Jan. 8, 2011 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 0 at Rockford IceHogs 6

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Rockford IceHogs in a shutout 6-0 Saturday night at the MetroCentre, marking the midway point of the season with their 40th game.

The Griffins (17-18-1-4) wrapped up their second contest of a season-high six-game road trip against the IceHogs (16-15-1-4). The team will continue on the road for 9 of their next 14 games, traveling to Texas on Thursday to take on the San Antonio Rampage at 8:00 p.m.

Rockford landed on the board early in the first period, with three consecutive goals. With assists from Ben Smith, Ivan Vishnevskiy tallied two back-to-back goals for the IceHogs, the first at 4:35 and followed by a power play goal at 5:51 of the period. Shawn Lalonde continued the IceHogs’ scoring with a goal at 15:06, giving them a 3-0 advantage over the Griffins heading into the second period.

Brian Connelly kept the Rockford scoring frenzy alive, slipping a goal past Joey MacDonald just 34 seconds into the second period while Smith claimed his third assist of the night. Furthering the IceHogs’ lead to 5-0, Jeff Taffe notched a goal at 3:47.

The IceHogs found the net again in the third period, when Kyle Beach at fired off a goal at 8:13 extending their lead to 6-0. Alec Richards held the Griffins at bay, claiming a shutout with 22 stops while MacDonald posted 12 saves and Jordan Pearce tallied 17 saves.

Three Stars: 1. RFD Vishnevskiy (2 goals); 2. RFD Smith (3 assists); 3. RFD Richards (22 saves)