March 12, 2011 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5 at Oklahoma City Barons 2

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Grand Rapids Griffins battled back 5-2 against the Oklahoma City Barons on Saturday at the Cox Convention Center in the final of two back-to-back games.

The Griffins (31-25-2-8) completed the second of a three-in-three southern road game swing against the Barons (34-25-2-5) before traveling to San Antonio on Sunday to take on the Rampage at the AT&T Center at 5:30 p.m. Grand Rapids continues to vie for a guaranteed playoff berth winning seven of its last nine contests, now standing just five points behind Toronto and Hamilton.

The Barons landed on the board first, when Colin McDonald slipped a power play goal past Jordan Pearce at 15:10 of the opening frame. Trailing 1-0 heading into the second, Cory Emmerton was quick to respond for Grand Rapids with a goal just 1:56 into the period.

Chris Vandevelde fired back for Oklahoma City, notching a shorthanded goal at 3:20 to regain a 2-1 advantage. Shortly after, the Griffins stole a 3-2 advantage, gaining the lead for the first time during the game with two consecutive goals. The first goal was off the stick of Doug Janik at 9:10, followed closely by Jamie Tardif with the second goal at 9:51 of the frame.

Chris Minard knocked the puck past Martin Gerber at 11:30 of the final period, to give the Griffins a 4-2 lead. Jan Mursak furthered Grand Rapids’ advantage 5-2 with an unassisted, empty net goal at 17:35. Pearce aided Grand Rapids by making critical saves throughout the game among 22 saves overall, while Gerber also recorded 22 stops for Oklahoma City.

Three Stars: 1. GR Mursak (1 goal, 2 assists); 2. GR Janik (1 goal); 3. GR Minard (1 goal)