The Hamilton Bulldogs snapped the Griffins’ winning streak in a 4-1 performance Friday night. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] huge three-goal rally in the second helped lift the Hamilton Bulldogs over the Grand Rapids Griffins Friday night, 4-1. The loss marks just the fourth time in the last 19 games that the Griffins have lost in regulation.
Halfway into the second frame, the Bulldogs held a 3-1 advantage over the Griffins. Gabriel Dumont jammed the puck past Mrazek 55 seconds in. The Bulldogs got on top at 4:36 when Mike Bluden warded off a defender to score on a partial break that resulted from a poor Griffins line change. Sven Andrighetto blasted the puck from the left circle to find the far corner of the net at 8:11, coming off a Griffins timeout that failed to rouse the troops.
With 3:13 left in the game, Griffins goalie Petr Mrazek was pulled in favor of an extra attacker when Greg Pateryn took advantage of the empty net for the final tally of 4-1.
Grand Rapids’ sole goal of the night game at the 14:08 mark of the first, when Jordin Tootoo collected the puck at the left half wall and centered a pass to David McIntyre. The attacker took advantage of a completely screened Dustin Tokarski with a wrist shot from the high slot that flew into the net effortlessly.
The matchup was rare as it featured the two most recent winning goaltenders of the Calder Cup in Mrazek and Tokarski, who won in 2013 and 2012, respectively. Hamilton kept playoff hopes alive after entering the night nine points down on the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.
Grand Rapids, which now holds a 44-21-2-4 record, still holds a seven-point lead in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference. They will host Hamilton again tonight for a chance to redeem the loss at 7 p.m.
