Dec. 27, 2010 - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 at Chicago Wolves 6

ROSEMONT, Ill. – As a result of four injuries and Jan Mursak’s recall to Detroit, the Grand Rapids Griffins struggled to overcome the Chicago Wolves falling 6-3 at the Allstate Arena, after dressing only 16 players, two shy of a full lineup and losing another with Brandon Straub’s game misconduct midway through the second period.

The Griffins (15-14-1-4) are now 2-1 against the Wolves (16-15-2-1) after tonight’s loss and will not see each other again until after the New Year. Keeping in sync with the holidays, Grand Rapids’ next game will take place at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 31 for the 14th annual New Year’s Eve contest as they host the Toronto Marlies.

Willie Coetzee started off the scoring rally for Grand Rapids with a quick pass to Joakim Andersson, who notched goal at 5:49 of the first period. Following with a power play goal at 11:36, Brendan Smith snapped a wrist shot past Peter Mannino to give the Griffins a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.

Keeping the energy alive, Jamie Tardif steered a centering pass from AndersSon into the Wolves’ net at 3:49 of the middle stanza, claiming the league lead for the Griffins’ with their ninth short-handed goal of the season.

The Griffins lead came to an abrupt end when Chicago responded with four consecutive goals; the first off the stick of Jared Ross on a power play at 5:01 of the period, followed by the second goal at 9:07 on a shot by Mark Matheson. The third goal was tallied by Nigel Dawes to tie the score at 13:46 while the final goal tallied by Darren Haydar, gave the Wolves’ a 4-3 advantage at 15:02 of the second.

Paul Postma quickly extended Chicago’s lead 5-3 with a power play goal 58 seconds into the third the period. At 10:52 of the period, Akim Aliu claimed the Wolves’ sixth and final goal of the game on a breakaway.

Joey MacDonald posted 34 saves for Grand Rapids, while Mannino recorded 24 saves for Chicago.

Three Stars: 1. CHI Krog (3 assists); 2. CHI Haydar (1goal, 1 assist); 3. GR Andersson (1 goal, 2 assists)