Nov. 25, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In the Teddy Bear Toss game, the Grand Rapids Griffins shut out the Manitoba Moose for a 3-0 victory at Van Andel Arena on Friday.

Tonight was Jussi Olkinuora’s (26 saves) first shutout since Dec. 14, 2013 and the first for Grand Rapids since March 5, 2022 against the Iowa Wild. Pontus Andreasson continued his scoring run with a goal in the second stanza and has 11 points in his last nine outings (5-6–11). The Swede’s tally streak is tied with Dominik Shine’s three-game goal stretch from Oct. 23-30 and Jonatan Berggren’s from Oct. 30-Nov. 4. Chase Pearson made his season debut and bagged an assist on Andreasson’s goal.

Kyle Criscuolo brought on the barrage of teddy bears in the opening period just three seconds after a power play expired. Andreasson rifled in a shot from in front of the blue line and Criscuolo tapped in a rebound from the crease at 16:02 to take the lead. The teddy bear toss from the crowd sent the two teams into intermission with 3:58 left in the first, but no goals were scored in the remainder of the frame.

The Griffins had 1:22 of 5-on-3 hockey beginning at 9:27 in the second period, but Manitoba killed off the penalty to stay within one. However, Andreasson lit the lamp from the goalmouth at 13:22 by fighting through the contact and firing the puck into the top-right corner of the cage for a 2-0 lead.

The Moose pulled Arvid Holm with 2:41 to go in the contest, but Joel L’Esperance scored an empty netter at 19:09 for a 3-0 victory at the Van.

Notes
- The Griffins collected 3,000+ teddy bears for the Billy Bear Hug Foundation, supporting kids in West Michigan.
- Olkinuora recorded his fifth win of the season, tying his AHL high from 2013-14 with the St. John’s IceCaps. Tonight is also Olkinuora’s third-consecutive win.

Box Score
Manitoba 0 0 0 - 0
Grand Rapids 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Criscuolo 2 (Andreasson), 16:02. Penalties-Bauer Mb (fighting), 3:05; Smith Gr (fighting), 3:05; Kubicek Mb (cross-checking), 13:59; Polei Mb (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:33; Shine Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:33.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Andreasson 5 (Pearson, Shine), 13:22. Penalties-Torgersson Mb (tripping), 8:49; Nikkanen Mb (delay of game - faceoff violation (batting puck with hand)), 9:27; Smith Gr (instigating, misconduct - instigating), 13:50.

3rd Period-3, Grand Rapids, L’Esperance 7 (Hirose, Edvinsson), 19:09 (EN). Penalties-Smith Gr (roughing), 13:18.

Shots on Goal-Manitoba 6-11-9-26. Grand Rapids 12-17-5-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Manitoba 0 / 2; Grand Rapids 0 / 3.
Goalies-Manitoba, Holm 3-2-2 (33 shots-31 saves). Grand Rapids, Olkinuora 5-4-0 (26 shots-26 saves).
A-6,557

Three Stars
1. GR Andreasson (goal, assist); 2. GR Olkinuora (W, 26 saves); 3. GR Criscuolo (goal).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 8-8-1-0 (17 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 26 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m. EST
Manitoba: 8-5-2-0 (18 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 26 at Griffins 6 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins