GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins collected a point in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena on Saturday. 

With an assist on Dominik Shine's goal, Joel L'Esperance picked up his 200th point in the AHL. Grand Rapids' penalty kill was perfect in the contest, going 3-for-3. The shorthanded perfection continued a trend for the Griffins, as they have not allowed a power-play goal in five of their last six games (17-for-18, 94.4%).

With under a minute to play in the first period, the IceHogs found twine first. Following a scramble in front of the net, the puck was sent back out to the high slot where Austin Strand ripped a bullet past Michael Hutchinson for a 1-0 Rockford lead at 19:39.

Midway through the second frame, Shine ended Rockford’s shutout streak of 90:51 after he sent a rebounded shot past Drew Commesso from the bottom of the right circle to tie the game at 1-1 with 9:09 remaining in the middle stanza.

Just over 11 minutes into the final frame, Austin Czarnik sent a blast to the front of the net, which was deflected behind Commesso on the power play by Tim Gettinger for a late 2-1 lead for Grand Rapids at 11:02. Roughly four minutes after the Griffins’ tally, Brett Seney one-timed the disc from the right circle to tie the game back up at 2-2 with 4:43 remaining.

Under two minutes into the extra frame, Anders Bjork received a pass in the low slot and instantly sent a laser into the back of the net at 1:33 to sink Grand Rapids with a 3-2 loss in overtime.

Notes
- With Rockford's weekend sweep, they now sit one point ahead of the Griffins in the Central Division standings. 
- Tonight's loss extended the Griffins' home losing streak to three games, which is a season-high for the team.

Box Score
Rockford 1 0 1 1 - 3
Grand Rapids 0 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Rockford, Strand 2 (Teply, Seney), 19:39. Penalties-McIsaac Gr (interference), 1:59.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Shine 5 (McIsaac, L’Esperance), 10:51. Penalties-Shine Gr (cross-checking), 5:20; Del Mastro Rfd (hooking), 19:41.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 9 (Czarnik, Berggren), 11:02 (PP). 4, Rockford, Seney 10 (Luypen, Roos), 15:17. Penalties-Del Mastro Rfd (tripping), 3:43; Baddock Rfd (roughing), 9:41; L’Esperance Gr (holding), 13:03.

OT Period-5, Rockford, Bjork 7 (Gust, Allan), 1:33. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Rockford 5-10-12-1-28. Grand Rapids 6-10-8-0-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 0 / 3; Grand Rapids 1 / 3.
Goalies-Rockford, Commesso 7-8-2 (24 shots-22 saves). Grand Rapids, Hutchinson 8-8-2 (28 shots-25 saves).
A-7,764

Three Stars
1. RFD Bjork (game-winner); 2. RFD Seney (goal, assist); 3. GR Gettinger (goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 14-15-4-1 (33 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 19 at Manitoba 8 p.m. EST
Rockford: 15-14-3-1 (34 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 19 vs. Chicago 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins