The Abbotsford Heat take on the Grand Rapids Griffins at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre on April 26, 2014 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Photo by Clint Trahan/Abbotsford Heat
[dropcap]D[/dropcap]espite trailing 2-1 early in the game, the Grand Rapids Griffins scored six unanswered goals to defeat the Abbotsford Heat on Saturday, winning game two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals by a score of 7-2.
Andrej Nestrasil, Teemu Pulkkinen and Ryan Sproul each had three points for the Griffins as they put on one of the most dominant road performances in their franchise history. Not only did their 46 shots on goal set a franchise record, but they only allowed 17 shots on net which was only one away from their postseason road record.
With a 2-0 lead in the series, the Griffins will have three opportunities to end the series on home ice, the first chance being on Wednesday when they host the Heat at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.
In a high-scoring first period the Heat struck first 7:40 into the game when Emile Poirier knocked in a rebound past Petr Mrazek from the leftside. It didn’t take long for the Griffins to tie it up when Trevor Parkes scored in his Calder Cup playoff debut at the 10:13 mark.
The Heat got a lucky bounce at the 15:32 mark of the first period when Max Reinhart’s feed from the right of the net hit off the skate of Brennan Evans and slid past Mrazek. Unfazed, Grand Rapids tied the score just 35 seconds later when Sproul’s shot from the left circle hit off Nestrasil before crossing the line.
Cory Emmerton scored a shorthanded goal with 36 seconds left in the first, giving the Griffins a 3-2 lead at the end of the period
British Columbia native Jeff Hoggan made the most of his homecoming by giving the Griffins a 4-2 lead early in the second period. At the 11:19 mark Nestrasil added his second goal of the game, causing the Heat to take Joni Ortio out of the game and replacing him with rookie Doug Carr.
Andreas Athanasiou was given a penalty shot at the 14:18 mark when his breakaway attempted was interfered with by Kane Lafranchise and Markus Granlund, but was unsuccessful with attempt. At the end of two periods the Griffins not only had a 5-2 lead but also had a 35-11 shot advantage.
Sproul scored the Griffins’ first power play goal of the postseason when his shot went underneath Carr’s arm 6:42 into the third period. Pulkkinen ended the scoring for the Griffins courtesy of a one-timer from the left circle with 7:51 left in the game.
Mrazek made his 26th consecutive postseason start for the Griffins, finishing with 15 saves on 16 shot attempts. Ortio suffered the loss by allowing five goals on 30 shots, with Carr only saving 14 of the 16 shots he faced.
