[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grand Rapids Griffins won their road opener by a score of 3-2, taking down the Lake Erie Monsters.
An early goal by the Monsters gave Lake Erie a lead, but Mitch Callahan slid a powerplay goal past Calvin Pickard to knot the game up at one. Grand Rapids took the lead in the final few minutes of the first period, when a new face for the Griffins, Kevin Porter, split two Monster defenders and fired a wrist shot over the trapper of Pickard.
In the first 63 seconds of the 2nd period, Teemu Pulkkinen fired one of his laser slap shots in the back of the cage to give the 3-1 edge to the Griffins. Pulkkinen finished with a goal and an assist on the night for the now, 1-1-0-0 Griffins.
The Monsters added a late powerplay goal, but didn’t have enough to beat Thomas McCollum, who had 17 saves in the win. With the W, McCollum picked up his 70th career AHL victory with the Grand Rapids.
The Griffins road trip continues as they head to North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Checkers next Friday and Saturday.
