GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins were victorious in their 22nd annual school day game against the Chicago Wolves, beating them 5-2 at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday. All four goal scorers, Dominik Shine, Jonatan Berggren, Josiah Didier and Carter Mazur(two goals), scored their first goals of the season in the contest.

Sebastian Cossa had another stellar outing in his rookie campaign, stopping 26 of 28 for a .928 save percentage. This is the second time this season where the Griffins have scored five goals, the first being Oct. 14 versus the Colorado Eagles.

Following a scoreless first period, Shine snapped a shot from the high slot, which dribbled through the five hole of Adam Scheel to break the deadlock at 2:50 in the middle frame. Just over nine minutes later, Berggren added to the Griffins’ lead when he sniped the puck from the left circle and past Scheel’s glove with 8:09 remaining.

In his first game back at Van Andel Arena since 2020, former Griffin Chris Terry cut into the Griffins’ lead with a bullet from the top of the left circle with 7:32 left to play in the second. Following a defensive turnover, the Wolves quickly tied the game up at 2-2 with a backhander from the high slot, courtesy of Maxime Comtois at 13:36. Despite the shift in momentum, Grand Rapids kept at it, as Didier scored from the blueline to put the Griffins back on top with 3:47 left in the frame.

Midway through the final stanza, Mazur collected a rebound on the doorstep and rifled it into the net to make it a 4-2 Griffins lead with 8:44 left to play. With Scheel pulled, Mazur capitalized again and scored an empty-net goal for his second tally of the game at 17:19. With the empty-netter in hand, Grand Rapids cruised to a 5-2 victory.

Notes:
-The Griffins posted 44 shots in the game, which was a season high. Grand Rapids also held Chicago to 28 shots, which marked the seventh straight contest with an opponent shot total under 30.

- The Griffins, who rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring with an average of 2.45 goals per game, flipped the narrative by registering five goals.

Box Score
Chicago 0 2 0 - 2
Grand Rapids 0 3 2 - 5

1st Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Ponomarev Chi (tripping), 1:16.

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, Shine 1 (Stevens, Spezia), 2:50. 2, Grand Rapids, Berggren 1 (Kasper, McIsaac), 8:09. 3, Chicago, Terry 5 (Sucese, Ponomarev), 12:28. 4, Chicago, Comtois 2 13:36. 5, Grand Rapids, Didier 1 16:13. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Mazur 1 (Kasper, Berggren), 11:16. 7, Grand Rapids, Mazur 2 (Edvinsson), 17:18 (EN). Penalties-Comtois Chi (tripping), 9:09.

Shots on Goal-Chicago 6-11-11-28. Grand Rapids 8-23-13-44.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 0 / 0; Grand Rapids 0 / 2.
Goalies-Chicago, Scheel 2-3-1 (43 shots-39 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 2-2-2 (28 shots-26 saves).

A-6,709

Three Stars
1. GR Berggren (goal, assist); 2. GR Mazur (two goals); 3. GR Didier (game-winner)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 4-5-1-1 (10 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 17 at Texas 8 p.m.
Chicago: 2-6-1-1 (6 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 18 at. Milwaukee 8 p.m.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins