MILWAUKEE -- Tyler Angle (1-1—2) recorded his third multi-point effort of the season en route to the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday at Panther Arena. 

The Griffins improved their league-best record to 34-6-2-1 through 43 games (71 pts.), and their road ledger stood at 17-1-1-1. Sheldon Dries potted a goal for his 300th pro point, while Eduards Tralmaks grabbed his 18th score of the season to extend his point streak to four games. Austin Watson notched the game-winner on a shorthanded attempt in the second period, and Sebastian Cossa tallied 24 saves to boost his record to 19-4-2. 

Ondrej Becher lit the lamp 5:35 into the first period to grab a 1-0 edge for Grand Rapids. Angle sent the Czechia, native, a backhanded pass from the near boards, and he popped in a one-timer from the right circle. With 31 seconds on the clock, Amadeus Lombardi nearly gave the Griffins a two-goal advantage when he tried to stuff one past Magnus Chrona on a 2-on-1, but he stretched to make the stop.

In the second frame, Tralmaks picked up a rebound from Shai Buium on the doorstep and flipped it into the top-left corner 3:52 in to capture a 2-0 lead. While shorthanded, Nate Danielson centered one from behind the goal line to Watson in the right circle and he snapped it home to make it 3-0 5:24 in. Angle picked one up from behind the net and stuffed it past the left skate of Chrona to grab a four-goal upper-hand with 10:41 remaining. The Griffins’ shutout streak over Milwaukee ended after 159:36 when Fedor Svechkov walked in on a breakaway and put the puck between the pads of Cossa with 24 seconds left. A scrum after the final buzzer in the second resulted in a combined 88 penalty minutes. 

Dries potted a power play goal for Grand Rapids when he flew down the slot and snapped one past Magnus Chrona’s right side just 21 seconds into the final slate. Milwaukee attempted to close the gap when Zach L’Heureux slapped one from the right circle past Cossa at 10:22 to make it 5-2, but the Admirals came up short and the Griffins claimed the win. 

Notes

• The Griffins improved to 25-0 when potting the game’s first goal.
• Grand Rapids’ points percentage of .821 remained the best in the league.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 1 3 1 - 5

Milwaukee 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Becher 5 (Angle, Holl), 5:35. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Tralmaks 18 (Buium, Kannok Leipert), 3:52. 3, Grand Rapids, Watson 10 (Danielson), 5:24 (SH). 4, Grand Rapids, Angle 4 (Seger), 9:19. 5, Milwaukee, Svechkov 1 (Ratcliffe), 19:36. Penalties-Tuomisto Gr (high-sticking), 1:01; Buium Gr (hooking), 4:37; O’Hara Mil (slashing), 6:02; Tuomisto Gr (high-sticking), 9:36; Svechkov Mil (interference), 14:04; Lucchini Mil (slashing), 14:41; Angle Gr (roughing, misconduct), 20:00; Becher Gr (roughing, misconduct), 20:00; Cossa Gr (leaving the crease), 20:00; Lagesson Gr (roughing, misconduct), 20:00; Seger Gr (fighting), 20:00; Chrona Mil (leaving the crease), 20:00; Englund Mil (fighting), 20:00; Marino Mil (roughing, roughing, misconduct), 20:00; Mutter Mil (roughing, misconduct), 20:00; Roest Mil (roughing, misconduct), 20:00.

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Dries 16   0:21 (PP). 7, Milwaukee, L’Heureux 12   10:22. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 8-11-4-23. Milwaukee 5-9-12-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 4; Milwaukee 0 / 3.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 19-4-2 (26 shots-24 saves). Milwaukee, Chrona 6-7-2 (23 shots-18 saves).

A-4,968

Three Stars

1. GR Watson (game-winner, assist) 2. GR Angle (goal, assist) 3. MIL L’Heureux (goal)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 34-6-2-1 (71 pts.) / Fri., Feb. 5 at Charlotte 7 p.m.

Milwaukee: 19-19-2-2 (42 pts.) / Sat., Feb. 6 vs. Rockford 6 p.m. CST

Photo by Milwaukee Admirals