GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Two-point nights by Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (1-1—2) and Dominik Shine (0-2—2) sparked a comeback effort for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday at Van Andel Arena, but the Texas Stars held on for a 4-2 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Central Division Semifinals. 

Brandsegg-Nygard earned both his first AHL goal and first point in the outing, skating in just his fourth game for Grand Rapids. With the Griffins trailing by four goals late in the second period, Sheldon Dries secured the Griffins’ first tally of the game to break Grand Rapids’ playoff scoring drought of 164:19 that dated to the 2024 Central Division Finals against Milwaukee. 

The Stars took the lead just 3:49 into the contest when Luke Krys buried a wrist shot from the slot, and the visitors extended their lead at 9:08 when a scrum in front of the net allowed Arttu Hyry to dump the puck over the goal line. 

A boarding call against the Griffins at 1:07 of the second period presented the Stars with a power play, and Justin Hryckowian tipped a shot from Matej Blumel into the back of the net just 28 seconds later to make it 3-0. Texas then added its fourth tally at 12:13 when Curtis McKenzie snapped a shot past Jack Campbell on a breakaway. However, with 4:08 left in the frame and the Griffins on a power play, a rebound from Shine bounced out to Dries in the slot, and the veteran lit the lamp to snap 95:52 minutes of shutout hockey by Stars netminder Remi Poirier. 

The Griffins came up empty-handed on a man-advantage early in the third period but held the puck in the Stars’ zone. Shine eventually collected the disc behind the Stars’ net and fired a pass out in front for Brandsegg-Nygard, who found paydirt at 5:20 for his first AHL goal. Grand Rapids pulled Campbell with 1:24 remaining in hopes of completing the comeback but couldn’t get any closer. 

Notes

• The Griffins face elimination heading into their Game 3 matchup against the Stars on Friday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Grand Rapids is 15-16 all time when facing elimination, including 4-9 on the road.
• The Griffins have played 14 best-of-five series all time, and this is just the third time they’ve trailed 0-2. The last time was in the 2015 Western Conference Quarterfinals versus Toronto when Grand Rapids rallied to win the final three games, becoming just the 11th team in AHL history to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series.

Box Score

Texas 2 2 0 - 4
Grand Rapids 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Texas, Krys 1 (Hryckowian, Capobianco), 3:49. 2, Texas, Hyry 1 (Lind, Hughes), 9:08. Penalties-McKenzie Tex (roughing), 3:20; Tuomisto Gr (roughing), 3:20; Shine Gr (double minor - high-sticking), 3:49; Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (holding), 15:47; Pettersen Tex (holding), 18:11.

2nd Period-3, Texas, Hryckowian 1 (Capobianco, Blümel), 1:35 (PP). 4, Texas, McKenzie 2 (Seminoff, Karow), 12:13. 5, Grand Rapids, Dries 1 (Shine, Brandsegg-Nygård), 15:52 (PP). Penalties-Danielson Gr (boarding), 1:07; Pettersen Tex (high-sticking), 6:00; Lind Tex (delay of game), 9:17; Seger Gr (interference), 9:17; Lind Tex (slashing), 14:49.

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 1 (Shine, Snively), 5:20. Penalties-Scott Tex (slashing), 2:54.

Shots on Goal-Texas 13-8-10-31. Grand Rapids 9-7-3-19.
Power Play Opportunities-Texas 1 / 3; Grand Rapids 1 / 4.
Goalies-Texas, Poirier 2-0 (19 shots-17 saves). Grand Rapids, Campbell 0-1 (31 shots-27 saves).
A-5,837

Three Stars

1. TEX Hryckowian (game-winner, assist); 2. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (first AHL goal, first AHL assist); 3. TEX Capobianco (two assists)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 0-2 / Central Division Semifinals Game 3 / Fri., May 9 at Texas 8 p.m. EDT

Texas: 2-0 / Central Division Semifinals Game 3 / Fri., May 9 vs. Grand Rapids 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins