, it rebounded in front of Jake Lucchini, and he potted it to the left of Cossa.

The lone goal of the second slate came when Erik Gustafsson put one ahead for Sheldon Dries, creating an odd-man rush at the 18:32 mark. Dries tapped the puck to Leonard to his left and he slid it back to the Macomb, Michigan native, who buried it from the right circle to grab a 2-1 lead for Grand Rapids at 18:40. 

The Griffins claimed a 3-1 advantage 52 seconds into the final frame when Gustafsson sniped one in from the slot off of a pass from Dominik Shine. The Admirals cut their deficit to 3-2 when Isaac Ratcliffe netted one 2:44 in, and tied it 32 seconds later when Ryan Ufko tipped in a long shot from Oasiz Wiesblatt.

Grand Rapids reclaimed a one-goal lead 6:26 in when Gabriel Seger won the draw to get it to William Lagesson, and he sent a wrister past Murray. Milwaukee answered 2:24 later when Wiesblatt ripped one from the point and Joakim Kemell tipped it in, but Moyle ultimately had the game-winner with 6:30 remaining when he forced a turnover in the zone, carried the puck to the net and snapped it past the right post. With 1:57 on the clock, Murray left the crease to give Milwaukee an extra attacker, and Leonard potted the empty-netter with 34 seconds left to claim a 6-4 Griffins’ victory.

Notes

• The Griffins’ points percentage of .932 remained the best in the league.
• Grand Rapids has outscored their opponents 90-43, and hold a 44-20 edge on home ice.
• Gustafsson tallied his first goal with Grand Rapids, and first of the season.
• William Wallinder skated in his 150th game as a Griffin.
• Former Western Michigan Bronco Chad Hillebrand made his debut with Grand Rapids.

Box Score

Milwaukee 1 0 3 - 4

Grand Rapids 1 1 4 - 6

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Angle 3 (Tuomisto, Shine), 4:12. 2, Milwaukee, Lucchini 5 (Carr, O'Hara), 6:48. Penalties-Marino Mil (fighting), 5:26; Kannok Leipert Gr (fighting), 5:26.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Dries 7 (Leonard, Gustafsson), 18:40. Penalties-Oesterle Mil (tripping), 9:13; Edstrom Mil (roughing), 17:54; Hillebrand Gr (roughing), 17:54; Kemell Mil (tripping), 19:32.

3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Gustafsson 1 (Shine, Becher), 0:52 (PP). 5, Milwaukee, Ratcliffe 3 (Rolston, Molendyk), 2:44. 6, Milwaukee, Wiesblatt 8 (Ufko, Carr), 3:16 (PP). 7, Grand Rapids, Lagesson 3 (Seger), 6:26. 8, Milwaukee, Kemell 6 (Wiesblatt, Ufko), 11:08. 9, Grand Rapids, Moyle 1 (Mitchell, Becher), 13:30. 10, Grand Rapids, Leonard 18 (Seger), 19:26 (EN). Penalties-Lagesson Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 2:44.

Shots on Goal-Milwaukee 11-7-11-29. Grand Rapids 9-11-9-29.

Power Play Opportunities-Milwaukee 1 / 1; Grand Rapids 1 / 2.

Goalies-Milwaukee, Murray 9-3-2 (28 shots-23 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 11-1-0 (29 shots-25 saves).

A-6,362

Three Stars

1. GR Moyle (goal) 2. GR Gustafsson (goal, assist) 3. MIL Wiesblatt (goal, assist)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 20-1-0-1 (41 pts.) / Sat., Dec. 13 vs. Rockford 7 p.m.

Milwaukee: 12-7-2-0 (26 pts.) / Fri., Dec. 12 at Rockford 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins