A three-goal second period helped lift Grand Rapids over Iowa for a 3-2 win. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grand Rapids Griffins pulled off a huge three-goal second period Saturday to overcome a two-goal deficit against the Iowa Wild. Grand Rapids earned the 3-2 victory for a season sweep of the Wild on the road.
After Triston Grant got whistled for roughing, Iowa’s Stephane Veilleux got the puck into the danger zone and Carson McMillan poked the puck past Griffins goaltender Petr Mrazek 4:40 into the first period. The Wild doubled their lead 9:39 into the game as Kris Foucault dove at a loose rebound, lifting the puck over Mrazek’s left pad.
Ryan Sproul got the Griffins their first tally of the day 3:26 into the second period. He snapped a wrister that went past bodies and sailed past John Curry, cutting the lead in half at 2-1.
Grand Rapids got help from Iowa when Kyle Medvec was whistled for slashing at 9:50 and Tyler Cuma was caught cross-checking at 10:35, giving them over a minute of five-on-three play. Nathan Paetsch rocketed the puck from middle ice to even the tally.
Mitch Callahan took the lead for the Griffins at 12:41 when he took a rebounded shot from Andrej Nestrasil and slipped it past Iowa’s Curry. Both Callahan and Nestrasil earned their sixth point in four games on the play.
Grand Rapids held Iowa to just two shots in the final period of play.
The Griffins are now 11-1-0-1 in the last 13 games, including 7-0-0-1 record away from home. Their next game is against Midwest Division rivals Chicago Wolves at 4 p.m. ET to continue their seven-game road trip.
Griffins topple Wild, 4-1
The Griffins stomped the Wild Friday in a 4-1 performance. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
Within 13 seconds of the first faceoff, Grand Rapids took a 1-0 lead that stayed throughout the game, leading the Griffins to a 4-1 victory over the Iowa Wild Friday.
Jeff Hoggan nailed a wrist shot from the left boards to beat Wild goalie Johan Gustafsson 13 seconds into the game. This was the fastest goal of the season for the Griffins. The rest of the first period remained scoreless.
Mitch Callahan doubled the lead 1:43 into the second frame when Tyler Cuma lost the puck behind his own net, allowing Callahan to slip the puck past Gustafsson. Iowa’s Kris Foucault and Stephane Veilleux exchanged a give-and-go that resulted in a saucer pass finding the stick of Foucault, allowing him to cut the lead in half with the man advantage with under five minutes left in the second.
With 14 seconds left in the second, Andrej Nestrasil picked up the deflected shot from Callahan and sent it into the net to extend the lead by two again at 3-2.
The final goal of the game came at 9:20 of the third period. David McIntyre got to the high slot and nailed a wrister into the top shelf for the final tally of 4-1.
