ROCKFORD, Ill. -- Austin Czarnik's third period game-winner stretched the Grand Rapids Griffins' point streak to 12 games, as they beat the Rockford IceHogs 3-2 at the BMO Center on Saturday. 

The 12-game point streak is the team's longest since a 13-game streak when the Griffins rattled off 13 consecutive wins between Feb. 20-March 16, 2016. The Griffins also extended their road point streak to nine games (8-0-0-1), which is the longest road point streak by Grand Rapids since an 11-game run (9-0-1-1) from Jan. 29-March 12, 2015. Nine different Griffins registered a point in the contest. Czarnik's tally put the veteran at 15 points (5-10--15) in his last 16 contests while Amadeus Lombardi's goal put the rookie at four points (2-2--4) in his last six outings. Michael Hutchinson's .905 save percentage helped push his point streak to five games (3-0-2). 

Early in the first period, a shot by Simon Edvinsson was sent to the net, which was tipped through the five-hole of Drew Commesso by Tim Gettinger on the doorstep at 3:18. Rockford returned the game to a tie when Rem Pitlick drifted in on Hutchinson with two other IceHogs and fired the puck into the back of the net from the low slot with 1:35 remaining in the opening frame. 

Following a scoreless second period, Lombardi captured a third-period lead for Grand Rapids, as he ripped a rebound past the right pad of Commesso from the high slot at 7:40 in the final frame. Czarnik extended the Griffins' lead to 3-1 when he deflected a blue-line shot from Taro Hirose past Commesso into the back of the net with 9:05 remaining.

Brett Seney rushed into the Griffins’ zone on a breakaway and extinguished Grand Rapids’ scoring run when he rifled the puck past Hutchinson’s blocker from the slot at 13:19. As Rockford came out of a timeout, the IceHogs opted to pull Commesso at 2:41. Rockford was unable to covert with the extra attacker on the ice, as Hutchinson stopped both shot attempts and the Griffins held on for a 3-2 victory over the IceHogs. 

Notes
- William Wallinder's assist on Czarnik's goal pushed his point streak (0-3--3) to three games. 
- Jonatan Berggren's point streak (3-1--4) ended at four games. 
- After seven meetings with Rockford this season, Grand Rapids holds the advantage in the season series with a 4-2-1-0 record.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 0 2 - 3
Rockford 1 0 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 11 (Aston-Reese, Edvinsson), 3:18. 2, Rockford, Pitlick 9 (Seney, Guttman), 18:25. Penalties-Aston-Reese Gr (tripping), 18:28.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gettinger Gr (tripping), 6:34.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 5 (Spezia, Shine), 7:40. 4, Grand Rapids, Czarnik 9 (Hirose, Wallinder), 10:55. 5, Rockford, Seney 14 (Kaiser), 13:19. Penalties-Bjork Rfd (hooking), 0:37.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 12-6-18-36. Rockford 10-4-7-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 1; Rockford 0 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Hutchinson 11-8-3 (21 shots-19 saves). Rockford, Commesso 9-11-4 (36 shots-33 saves).
A-4,695

Three Stars
1. GR Lombardi (goal); 2. RFD Seney (goal, assist); 3. GR Edvinsson (assist)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 22-15-5-3 (52 pts.) / Wed., Feb. 21 vs. Texas 7 p.m.
Rockford: 19-20-5-2 (45 pts.) / Mon., Feb. 19 at Iowa 5 p.m. CST

Photo by Todd Reicher/Rockford IceHogs