GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A four-goal third period and three special-teams tallies propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Wolves on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena, as they snapped their three-game losing skid. With the win, Grand Rapids reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Central Division.

Elmer Soderblom (1-1—2) earned his 50th professional assist with his third multi-point game of the year and has secured seven points in his last eight outings (3-4—7).  Rookie Nate Danielson (1-1—2) also posted two points and Joe Snively obtained his team-high 14th goal. Ondrej Becher scored on the power play, good for his second goal of the year and Austin Watson cashed in short handed for his 10th of the season. Becher’s power-play goal snapped a 0-for-15 power-play drought for Grand Rapids, dating back to Jan. 2. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa was between the pipes for the Griffins and earned his first professional assist while saving 24 shots. Cossa improved to a .917 save percentage and a 2.33 goals-against average in his 21st appearance (11-7-3). 

Both teams remained knotted at zero through the first period. The Griffins registered just five shots to Chicago’s 10. However, with 5:36 left in the second period, Grand Rapids took the lead courtesy of Danielson. Soderblom was tied up with a Chicago defender along the boards but found Danielson in the front of the net and he sent the puck through the five-hole of Ruslan Khazheyev. 

Following the goal, a double-minor penalty from Watson at 14:57 put the Griffins on the penalty kill for four minutes. With 2:49 remaining in the frame, the Wolves tied the game on the power play when a one-timer from Ronan Seeley deflected off Nikita Pavlychev. Watson continued jawing at the referee after the Chicago goal and earned another unsportsmanlike penalty. Yet, Grand Rapids killed it off and earned a power play of their own with eight seconds left. 

The Griffins failed to convert on their first power play of the third period, but a second Wolves penalty gave Grand Rapids the advantage again and Becher found paydirt to put the Griffins ahead 2-1 at 7:53. Sheldon Dries sent a pass across the ice to Becher and he snapped it home from the left circle. Just 1:02 later, the Griffins went back on the power play and Soderblom scored at 10:12. Collecting a pass from Brogan Rafferty, Soderblom skated across the blue line, controlling the puck while weaving through Chicago defenders and he found the back of the net when his wrist shot went bar down. 

Trailing 3-1, the Wolves drew a penalty and pulled Khazheyev with seven minutes left to play to take a 6-on-4 advantage. However, during the Chicago power play, Josiah Didier intercepted the puck inside the Griffins’ zone and passed it ahead to Watson who scored the short-handed empty netter, putting Grand Rapids ahead 4-1 with 5:27 remaining. At 15:41, Chicago retaliated when Jordan Martel found himself wide open in front of the Griffins’ net and scored, trimming the Griffins’ lead to two. The Wolves pulled Khazheyev once more with 3:18 left and Snively secured the second empty-net goal for Grand Rapids at 17:13. Chicago attempted to cut further into the Griffins’ lead, but the defense held strong in the final minutes and Grand Rapids skated off with a 5-2 win. 

Notes 

• The Griffins are 17-0-0-0 when scoring three or more goals.
• Watson has tallied seven points in six games against Chicago this season (4-3—7).
• The Griffins will conclude their five-game homestand this weekend with a pair of games against Cleveland.

Box Score 

Chicago 0 1 1 - 2
Grand Rapids 0 1 4 - 5

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, Danielson 4 (Söderblom, Dello), 14:24. 2, Chicago, Pavlychev 2 (Seeley, Nadeau), 17:11 (PP). Penalties-Watson Gr (slashing), 4:35; Watson Gr (cross-checking, unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:57; Watson Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:11; Ryan Chi (hooking), 19:52.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Becher 2 (Dries, Shine), 7:53 (PP). 4, Grand Rapids, Söderblom 4 (Rafferty, Cossa), 10:12 (PP). 5, Grand Rapids, Watson 10 (Didier, Danielson), 14:33 (SH EN). 6, Chicago, Martel 4 (Unger Sorum), 15:41. 7, Grand Rapids, Snively 14   17:13 (EN). Penalties-Gunler Chi (hooking), 6:16; Brind’Amour Chi (holding), 8:55; Söderblom Gr (hooking), 13:05; Swaney Chi (cross-checking), 17:47; Johannes Gr (roughing), 17:47; Shine Gr (roughing), 18:59.

Shots on Goal-Chicago 10-8-8-26. Grand Rapids 5-10-11-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 1 / 6; Grand Rapids 2 / 3.
Goalies-Chicago, Khazheyev 4-8-0 (24 shots-21 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 11-7-3 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-4,654

Three Stars 

1. GR Soderblom (game-winner, assist); 2. GR Danielson (goal, assist); 3. GR Cossa (W, 24 saves, assist)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 21-12-3-0 (45 pts.) / Fri., Jan. 17 vs. Cleveland 7 p.m.

Chicago: 17-14-2-0 (36 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 18 vs. Bakersfield 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins