GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5 at Milwaukee Admirals 1

March 3, 2013

MILWAUKEE – Behind Tom McCollum’s 34 saves, the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 5-1 on Sunday at BMO Harris Bradley Center.

The victory extended the Griffins lead in the Midwest Division to seven points, as all other teams were idle.

Grand Rapids (32-19-2-2) jumped on the scoreboard early in the first period as Andrej Nestrasil scored an unassisted goal at 3:10. The right wing patiently danced around the defense and scored from a sharp angle through traffic to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead.

Jeff Hoggan scored at 13:45 of the opening period to give Grand Rapids a two-goal lead. Nathan Paetsch let a wrist shot go from just inside the line and Hoggan tipped the puck over the catching glove of Jeremy Smith.

Tomas Jurco scored his eighth goal of the season at 8:32 of the second period. The Kosice, Slovakia native cleaned up a shot by Cody Lampl, scoring on the Griffins second rebound attempt.

The Admirals (26-24-3-3) scored their first and only goal of the game at 5:17 of the third period. Victor Bartley snuck a shot past McCollum on a power play, converting on Milwaukee’s 29th shot of the game.

Hoggan notched a power play goal of his own at 17:34 of the final period. Gustav Nyquist fed Hoggan from behind the goal and the left wing quickly put his shot by Smith. With his second goal against the Admirals, the Hope, British Columbia native tallied his 300th point as a pro. Nyquist’s assist also extended his point streak to six games.

Jan Mursak sealed the victory for the Griffins with one minute left in regulation. The right wing picked up a loose puck off a faceoff and quickly scored an empty net goal to give Grand Rapids a 5-1 lead.

Smith recorded 17 saves and McCollum earned the victory behind 34 stops. The win tied McCollum with Ian Gordon for sixth in franchise history with 42 victories.

After their second consecutive three-in-three weekend, the Griffins will return to the Van Andel Arena to host the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday at 7 p.m. EST.

Three Stars: 1. GR McCollum (W, 34 saves); 2. GR Hoggan (two goals); 3. GR Nestrasil (goal)