ROCKFORD, Ill. -- Sebastian Cossa pushed his point streak to 15 games in a 4-3 Grand Rapids Griffins victory over the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Center on Saturday, which tied a franchise record for a point streak by a goaltender. 

Marc Lamothe set the record with a 9-0-4-2 (W-L-T-OTL) record from Oct. 19-Nov. 30, 2002 while Cossa tied it with a 10-0-5 record. Matt Luff's point streak was stretched to five games (2-4--6) while it also carried him to 10 points (4-6--10) in his last 10 outings. Marco Kasper's two points (1-1--2) gave the young forward four points (2-2--4) in his last four games. 

A goaltending miscue helped get Grand Rapids on the board when Drew Commesso’s pass from behind his net was intercepted by Cross Hanas, whose shot from the bottom of the left circle then deflected off an IceHog and into the net at 6:53 in the first period. To keep the 1-0 lead, Cossa and Albert Johansson robbed Rockford of a goal, as Johansson prevented the puck from crossing the goal line and Cossa covered the puck with his right skate with nine minutes remaining. Taro Hirose wired a shot to the net, which Kasper tipped past Commesso from the low slot for a power-play tally and a 2-0 lead at 13:36.

Late in the middle frame, Antti Tuomisto grew Grand Rapids’ lead to three goals after he received a dish from Kasper and ripped it into the net from the left circle with 6:05 remaining in the period.

Rockford interrupted the Griffins' scoring with a tally of their own, as Filip Roos danced past a defender and placed a shot behind Cossa from the high slot to make it a 3-1 game at 16:46.

The IceHogs collected their second-straight goal to pull within one when Cole Guttman clambered from the ice and unleashed a one-timer from the high slot with 14:20 remaining. Grand Rapids' failed attempt at getting the puck out of their zone led to Guttman netting his second of the night from the low slot at 16:39 for a 3-3 game.

With under two minutes remaining, Zach Aston-Reese reclaimed the lead for the Griffins, as his wraparound attempt bounced off a Rockford player in the crease and narrowly past the goal line with 1:22 remaining. With Commesso out of his net at 18:51, the IceHogs failed to find an equalizer and Grand Rapids skated off with a 4-3 victory. 

Notes
- With a point tonight, Hirose tied Tomas Tatar for sixth place on the team's all-time point list with 196.
- Dominik Shine extended his point streak (2-5--7) to five games with an assist. 
- Elmer Soderblom's point streak (2-1--3) ended at three games. 

Box Score
Grand Rapids 2 1 1 - 4
Rockford 0 1 2 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Hanas 8 6:53. 2, Grand Rapids, Kasper 12 (Hirose, Luff), 13:36 (PP). Penalties-Hanas Gr (tripping), 7:08; Baddock Rfd (holding), 12:34; Spezia Gr (cross-checking), 19:53; Hardman Rfd (boarding), 20:00.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Tuomisto 5 (Kasper, Johansson), 13:55. 4, Rockford, Roos 2 (Gust, Cates), 16:46. Penalties-Aston-Reese Gr (slashing), 13:05; Roos Rfd (cross-checking), 13:05.

3rd Period-5, Rockford, Guttman 13 (Seney, Pitlick), 5:40. 6, Rockford, Guttman 14 (Pitlick, Phillips), 16:29. 7, Grand Rapids, Aston-Reese 12 (L’Esperance, Shine), 18:44. Penalties-Gust Rfd (high-sticking), 8:26.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-8-7-24. Rockford 12-7-7-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 3; Rockford 0 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 16-7-8 (26 shots-23 saves). Rockford, Commesso 13-14-4 (24 shots-20 saves).
A-4,940

Three Stars
1. GR Kasper (goal, assist); 2. RFD Guttman (two goals); 3. RFD Rem Pitlick (two assists)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 31-18-7-4 (73 pts.) / Wed., March 27 vs. Cleveland 7 p.m.
Rockford: 29-23-5-2 (65 pts.) / Wed., March 27 at Chicago 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Brad Repplinger/Rockford IceHogs