Feb. 20, 2022

ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Grand Rapids Griffins tallied five unanswered goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Grand Rapids swept the weekend series against the IceHogs and now hold a 5-1 season-series record over Rockford.

Tyler Spezia (1-1—2) and Turner Elson (1-1—2) recorded multi-point outings after each notched a tally and an assist. Joe Veleno continued his dominance, as he also notched a multi-point day, which extended his point streak to four games (3-4—7). With goals in the contest, Jonatan Berggren and Elson are now tied for the team lead in goals scored with 13. Victor Brattstrom recorded 31 saves and captured his first road win of the campaign.

A slow start to the opening period came to a halt when Rockford lit the lamp at 15:41 on a 4-on-4. After winning a faceoff in Grand Rapids’ zone, Brett Connolly placed the puck past Brattstrom at the right post.

With 3:56 remaining, Mike Hardman scored a tap-in goal off a rebound after Ian Mitchell’s long shot from the point, giving the IceHogs a 2-0 advantage.

After two unanswered goals in the first, Grand Rapids scored two of its own in the middle frame. During the Griffins’ third power play chance, Veleno sent a backhanded pass to Jared McIsaac in the high slot. The defensemen then fired a 45-foot laser into the right corner at 4:56.

Just as a power play expired, Spezia riffled a one-timer from the slot that went past the glove of netminder Cale Morris with 9:10 remaining, tying the contest at two.

Coming out of the second intermission, Berggren at the left-wing circle threaded the puck through traffic and over the right shoulder of Morris to give Grand Rapids its first lead of the game at 1:06 in the third.

The Griffins extended their lead to two with 10:42 remaining in the final stanza. Elson stole the puck from a Rockford skater in the neutral zone and sent it down to a streaking Veleno. At the right-wing circle, the former first-round pick snapped the disc past Morris, giving Grand Rapids a 4-2 advantage.

At 16:38, Rockford pulled Morris out of net for an extra skater and the Griffins took full advantage. Elson took the puck away at the blue line and sent a backhander into the empty net, giving Grand Rapids back-to-back 5-2 victories.

Notes

• Grand Rapids has now scored on the power play in six of its last eight contests.

• The Griffins have points in 13 of their last 15 games against the IceHogs (10-2-2-1).

• Spezia notched his 100th point as a pro (42-59—101).

• Hayden Verbeek returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 25 due to an injury.

• Taro Hirose recorded an assist, giving him points in both contests against Rockford this weekend (1-2—3).

Box Score
Grand Rapids 0 2 3 - 5
Rockford 2 0 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Rockford, Connolly 6 (McLaughlin), 15:41. 2, Rockford, Hardman 8 (I. Mitchell, Teply), 16:04 (PP). Penalties-Pour Rfd (slashing), 13:47; McIsaac Gr (interference), 15:02; Gicewicz Rfd (hooking), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, McIsaac 5 (Veleno, Hirose), 4:56 (PP). 4, Grand Rapids, Spezia 9 (Yan, Pearson), 10:50. Penalties-Pour Rfd (slashing), 3:34; Gabriel Rfd (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:48; Teply Rfd (high-sticking), 13:49; Yan Gr (hooking), 16:13.

3rd Period-5, Grand Rapids, Berggren 13 (Spezia), 1:06. 6, Grand Rapids, Veleno 6 (Elson), 9:18. 7, Grand Rapids, Elson 13 18:54 (EN). Penalties-Renouf Gr (interference), 11:42.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-20-9-38. Rockford 10-11-12-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 5; Rockford 1 / 3.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 4-7-2 (33 shots-31 saves). Rockford, Morris 1-2-0 (37 shots-33 saves).
A-3,412

Three Stars

1. GR Spezia (goal, assist); 2. GR Veleno (goal, assist); 3. GR Berggren (goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 20-19-5-2 (47 pts.) / Wed., Feb. 23 at Cleveland 7 p.m.
Rockford: 21-18-3-1 (46 pts.) / Fri., Feb. 25 at Iowa 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Todd Reicher/Rockford IceHogs