Nov. 16, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In the 21st annual School Day Game, the Grand Rapids Griffins suffered a 5-1 defeat to the Rockford IceHogs at Van Andel Arena on Wednesday.

Joel L’Esperance recorded the lone tally for Grand Rapids, making him second in goals scored for the Griffins. Taro Hirose recorded a helper, placing him sixth in the AHL for assists with 11. Alternate captain Kyle Criscuolo notched his third apple of the season and his second in three games. The Griffins conceded seven penalties in the contest and have now been shorthanded 72 times this season, the most in the AHL.

The Griffins capitalized on a power play at 13:38 in the first frame, as the Brighton, Mich., native rifled in his own rebound from the crease for his sixth goal of the season. After L’Esprance’s tally, Grand Rapids’ penalty kill fended off two man-advantages from Rockford in the final 5:28 of the period.

The Griffins’ lead quickly evaporated with four Rockford goals in the second stanza, with the first coming at 1:19 from Luke Philp. Ian Mitchell’s power-play goal at 3:02 put the IceHogs up 2-1 while scores from Lukas Reichel (4-on-4, 12:42) and Buddy Robinson (18:44) extended Rockford’s edge to 4-1 heading into the second intermission.

The IceHogs tacked on another tally on a power play at 4:57 in the final frame, as Mitchell (2-2–4) notched his fourth point of the day with a snipe from the left circle. Neither team found an edge on the offensive side of the ice for the remainder of the game and Rockford skated away with a 5-1 victory.

Notes
- With a win against the Griffins, the IceHogs (T4th) tied Grand Rapids (T4th) and the Iowa Wild (T4th) with 13 points in the AHL’s Central Division.
- Rockford has held the Griffins to one goal in both games this season.
- The IceHogs’ four tallies in the second were the most allowed by Grand Rapids since Oct. 29 against the Texas Stars.

Box score
Rockford 0 4 1 - 5
Grand Rapids 1 0 0 - 1

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, L’Esperance 6 (Hirose, Criscuolo), 13:38 (PP). Penalties-Adams-Moisan Rfd (fighting), 5:55; Lacroix Gr (fighting), 5:55; I. Mitchell Rfd (tripping), 12:22; Lacroix Gr (tripping), 14:32; Smith Gr (delay of game), 17:06.

2nd Period-2, Rockford, Philp 8 (I. Mitchell, Gust), 1:19. 3, Rockford, I. Mitchell 1 (Galvas, Robinson), 3:02 (PP). 4, Rockford, Reichel 6 (Guttman, I. Mitchell), 12:42. 5, Rockford, Robinson 3 (Lynch, Guttman), 18:44. Penalties-Kampfer Gr (hooking), 2:05; served by Adams-Moisan Rfd (bench minor - too many men), 11:00; L’Esperance Gr (hooking), 11:40; Newpower Gr (tripping), 14:28; Smith Gr (high-sticking), 19:13.

3rd Period-6, Rockford, I. Mitchell 2 (Reichel, Clendening), 4:57 (PP). Penalties-Hanas Gr (tripping), 3:53; Philp Rfd (interference), 18:15.

Shots on Goal-Rockford 13-14-6-33. Grand Rapids 14-5-11-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Rockford 2 / 7; Grand Rapids 1 / 3.
Goalies-Rockford, Wells 2-2-0 (30 shots-29 saves). Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 2-2-1 (33 shots-28 saves).
A-6,474

Three Stars
1. RFD Mitchell (two goals, two assists); 2. RFD Reichel (goal, assist); 3. RFD Robinson (goal, assist).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 6-7-1-0 (13 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 18 at San Diego 10 p.m. EST
Rockford: 6-5-0-1 (13 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 18 vs. Chicago 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins