Texas Stars 2 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3 SO

March 28, 2018

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Consecutive shootout goals from rookies Filip Hronek, Luke Esposito and Axel Holmstrom – the first two in must-score situations – lifted the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-2 victory over the Texas Stars on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena, giving them a critical pair of points as they move closer to locking down a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Despite outshooting the Stars 41-20 through the conclusion of overtime, the Griffins needed extra contributions from their youth to prevail over the 39-save effort by Texas goalie Landon Bow. After Tyler Kelleher beat Tom McCollum in round one, the next two shooters for each team missed before Hronek kept the Griffins alive by undressing Bow with a deke.

Roope Hintz tallied for Texas only to see Esposito score to extend the shootout to a fifth round, and after Justin Dowling’s try was kicked out by McCollum, Holmstrom lulled Bow to sleep before burying the puck to push Grand Rapids’ point streak to five games (4-0-0-1).

Now seven points up on Iowa for a playoff spot, the third-place Griffins (37-24-1-7) are two points ahead of Rockford but only four behind Manitoba and three in back of Chicago in a tight battle for Central Division supremacy. The win reduced Grand Rapids’ magic number for clinching its sixth consecutive playoff berth to 10 points.

Grand Rapids will play its penultimate home game of the regular season on Friday when it hosts the San Jose Barracuda at 7 p.m. in a rematch of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. The Griffins will then face a five-game road trip before entertaining Cleveland on April 14 in their finale.

Texas (34-23-7-4) netted the lone goal of the opening period during a 4-on-4 with 2:37 remaining before intermission. Hintz snuck behind the Griffins’ defense, collected a long pass inside the blue line and snapped a shot beneath McCollum’s right pad from the left hashmarks.

Less than two minutes into the second, the Stars could not capitalize on a gifted opportunity, keeping it a one-goal game. McCollum skated to the right of his net to play a cleared puck, but when he tried to leave it for Hronek a forechecking Colin Markison got to it first and immediately cut in front of the vacated net, only to be thwarted when McCollum’s stick tied him up and prevented the Texas winger from getting off a shot.

A potential Grand Rapids goal was then waved off as the period approached its midpoint. A shot by Eric Tangradi slipped past Bow as Ben Street was shoved into the goal post, dislodging the net and impelling referee Chris Pontes to rule no goal despite a brief protest.

There was no doubt, though, about Hronek’s game-tying goal at the 11:57 mark. Trailing the play into the Texas zone, Hronek entered with speed, corralled a feed from Dominik Shine and skated in before putting a shot through Bow’s five-hole from the slot.

The Griffins’ took a 2-1 lead just 35 seconds into the final frame when Street slammed home a Colin Campbell pass from the left circle, but the advantage was short-lived. From the point, Niklas Hansson sent a wrister into a crowd in front of McCollum, and Samuel Laberge tipped it past the netminder’s glove at 5:31.

The game eventually proceeded to overtime, which transpired in unremarkable fashion until the Stars were whistled for too many men with 37 seconds remaining, prompting Todd Nelson to use the Griffins’ timeout to set up their power play strategy. Grand Rapids kept the puck in the Texas end for the duration but could not get its lone shot past Bow, ushering in the shootout drama.

McCollum made 18 saves to earn his fourth-straight win, tying a season high for the team.

Notes: After the game, the Griffins announced the recall of rookie defenseman Patrick McCarron from ECHL Toledo. McCarron, who has gone scoreless in two games with Grand Rapids this season, has 17 points (8-9—17) in 52 appearances with the league-leading Walleye.

Three Stars: 1. GR Street (goal); 2. TEX Bow (SOL, 39 saves); 3. GR Holmstrom (shootout winner)