Two suspensions and a one-day loss of the Western Conference lead were not on the docket for the Grand Rapids Griffins during their weekend tilt in the state of Texas. The Griffins went 1-2 for the weekend, splitting a series with the second place Texas Stars and then losing to the San Antonio Rampage.
Grand Rapids (28-12-2-2) finished the tilt with a one-point lead in the Western Conference and still maintain a strong 10-point lead in the Midwest Division.
Griffins lose Western Conference lead
Grand Rapids lost the Western Conference lead after a 6-4 loss to Texas Friday night. (Photo provided by the Grand Rapids Griffins)
The Griffins lost Friday night’s game against the Texas Stars in an explosive performance by each team. The Stars won 6-4 and took a two point lead in the Western Conference.
The Stars got on the board early after a pair of penalties by the Griffins allowed Derek Meech to hit a one-timer past Tom McCollum for a 1-0 lead. Brendan Ranford tallied two more goals later to close out the first frame with a 3-0 lead for the Stars. Seconds after the third goal, the puck slid past McCollum but the refs waved off the goal, keeping it 3-0.
Texas scored again 1:14 in the second period when AHL points leader Travis Morin put one past McCollum and the left goal post. Grand Rapids pulled McCollum in favor of rookie goaltender Jared Coreau, recognizing they needed change.
At the 11:26 mark, Trevor Parkes poked the puck in off a Triston Grant wraparound the cut into the lead, 4-1. Teemu Pulkkinen found the back of the net off a wrister to cut the lead in half at 4-2.
A big hit by Evans kicked off the third period, leading to a fight between him and William Wrenn. Both received penalties for fighting. Wrenn got an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and Evans took five additional minutes for elbowing and a 10-minute game misconduct. The elbowing incident earned Evans his three game suspension.
Mike Hedden scored off a power-play to put Texas up 5-2. Colton Sceviour seemingly put Grand Rapids out if it’s misery at the 10:29 mark, scoring Texas’ sixth goal.
Pulkkinen scored a minute later to cut the lead in half at 6-3, and Adam Almquist earned his first goal of the season later in the period to make the final 6-4.
The AHL handed down suspensions to Evans and Grant for their actions in this game. Evans missed Sunday night’s game against San Antonio and will miss Friday’s game against Chicago and Saturday’s at Milwaukee. Grant missed the San Antonio game Sunday night for a slew-footing incident in the game.
Griffins retake Western Conference
Grand Rapids sought revenge for the embarrassing loss Friday night to Texas and got it when they stomped the Stars 4-1 to take back the Western Conference.
Scoring didn’t open up until 1:51 into the second frame when Texas’ Scott Glennie dropped a past to the right circle, allowing bury a one-timer. Less than 90 seconds later Mitch Callahan evened things with his 17th goal of the season. Calle Jarnkrok won the faceoff and dropped the pass to Callahan who scored from a tight angled shot.
Andrej Nestrasil rocketed the puck deep into the net to take the lead for Grand Rapids as soon as the puck dropped on the faceoff. Landon Ferraro earned the final two goals to secure the victory for the Griffins. Pulkinnen and Jordin Tootoo had assists on the two goals. The third period was scoreless.
Rampge comeback and overpower Griffins
Grand Rapids fell to San Antonio 6-5 after giving up four unanswered goals in the third period Sunday night. (Photo provided by the Grand Rapids Griffins)
Grand Rapids held a three goal lead entering the third period, but that quickly fell apart as the Rampage mounted a comeback from a 5-2 deficit to win 6-5. Despite the devastating loss, this was the second consecutive game that the Griffins scored four unanswered goals in the second period.
Pulkinnen had two goals on the night while Adam Almquist had three assists. Rookie goaltender Coreau turned away 27 of 33 shots.
At 7:08, San Antonio’s Quinton Howden sent a pass to Jed Ortmeyer who took a point-blank shot for a 1-0 advantage. At 12:49, Almquist took a shot that was deflected, causing Ferraro to dive at the puck and dropped it into the lower right corner of the goal to tie things up.
Under 30 seconds later, Ortmeyer scored again off a rebound from a Ryan Whitney long shot to retake the lead for San Antonio.
Travis Novak and Ryan Sproul each scored one while Pulkinnen scored two to take a 5-2 lead in the second period.
Things quickly fell apart in the third for the Griffins, as they gave up four unanswered goals of their own, allowing the San Antonio Rampage to win 6-5. John McFarland scored twice in the third for the Rampage, including the tying goal and the game winner with 16 seconds left.
Despite the loss, Grand Rapids still maintains a one-point advantage in the Western Conference and a strong 10-point lead in the Midwest Division. The Griffins will play the Chicago Wolves Friday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The Wolves are the second place team in the Midwest Division.
