GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 at Rockford IceHogs 4

Oct. 28, 2017

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Rockford IceHogs recorded four power play goals, including three in the third period, to erase a two-goal deficit and defeat the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-3 on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

The Griffins (3-5-0-1) skated to a 3-1 advantage after 40 minutes, but the IceHogs (7-2-0-0) were able to take advantage of three Grand Rapids penalties committed in a six-minute span in the final frame. Rockford finished the contest 4-for-7 on the power play while the Griffins converted once on three opportunities.

Grand Rapids is back in action on Wednesday as the Griffins travel to Milwaukee to take on the Admirals. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. EDT.

A turnover in the Rockford zone led to a 3-on-2 rush for Grand Rapids led by Matt Lorito, Ben Street and Matt Puempel. Lorito carried the puck into the zone and passed it to Street in the slot. The center found Puempel near the right circle who fired off a shot. Rockford netminder Jeff Glass made the initial save, but Puempel hammered the rebound home to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead at the 7:03 mark.

With 50 seconds left in the opening period, Axel Holmstrom deflected the puck into the net for his first goal of the season. Vili Saarijarvi, who was making his Griffins debut tonight, collected the puck near the left board, and passed it to Corey Elkins at the point. Elkins fired off a shot that found Holmstrom’s stick and sent the rubber saucer into the top of the net for a 2-0 lead.

The second frame produced two more goals, but this time the IceHogs got in on the action. Matthew Highmore tallied his fourth goal of the season from the right circle off of a pass from Erik Gustafsson just 55 seconds into the second period.

The Griffins regained their two-goal lead at the 15:14 mark when Matthew Ford added his second goal of the campaign. Ford redirected the puck into the net off of a Lorito shot. The assist gave Lorito his second consecutive multi-point game.

Rockford was able to control much of the play in the final period as Grand Rapids committed three penalties and spent much of the frame shorthanded. Gustafsson scored at the 3:01 mark, Highmore added his second goal of the night four minutes later, and Laurent Dauphin netted his third goal of the year with 10:20 left in the third period to make the final score 4-3 in the IceHogs’ favor.

The Griffins made one final push with two minutes to go in the game when they pulled Jared Coreau to utilize an extra attacker. However, the effort proved to be fruitless as the Griffins remained at three goals.

Coreau finished the game with 35 saves, and Glass had 17 of his own.

Notes: Rockford outshot Grand Rapids in each period… Saarijarvi tallied a plus-one rating and two shots on goal while making his AHL debut.

Three stars: 1. RFD Highmore (two goals); 2. RFD Gustafsson (goal, assist); 3. RFD Dauphin (goal)