GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins secured their second consecutive five-goal game in a 5-1 win against the Chicago Wolves on Friday at Van Andel Arena, increasing their win streak to four. Austin Watson led the way with a three-point performance (1-2—3) for the Griffins’ third five-goal output in the last four contests. 

William Lagesson (1-1—2) and Elmer Soderblom (0-2—2) each posted two-point nights and rookie Nate Danielson had a goal and an assist to bring his point total to four in the last two outings (1-3—4). Amadeus Lombardi scored his team-high sixth goal of the year and Dominik Shine increased his assist streak to four (0-5—5). In his 100th professional game, goaltender Sebastian Cossa put up 21 saves to improve to a 7-3-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. Grand Rapids has 21 points through 14 games for the first time since 2005-06, tying for the second-best start in franchise history. The 28 goals allowed by the Griffins through 14 games are their fewest in franchise history, beating out their previous low of 29 in 2004-05. 

Danielson put the Griffins ahead early, scoring just 1:29 into the first frame. A shot from Soderblom deflected off the pads of Ruslan Khazheyev to Danielson who found the back of the net. Lombardi cashed in just minutes later at 3:21. Lagesson drew the netminder out of the crease and Lombardi shoveled in the disc. The Griffins continued their scoring flurry with 2:20 remaining, courtesy of Watson. Danielson fired a pass from the red line to Watson who found paydirt in front of the net. 

Lagesson extended the Griffins lead to four at 1:14 in the second period. Soderblom sent a rebound off the netminders' pads and Lagesson found the loose puck for the score. The Wolves got on the board with 1:33 remaining in the period. Bradley Nadeau shot from the left circle past Cossa for the lone goal for Chicago. 

The Griffins lit the lamp once more in the final period thanks to Joe Snively at 2:25. During a two-on-one breakaway, Shine passed over to Snively who caught the puck, dropped it in the low slot and snapped it home. Grand Rapids maintained its four-goal lead through the final minutes and skated away with a 5-1 win. 

Notes

• Josiah Didier skated in his 450th AHL game. 
• The Griffins are now 8-0-1-0 when scoring the game’s first goal. 
• The Griffins outshot their opponent for the first time this season with a 31-22 output. 
• Grand Rapids has scored 19 goals in its last four games (4.75 per game). 
• In 29 seasons, this is the fourth Griffins team to win at least 10 of its first 14 games, and the first since 2009-10. 

Box Score

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

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Danielson 2 (Söderblom, Watson), 1:29. 2, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 6 (Lagesson, Doucet), 3:21. 3, Grand Rapids, Watson 2 (Danielson, Buium), 17:40. Penalties-Nadeau Chi (high-sticking), 5:30.

2nd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Lagesson 2 (Söderblom, Watson), 1:14. 5, Chicago, Nadeau 2 (Suzuki, Seeley), 18:27. Penalties-Hanas Gr (tripping), 8:58; Didier Gr (roughing), 14:21.

3rd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Snively 4 (Shine), 2:25. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Chicago 8-9-5-22. Grand Rapids 11-9-11-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 0 / 2; Grand Rapids 0 / 1.
Goalies-Chicago, Khazheyev 1-3-0 (31 shots-26 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 7-3-1 (22 shots-21 saves).
A-8,055

Three Stars 

1. GR Watson (goal, two assists); 2. GR Danielson (goal, assist); 3. GR Lagesson (goal, assist)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 10-3-1-0 (21 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 16 at Milwaukee 7 p.m. EST

Chicago: 3-6-1-0 (7 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 16 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m. CST 

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins