Lake Erie Monsters 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 OT

Nov. 28, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Mitch Callahan’s goal 2:02 into overtime lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday at Van Andel Arena, as the Griffins earned their sixth win in a row with their third victory in eight days against a team that sat atop the Central Division.

In the extra session, Nathan Paetsch intercepted a long pass at center ice and burst down the right side into the Lake Erie zone. He centered a pass for Callahan, who quickly whipped a shot between Anton Forsberg and the right post to push the Griffins’ home winning streak to five and extend his goal streak to three games, tying his career high.

The Griffins (8-8-0-1), who previously knocked off first-place Chicago (Nov. 21) and Milwaukee (Nov. 27), have clawed their way to 0.500 for the first time this season and are 7-1-0-1 since their 1-7 start. They’ll continue a four-game home stand by hosting the Wolves and Monsters next Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Early in the opening period, Robbie Russo’s 100-foot stretch pass hit Mark Zengerle at the Lake Erie blue line, and the second-year winger broke in alone on Forsberg before ripping a shot into the top right corner. That goal at the 3:29 mark extended Zengerle’s point streak to four games and sparked a cascade of hundreds of stuffed animals from the stands as part of the annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit Hug-A-Bears of Kent County.

The Monsters tied it with 4:36 left in the frame. Trent Vogelhuber took a pass just outside the Griffins’ zone, sped across the line and fired a wrister at the top of the circles that Tom McCollum got a piece of but couldn’t keep out of the net.

Lake Erie (12-4-1-2) used a power play to grab a 2-1 lead exactly seven minutes into the second period. From the bottom of the right circle, T.J. Tynan found Nick Moutrey on the doorstep for a redirection that snuck beneath McCollum’s left pad.

Eric Tangradi notched a similar power play goal at the 18:52 mark, finishing off the tic-tac-toe passing of Andy Miele and Ryan Sproul by deflecting Miele’s feed past Forsberg while standing at the top of the crease, making it a 2-2 contest through 40 minutes.

The third period was scoreless primarily due to the work of McCollum, who helped the Griffins withstand the Monsters’ 16-6 shot advantage. He totaled 41 saves – including 17 over the game’s final 22:02 – to post his third consecutive win, a stretch during which he has turned aside 96 of 100 shots. The victory was McCollum’s 91st as a Griffin, moving him past Jimmy Howard for second place in franchise history behind only Joey MacDonald (109).

Forsberg made 29 stops for Lake Erie, which fell to 6-4-1-0 on the road this season.

Notes: The Griffins are now 6-4 at home following a 1-4 start within friendly confines…Grand Rapids’ six-game winning streak is its longest in the regular season since a nine-game run from Feb. 14-March 4, 2015.

Three Stars: 1. GR Callahan (overtime goal); 2. GR Tangradi (game-tying power play goal); 3. GR McCollum (W, 41 saves)

Lake Erie Monsters 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 OT

Nov. 28, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Mitch Callahan’s goal 2:02 into overtime lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-2 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday at Van Andel Arena, as the Griffins earned their sixth win in a row with their third victory in eight days against a team that sat atop the Central Division.

In the extra session, Nathan Paetsch intercepted a long pass at center ice and burst down the right side into the Lake Erie zone. He centered a pass for Callahan, who quickly whipped a shot between Anton Forsberg and the right post to push the Griffins’ home winning streak to five and extend his goal streak to three games, tying his career high.

The Griffins (8-8-0-1), who previously knocked off first-place Chicago (Nov. 21) and Milwaukee (Nov. 27), have clawed their way to 0.500 for the first time this season and are 7-1-0-1 since their 1-7 start. They’ll continue a four-game home stand by hosting the Wolves and Monsters next Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Early in the opening period, Robbie Russo’s 100-foot stretch pass hit Mark Zengerle at the Lake Erie blue line, and the second-year winger broke in alone on Forsberg before ripping a shot into the top right corner. That goal at the 3:29 mark extended Zengerle’s point streak to four games and sparked a cascade of hundreds of stuffed animals from the stands as part of the annual Teddy Bear Toss to benefit Hug-A-Bears of Kent County.

The Monsters tied it with 4:36 left in the frame. Trent Vogelhuber took a pass just outside the Griffins’ zone, sped across the line and fired a wrister at the top of the circles that Tom McCollum got a piece of but couldn’t keep out of the net.

Lake Erie (12-4-1-2) used a power play to grab a 2-1 lead exactly seven minutes into the second period. From the bottom of the right circle, T.J. Tynan found Nick Moutrey on the doorstep for a redirection that snuck beneath McCollum’s left pad.

Eric Tangradi notched a similar power play goal at the 18:52 mark, finishing off the tic-tac-toe passing of Andy Miele and Ryan Sproul by deflecting Miele’s feed past Forsberg while standing at the top of the crease, making it a 2-2 contest through 40 minutes.

The third period was scoreless primarily due to the work of McCollum, who helped the Griffins withstand the Monsters’ 16-6 shot advantage. He totaled 41 saves – including 17 over the game’s final 22:02 – to post his third consecutive win, a stretch during which he has turned aside 96 of 100 shots. The victory was McCollum’s 91st as a Griffin, moving him past Jimmy Howard for second place in franchise history behind only Joey MacDonald (109).

Forsberg made 29 stops for Lake Erie, which fell to 6-4-1-0 on the road this season.

Notes: The Griffins are now 6-4 at home following a 1-4 start within friendly confines…Grand Rapids’ six-game winning streak is its longest in the regular season since a nine-game run from Feb. 14-March 4, 2015.

Three Stars: 1. GR Callahan (overtime goal); 2. GR Tangradi (game-tying power play goal); 3. GR McCollum (W, 41 saves)