Iowa Wild 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 SO

Dec. 2, 2016

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – For the second straight game, the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied from a third-period deficit to force overtime on Friday, thanks to Martin Frk’s game-tying goal with 8.3 seconds remaining in regulation. And for the second straight game, the Griffins came up with one point in the shootout, as the Iowa Wild escaped Van Andel Arena with a 4-3 decision.

Matching Frk’s three-point (2-1—3) night, Matt Lorito (1-2—3) also played a hand in every Griffins goal to move into a tie for fourth in the AHL scoring race at 21 points (8-13—21). But it was not enough to prevent the Wild from breaking an eight-game losing streak at Van Andel Arena, as their last win in Grand Rapids came on March 8, 2014.

The Griffins (11-6-0-2), who have earned points in four straight games (2-0-0-2), will travel for Rockford on Saturday for an 8 p.m. EST matchup with the IceHogs.

The Wild (10-10-1-1) capitalized on a turnover deep in the Griffins’ zone to opening the scoring 5:59 into the first period. Mario Lucia gathered the puck in the left corner and fed it to a wide-open Colton Beck, who picked the top left corner of Eddie Pasquale’s cage from low in the circle.

The Griffins answered with 2:57 left in the frame when Frk popped a centering pass from Lorito into the top of a gaping net for his seventh goal of the campaign. But Iowa broke the brief deadlock before the buzzer sounded by scoring a power play goal at 19:10, as Pat Cannone put a shot past Pasquale from just outside the crease.

Iowa pushed its lead to 3-1 at the 9:30 mark of the second period, when Hunter Warner’s routine shot from the right point was redirected inside the right post by the left skate of Brian Lashoff, who was tied up with Wild forward Nick Saracino in the slot.

Lorito’s eighth marker of the season pulled the Griffins back to within one before the second intermission. After Frk knocked the puck off a Wild stick, Lorito gobbled it up just outside the Grand Rapids blue line, raced up ice with two Iowa players in his wake and ripped a shot past Alex Stalock’s blocker at 16:16.

A fast-paced, free-flowing third period transpired with several scoring chances, few whistles and no goals, until a boarding penalty on former Griffin Scott Czarnowczan with 1:48 remaining gave Grand Rapids’ potent power play the chance it needed to pot the equalizer. With time about to expire and Pasquale on the bench for an extra attacker, Frk teed up a rocket from the left point that snuck through both a sea of bodies and Stalock’s pads, sending the crowd of 8,093 into a frenzy and forcing overtime.

With that goal, the Griffins have now scored on the power play in 10 consecutive games, marking the third-longest streak in team history and the longest since the franchise-record 13-game run late in the 2005-06 season. Over those last 10 games, Grand Rapids is 17-for-54 (31%) with the man-advantage.

The game eventually progressed to the shootout as the Griffins, who had two shootout decisions all of last season, suffered back-to-back losses by way of the skills competition for the first time since Dec. 9-10, 2011. Beck scored the lone goal in round three for the visitors, while Kyle Criscuolo, Lorito and Frk misfired in succession for Grand Rapids.

Pasquale, who made his fourth consecutive start with Jared Coreau on recall to Detroit, finished with 25 saves while Stalock took the win behind 27 stops.

Note: Former Griffins greats Jeff Hoggan and Teemu Pulkkinen, also the reigning AHL Player of the Week, were kept off the scoresheet.

Three Stars: 1. Frk (two goals, assist); 2. IA Beck (goal, shootout winner, assist); 3. GR Lorito (goal, two assists)