Nov. 27, 2010 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 10 at Chicago Wolves 8

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Behind a franchise-record seven-point night by Tomas Tatar, the Grand Rapids Griffins earned a wild 10-8 win over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday at Allstate Arena.

Tatar set or tied four single-game Griffins records on the night, besting Kip Miller's six points in a game on Jan. 1, 2002 at Chicago. His four second-period points tied Jiri Hudler's record from Jan. 6, 2006 at Houston, and he also equalled standards with five assists in a game and three assists in a period. Willie Coetzee also had three helpers during a frantic second period in which Grand Rapids smashed its record for goals in a period (previously five) with seven.

Numerous other franchise records fell during the contest, as the Griffins (9-8-0-4) tied their mark for goals in a game (Oct. 24, 2001 vs. Cincinnati) and set a new road record with 10 goals, beating the previous record set during a 9-2 win at Cleveland on Feb. 16, 2006. The combined 18 goals also established new records for goals in both a home and road game (15), most recently at Toronto on Feb. 8, 2009.

Coming off tonight’s high-intensity game against the Wolves (10-11-1-0), the Griffins will return home Sunday for a 4 p.m. puck drop against the Peoria Rivermen at Van Andel Arena.

From an AHL perspective, this was the highest scoring game since March 29, 1996, when the Baltimore Bandits defeated the Binghamton Rangers 10-8. Tatar's seven points were the most by an AHL player since Chicago's Jason Krog tallied three goals and four assists on Nov. 4, 2006, while Jordan Pearce made 34 saves to become the first AHL goalie to allow eight goals in a win since Providence's Scott Bailey on Dec. 12, 1996.

The first period began in fury when the Wolves went up 2-0 with consecutive goals. Ryan Garbutt claimed Chicago’s first goal on a shorthanded breakaway seven minutes into the period, and Darren Haydar followed with the Wolves’ second goal at 16:28.

With 1:20 left in the frame, Tatar narrowed the margin for the Griffins, slipping the puck between the pads of Edward Pasquale. After taking a 2-1 lead to the locker room, the Wolves expanding their lead just 29 seconds into the second period with a power play goal off the stick of Andre Deveaux.

The Griffins were quick to respond with two back-to-back goals by Jamie Tardif, tying the score 3-3. He snapped a shot past Pasquale at 1:21 and tipped another at 2:43, but Haydar briefly reclaimed the lead for the Wolves with his second goal of the night on a power play at 4:58 of the period.

Grand Rapids answered with five straight goals, the first scored by Jan Mursak at 6:06, followed by Cory Emmerton’s goal at 9:19 and Jordan Owens’ at 9:36. Brendan Smith kept the Griffins’ scoring frenzy alive with a goal at 12:52, before Tatar tallied at 13:18 for an 8-4 advantage.

Chicago scored the next three to pull within 8-7, beginning with Michael Davies' power play goal at 18:14 to wrap up the second-period scoring. Fredrik Pettersson notched another power play goal six minutes into the third period, followed by a Nigel Dawes marker 24 seconds later.

Mursak claimed his second goal of the game to give the Griffins a 9-7 lead at 6:49 of the third period, but the Wolves again closed to within a goal thanks to Jared Ross at 11:22, the Wolves' fifth power play goal of the night.

Chris Minard added an empty net goal at 19:24 for the final margin.

Pasquale posted 19 saves in 55:09 of play, while Peter Mannino made four stops in 3:59.

Three Stars: 1. GR Tatar (2 goals, 5 assists); 2. CHI Haydar (2 goals); 3. GR Mursak (2 goals, 2 assists)