Petr Mrazek made 55-saves in a thrilling 2-1 double overtime win to take a series lead, 1-0. Photo by Clint Trahan/Abbotsford Heat
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grand Rapids Griffins rode a 55-save performance by goalie Petr Mrazek to a 2-1 double-overtime victory in game one of the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs over the Abbotsford Heat.
Mrazek’s 55 saves were the most ever by a Griffins goalie, breaking the 54-mark set by Mike Fountain and Pokey Reddick in playoff games from the Team’s IHL days.
Ryan Sproul finished the game for the Griffins 19:26 into the fifth frame when a long shot of the right boards deflected past the Abbotsford goalie for the final tally of 2-1. It was the third-longest game in franchise history and gave the Griffins a 1-0 series advantage in the best-of-five conference quarter finals.
The Heat struck first at the 11:44 mark. Brett Olson found a rebound off the left side and popped the puck into a wide-open net while Mrazek was distracted after making a pair of of point-blank saves. Grand Rapids evened the tally in the latter half of the third period. Abbotsford held a shot advantage at 15-4 in the second to keep the second to hold the score in their favor.
Mattias Backman and Andreas Athanasiou, two new Grffins’ faces, teamed up to tie the game and send it into overtime. Backman took a centering pass from Athanasiou in the high slot and, with some hesitaton, ripped a shot into the left corner of the net.
The Griffins had played in 30 consecutive postseason games, including their entire championship run, that had been decided in regulation. With the tying goal, they headed into their first overtime in the postseason since a 4-3 loss to Hamilton in game four of the North Division Semifinals in 2009.
Abbotsford held a shot advantage again in the first overtime, 13-5, to cap off a scoreless 60-minute span in which the Heat outshot Grand Rapids 35-12.
Grand Rapids built a 13-8 shot cushion that ended with Sproul’s game winner. With a total time of 99:26, the game was one second longer than the Griffins’ firt-ever playoff overtime game from April 1997.
Adam Almquist suffered an apparent lower body injury early in the opening period when he was leveled from behind in the right corner by an unpenalized Max Reinhart after the whistle was blown for an offsides. He did not return to the game.
Grand Rapids heads into today’s Game 2 of the best-of-five series with a 1-0 lead. The Griffins and Heat will begin play at 10 p.m. EST at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. Game 3 will see the Griffins return to Grand Rapids Wednesday for a 7 p.m. EST start.
