Oct. 31, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Riley Barber’s two-goal outing proved not enough as the Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Chicago Wolves 6-3 at Van Andel Arena on Sunday.

The opening frame was back-and-forth throughout before Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski broke the ice at the 17:45 mark. Stefan Noesen made a pass from the right circle through the slot to Poturalski who stood left of the goal crease for the easy put in, marking 12 unanswered goals from Chicago against the Griffins dating back to May 12, 2021.

The Wolves registered their 13th straight goal early in the second period when Joey Keane came down the left side going coast-to-coast and slipping the puck under Victor Brattstrom’s right skate with 17:41 remaining.

Grand Rapids got in on the scoring at the 7:50 mark when Dominik Shine made a diving pass from the slot connecting with Jonatan Berggren who stood at the right circle for a one-timer, cutting the deficit to one. This goal ended Grand Rapids’ 169:21 scoreless drought against the Wolves, spanning over nearly nine periods.

With three minutes remaining in the second and on a Grand Rapids power play, Kyle Criscuolo stood left of the goal crease and made a setup-pass finding Barber across the slot for the tying tally.

As time was running out before the break, Chicago’s C.J. Smith took control of the puck at the left circle and found Ypsilanti, Mich., native Jalen Chatfield at the right post for a give-and-go score.

Three minutes into the final period, Poturalski found Smith for a one-hand redirect into the right corner of the net beating Brattstorm’s glove to give Chicago a 4-2 lead.

As the Griffins attempted to reduce the deficit, Chicago’s Noesen connected a pass from the left side to Poturalski in the slot for another Chicago score at the 7:12 mark.

Grand Rapids converted on its second power play of the evening with 9:45 remaining in the contest when Chase Pearson stood behind the net to find an open Barber at the right circle for his second, reducing the Wolves lead to two.

A Griffins penalty led to Chicago having the final say in the end. Smith connected with Poturalski once again near the goal crease and he redirected the puck into the bottom of the net for his third goal of the night. Both Smith and Poturalski recorded five points, which is the first time Grand Rapids allowed an opposing player to record five or more points in a game since Jansen Harkins did so for Manitoba on Nov. 2, 2019.

Notes

• Poturalski was the first opposing player to score a hat-trick since his teammate David Cotton on May 12, 2021.
• Berggren has now scored in consecutive games.
• Taro Hirose added two more assists to his team-high seven helpers on the season.

Three Stars

1. CHI Poturalski (three goals, two assists); 2. CHI Smith (one goal, four assists); 3. GR Barber (two goals)

Box Score

Chicago 1 2 3 - 6
Grand Rapids 0 2 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Chicago, Poturalski 3 (Noesen, C. Smith), 17:45. Penalties-Tyutyayev Gr (tripping), 10:52; Shine Gr (interference), 19:10.

2nd Period-2, Chicago, Keane 1 (Lajoie, Poturalski), 2:19. 3, Grand Rapids, Berggren 2 (Shine, Spezia), 7:50. 4, Grand Rapids, Barber 2 (Criscuolo, Hirose), 17:00 (PP). 5, Chicago, Chatfield 2 (C. Smith), 19:06. Penalties-Shine Gr (tripping), 1:56; Letunov Chi (tripping), 2:09; Gelinas Chi (holding), 16:52.

3rd Period-6, Chicago, C. Smith 4 (Poturalski, Noesen), 3:00. 7, Chicago, Poturalski 4 (Noesen, C. Smith), 7:12. 8, Grand Rapids, Barber 3 (Pearson, Hirose), 10:15 (PP). 9, Chicago, Poturalski 5 (Lajoie, C. Smith), 11:48 (PP). Penalties-Gelinas Chi (cross-checking), 0:33; Sellgren Chi (hooking), 9:20; McIsaac Gr (cross-checking), 10:20; served by Marino Chi (bench minor - too many men), 13:40; Drury Chi (charging), 18:34.

Shots on Goal-Chicago 8-13-9-30. Grand Rapids 8-10-9-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Chicago 1 / 4; Grand Rapids 2 / 6.
Goalies-Chicago, Makiniemi 3-0-0 (27 shots-24 saves). Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 0-2-1 (30 shots-24 saves).
A-3,195

Record / Next Game

Grand Rapids: 2-4-0-1 (5 pts.) / Fri., Nov. 5 at Iowa 7 p.m. EDT
Chicago: 5-1-0-0 (10 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 6 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Mark Newman/Griffins