GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins took an early 2-0 lead but failed to finish off the Iowa Wild in regulation, falling 3-2 in a shootout in front of their third consecutive sellout crowd at Van Andel Arena on Saturday. 

Carter Mazur scored both goals for Grand Rapids, extending his point streak to five (4-2—6) and marking his ninth point in the last eight games (6-3—9). Amadeus Lombardi tallied an assist to increase his streak to four (3-2—5), while Brogan Rafferty skated in his 300th AHL contest. In his 31st appearance of the year (16-10-5), Sebastian Cossa made 24 saves alongside one in the shootout, improving to a .913 save percentage and a 2.38 goals-against average this season.

The Griffins kicked off the scoring when Mazur netted his first of the outing at 3:48. A slapshot from Eemil Viro rebounded off netminder Jesper Wallstedt, Josiah Didier collected the rebound and he fed it down low where Mazur tucked it in. Then at 5:02, Mazur lit the lamp on the power play, his second of the frame. The Wild collected their first tally with 8:34 left in the first when Hunter Haight skated ahead of the Grand Rapids defense on a 3-on-2 breakaway and found the back of the net. Just 27 seconds later, Ryan Sandelin swiped the puck away from the Griffins in the low slot and tied the game off the turnover. 

With 6:33 left in the second period, an Iowa goal was immediately waved off due to a high-sticking call, keeping the game knotted at two. Both teams remained locked in the defensive battle, but the Griffins suffered penalties at 19:09 and 19:22, granting the Wild 1:48 of a 5-on-3 advantage. Grand Rapids kept Iowa off the board, as they entered the final period with 1:10 left in the 5-on-3. 

Grand Rapids remained stout on defense, killing off both penalties to open the third. The Griffins then earned a power play of their own with 5:49 remaining. During the man-advantage, a Grand Rapids turnover allowed the Wild to skate in on a breakaway, but a shot from Ben Jones hit off the post. Both teams failed to take the lead in the remainder of regulation, extending the game to overtime. 

The Griffins dominated the overtime period, outshooting the Wild 6-2, including a shot from Lombardi that hit the post with 48 seconds left. Yet, the outing continued into a shootout, as neither side could find the back of the net. 

The Griffins elected to shoot first, but Joe Snively was stopped and Graeme Clarke snuck the puck past Cossa on the other end. Lombardi went second for Grand Rapids, but similar to his shot in the overtime period, he hit the post and the disc sailed wide. Cossa turned away Iowa’s Travis Boyd and the Griffins sent out Ondrej Becher, hoping to tie up the shootout. However, Becher’s shot was gloved down by Wallstedt and Grand Rapids fell 3-2.

Notes

• The last four matchups between Grand Rapids and Iowa have been decided by one goal.
• The sellout crowd marked the Griffins’ fifth of the year and their third consecutive for the first time in a single season since 2008-2009 when they sold out four straight games from March 15 to April 10. 

Box Score

Iowa 2 0 0 0 - 3
Grand Rapids 2 0 0 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Mazur 7 (Didier, Viro), 3:48. 2, Grand Rapids, Mazur 8 (Shine, Lombardi), 5:02 (PP). 3, Iowa, Haight 18   11:26. 4, Iowa, Sandelin 6   11:53. Penalties-Crotty Ia (hooking), 4:39; Lambos Ia (delay of game), 9:03.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Watson Gr (tripping), 0:28; Hain Ia (elbowing), 7:19; Danielson Gr (slashing), 19:09; Shine Gr (roughing), 19:22.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Viro Gr (holding), 3:09; Crotty Ia (interference), 6:13; Doucet Gr (holding), 11:48; Raška Ia (slashing), 14:11.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout - Iowa 1 (Clarke G, Boyd NG), Grand Rapids 0 (Snively NG, Lombardi NG, Becher NG).
Shots on Goal-Iowa 10-4-10-2-1-27. Grand Rapids 13-9-5-6-0-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Iowa 0 / 5; Grand Rapids 1 / 5.
Goalies-Iowa, Wallstedt 9-11-2 (33 shots-31 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 16-10-5 (26 shots-24 saves).
A-10,834

Three Stars 

1. IA Sandelin (goal); 2. GR Mazur (two goals); 3. IA Haight (goal)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 28-20-4-2 (62 pts.) / Tue., March 4 at Manitoba 11:30 a.m. EST

Iowa: 20-30-3-1 (44 pts.) / Fri., March 7 at Rockford 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins