GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Behind four points from Jesse Kiiskinen (3-1—4), which included his first AHL hat trick, the Grand Rapids Griffins rolled to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Wolves on Sunday at Van Andel Arena to cap off a three-game weekend.

Kiiskinen completed the first hat trick by a Griffins rookie since Tyler Bertuzzi in the 2016 playoffs and became the first Griffins rookie in the regular season since Chad Billins in 2013. In addition to Kiiskinen’s milestone day, Dominik Shine collected his 100th professional goal, Dan Watson earned his 400th win as a pro head coach, and Michal Postava recorded his first AHL regular-season assist. 

About three minutes into the game, it appeared that Grand Rapids had taken an early lead when a shot from Cameron Butler from the blue line found its way past Zach Sawchenko, but the goal was called back due to goalie interference.

At the 5:45 mark, Kiiskinen officially put the Griffins up 1-0 after taking a pass from Alex Kannok Leipert and skating into the zone backwards before launching a wrist shot into the top right corner from the right circle.

The Griffins added a second tally when Kienan Draper fed Kiiskinen and the Finnish forward slipped a backhander past the left post on the doorstep with 8:11 remaining in the first stanza. 

Kiiskinen’s success continued into the second period when the rookie completed the natural hat trick by skating into the zone, deking a defender in the slot and slicing a shot past Sawchenko’s glove at 1:20.

Stiven Sardarian fired back for Chicago with 14:02 left in the period to trim the Griffins’ advantage to 3-1, batting the puck out of the air and past Postava. The Wolves nearly made it a one-goal contest on a 2-on-0 opportunity shorthanded about halfway through the frame, but Postava made a sprawling save.

In the final period, Kiiskinen collected his fourth point when he found Dylan James in the right circle, and he capitalized under the goaltender’s pads for a 4-1 lead at 2:07.

Shine potted the final goal of the game on a power play with 14:40 remaining by redirecting a pass from Carter Bear in front of the net to cap off the 5-1 victory.

Notes

• John Leonard, the Griffins’ leading scorer last campaign, made his season debut after rehabbing an injury.
• The last Griffins rookie to score four points in a game was Simon Edvinsson (1-3–4) on Feb. 15, 2023, at the Rockford IceHogs.
• Kiiskinen currently leads the AHL rookies in points (5-2—7) and goals (5). Among all skaters, Kiiskinen is tied for second in goals and tied for fourth in points. 
• James (1-1—2) and William Lagesson (0-2—2) logged two points each, while Postava showed 22 saves on 23 shots. 
• The Griffins finished 2-1-0-0 during this weekend’s three-in-three. 

Box Score
Chicago 0 1 0 - 1
Grand Rapids 2 1 2 - 5

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Kiiskinen 3 (Kannok Leipert, Buium), 5:45. 2, Grand Rapids, Kiiskinen 4 (Draper, Lagesson), 11:49. Penalties-Legault Chi (interference), 8:19; Kiiskinen Gr (interference), 8:41; Rochette Gr (holding), 13:29; Joseph Chi (interference), 14:58.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Kiiskinen 5 (James, Postava), 1:20. 4, Chicago, Sardarian 1 (Neuchev, Ryabkin), 5:58. Penalties-Slavin Chi (holding), 8:11.

3rd Period-5, Grand Rapids, James 1 (Kiiskinen, Lagesson), 2:07. 6, Grand Rapids, Shine 1 (Bear, Skoog), 5:20 (PP). Penalties-Joseph Chi (cross-checking), 3:29; Fransén Chi (delay of game), 12:18; Christensen Gr (tripping), 15:22.

Shots on Goal-Chicago 6-10-7-23. Grand Rapids 6-8-8-22.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 0 / 3; Grand Rapids 1 / 5.
Goalies-Chicago, Sawchenko 0-2-0 (22 shots-17 saves). Grand Rapids, Postava 3-0-0 (23 shots-22 saves).
A-3,659

Three Stars
1. GR Kiiskinen (three goals, assist); 2. GR James (goal, assist); 3. GR Postava (W, 22 saves)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 3-1-1-0 (7 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 17 at Rockford 8 p.m. EDT
Chicago: 0-4-0-0 (0 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 17 vs. Iowa 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins