ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Behind goals from five different players and a 25-save performance from Michal Postava, the Grand Rapids Griffins improved their point streak to seven games (6-0-0-1) with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Sunday at Allstate Arena.

Carter Bear led the attack with two assists and a goal and now sits with nine points in nine games this season. Chase Stillman’s tally marked his first as a Griffin, Noah Dower Nilsson’s goal was his first in the AHL, and Kienan Draper’s empty-netter was his first at the professional level. Dominik Shine rounded out the scoring for Grand Rapids while also recording an assist, and Postava moved to 5-0 this year in his first game back with the Griffins after a two-game stint with the Detroit Red Wings.

Stillman opened the scoring for Grand Rapids at the 4:34 mark of the first period. From the left side of his own defensive zone, Bear flicked a pass down the ice to Stillman who settled the puck down with his glove before firing a shot past Zach Sawchenko from the right circle.

With 6:52 remaining in the frame, Chicago thought it had tied the game when a slapshot from Viktor Neuchev made it past Postava, but a successful challenge by the Griffins found the Wolves to be offsides and erased the tally.

The score remained the same though much of the second period, but Grand Rapids found the net with 2:46 remaining. After taking a pass from Ondrej Becher along the left boards, Bear sliced a shot from near the bottom of the left circle at a sharp angle through a tight window below the crossbar to give his team a 2-0 advantage. 

Dower Nilsson added insurance on a power play 6:23 into the final stanza, scoring on a shot from the left faceoff dot that went bar down to make it 3-0. Shine joined the offensive almost eight minutes later, securing a rebound after a backhander from Bear and putting the puck past the out-stretched pad of Sawchenko at 14:13 for his fifth goal of the season. 

Chicago’s lone goal was scored with 4:27 left in the game by Charlie Cerrato, who tipped the puck past Postava on a shot from Ronan Seeley.

With about four minutes left, the Wolves pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker and nearly scored again, but Ivan Ryabkin’s tally was ruled a high-stick and called off. With 3:07 left, Draper sealed the 5-1 win with an empty-net goal.  

Notes

• In his season debut with the Griffins, Axel Sandin-Pellikka (17th overall pick by Detroit in 2023 Entry Draft) recorded an assist.
• With an assist on Bear’s goal, Shai Buium has a point in each of his last five games (1-4–5).
• Having also recorded an assist on Bear’s goal, Becher now has seven points in his last six games (2-5–7).  
• With an assist on Dower Nilsson’s tally, Jesse Kiiskinen extended his point streak to four games (1-3–4).  

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 1 3 - 5
Chicago 0 0 1 - 1

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Stillman 1 (Bear, Sandin-Pellikka), 4:34. Penalties-Ryabkin Chi (tripping), 5:59.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Bear 3 (Becher, Buium), 17:14. Penalties-Legault Chi (tripping), 1:14; Joseph Chi (slashing), 17:28.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Dower Nilsson 1 (Kiiskinen, James), 6:23 (PP). 4, Grand Rapids, Shine 5 (Bear, Skoog), 14:13. 5, Chicago, Cerrato 1 (Seeley, Nadeau), 15:33. 6, Grand Rapids, Draper 1 (James, Shine), 16:53 (EN). Penalties-Joseph Chi (tripping), 4:43.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 8-10-15-33. Chicago 8-6-12-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 4; Chicago 0 / 0.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Postava 5-0-0 (26 shots-25 saves). Chicago, Sawchenko 1-3-1 (32 shots-28 saves).
A-7,221

Three Stars
1. GR Postava (W, 25 saves); 2. GR Stillman (goal); 3. GR Bear (goal, two assists)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 8-1-1-1 (18 pts.) / Wed., Nov. 4 vs. Texas 7 p.m.
Chicago: 5-5-0-1 (11 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 6 at Texas 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Ross Dettman/Chicago Wolves