Rockford IceHogs 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 5

Dec. 31, 2016

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A three-goal second period propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday before another sold-out New Year’s Eve crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena.

Cal Heeter made 24 saves to improve to 3-0 as a Griffin and help his teammates secure a spot for head coach Todd Nelson in the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic, by virtue of Grand Rapids (20-8-1-2, 0.694) owning the best points percentage in the Central Division as 2016 expires. Nelson, who earned the honor ahead of Milwaukee’s Dean Evason (0.667), will coach the Central Division squad in the league’s annual showcase that will take place Jan. 29-30 in Allentown, Pa.

Tomas Nosek led the way offensively with two goals and an assist for the Griffins, who have now earned points in 14 of 16 games overall (11-2-1-2) and in seven straight contests at home (5-0-0-2) since Thanksgiving. Grand Rapids will continue its four-game homestand by hosting three games in four nights next week, beginning with a visit by the Iowa Wild on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Rockford (11-16-2-3) tallied the only goal of the opening period at the 1:31 mark, as Spencer Abbott circled out of the left corner before threading a shot between Heeter and the near post from the bottom of the circle.

Early in the second period, consecutive IceHogs penalties resulted in 1:41 of 5-on-3 time for Grand Rapids’ league-leading power play. The Griffins capitalized with one second remaining in the two-man advantage, when Robbie Russo’s slap shot from above the left circle sailed into the top of Mac Carruth’s net at 7:22.

Eric Tangradi put the Griffins ahead 2-1 just 4:10 later. After Carruth made a point-blank save on Ben Street, Tangradi darted through the slot to grab the rebound and scoop a backhand into a wide-open cage.

Rookie defenseman Dan Renouf tallied his first pro goal with 52 seconds left in the period, taking a wrister from the left point that deflected off a Rockford defender and bounced through Carruth’s pads for a two-goal Griffins cushion.

The IceHogs sliced their deficit in half just 1:58 into the third, with Sam Carrick putting a shot behind Heeter from the doorstep, but Nathan Paetsch and Nosek teamed up on a beautiful pass and goal at the seven-minute mark to restore the advantage and make it a 4-2 contest. From deep in his own end, Paetsch sent a stretch pass up the left boards to Nosek, who collected the puck at the Rockford blue line, angled toward the net ahead of the IceHogs’ pursuit and slipped home a backhand to ignite the packed crowd. Nosek then added a shorthanded empty-netter at 19:46 for the final margin.

The Griffins rebounded from an 8-4 disadvantage in shots through the first 20 minutes to out-gun the IceHogs 19-11 in the second, 16-7 in the third and 39-26 for the game, forcing Carruth to make 34 saves.

Notes: Grand Rapids finished the calendar year with a 46-28-2-2 (0.615) mark in regular season play…The Griffins improved to 9-9-1-1 in their annual New Year’s Eve affair, which was witnessed by a capacity crowd for the fourth straight year…Grand Rapids donned its black jerseys at Van Andel Arena for the first time this season, in fulfillment of the AHL’s new policy that calls for home teams to wear their dark uniforms after Christmas.

Three Stars: 1. GR Nosek (two goals, assist); 2. GR Russo (power play goal, assist); 3. RFD Abbott (goal, assist)