GRAND RAPIDS 3 at Iowa Wild 2

Dec. 22, 2017

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Grand Rapids Griffins rallied late in the third period to force overtime in stunning fashion. Eventually the defending Calder Cup champions defeated the Iowa Wild, 3-2, in a shootout at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Griffins (11-15-1-3) are in the middle of a three-in-three weekend that concludes tomorrow in Rockford at 7 p.m. The Wild (14-9-6-2) now have a three-game point streak heading into Christmas break.

There was a lot of back and forth play in the neutral zone for the first 20 minutes as both teams combined for only 10 shots on goal. The home team accounted for six attempts which yielded the only goal of the period. Sam Anas scored his 11th goal of the season at 6:08 after a turnover in the Griffins zone. Gerald Mayhew forced the reversal near the right board and made a slick pass to Justin Kloos in the slot. The center found Anas near the net and the right winger slid the puck between Jared Coreau’s legs for the 1-0 lead.

The Griffins broke even at 8:33 of the second stanza when Matt Lorito tallied his eighth goal of the year from in front of the net. Colin Campbell tossed the puck behind the net to Dominic Turgeon who charged towards the net. The second year center sent the rubber disc towards the net eventually deflecting off of Lorito’s stick and over C.J. Motte’s left shoulder to make the score 1-1.

Iowa regained the lead with 5:13 left in the third frame when Kloos added his eighth goal of the campaign off of a deflection. Mayhew gathered the puck from behind the net and passed it to Alex Grant near the blue line. The defenseman shot the puck towards the net for Kloos to redirect it into the net for the 2-1 lead.

Captain Matthew Ford came up big for the Griffins with 1:47 remaining in regulation. His 11th goal came after Eric Tangradi won a faceoff in the Iowa zone with an empty net on the other side of the arena. The snap shot sailed past Motte to extend the game into overtime.

No goals were scored in the extra period, so the game went into a shootout. Like the final score, the shootout total ended with the same tally. Goals from Ben Street, Axel Holmstrom, and Turgeon propelled the Griffins to victory. Six saves by Coreau kept the Wild at bay.

Notes: Tonight’s eight-round shootout was the Griffins’ longest since going 10 rounds versus Hamilton on April 5, 2014 at Van Andel Arena (2-1 SOW)…Grand Rapids snapped Iowa’s eight-game streak of scoring a power play goal.

Three Stars: 1. IA Kloos (goal, assist); 2. IA Motte (L, 29 saves); 3. IA Anas (goal)