The Griffins celebrate as they advance to the conference semifinals with a 5-3 win over Abbotsford. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Abbotsford Heat didn’t go down without a fight, but ultimately lost to the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins in a 5-3 effort. Jeff Hoggan tallied two goals for the Griffins in his first multi-goal playoff performance as they close out the first round in Game 4 of a five game series.
Hoggan also had an assist in the game while Mattias Backman, Landon Ferraro and Teemu Pulkkinen all tallied two-points on the night. The series win marks the Griffins fifth consecutive playoff series victory dating back to last season. Grand Rapids will face either the top-seeded Texas Stars or third-seeded Toronto Marlies in a best-of-seven matchup.
The opponent and dates for the next series will be announced following the Chicago Wolves and Rochester Americans contest Sunday. A Chicago win would pair Grand Rapids with Texas while a Rochester win would pit the Griffins and Marlies in round two for the second straight year.
The only goal of the first period Friday night came at the 14:21 mark. With a faceoff win in the Griffins’ zone, Shane O’Brien took a pass at the right point and teed up a slap shot the sailed into the top of Petr Mrazek’s net, putting the Heat up 1-0.
A power play in the second period changed the tides, as Pulkkinen connected on a one-timer from the top of the left circle for his second goal of the series at the 7:26 mark. Hoggan responded minutes later, taking advantage of a scrambling Abbotsford to put the puck into the right side of the net with the assist from David McIntyre.
Kane Lafranchise took a backdoor pass from Max Reinhart to be the defender with a backhand to tie things up. Hoggan would respond with his second goal in under ten minutes when he crashed the crease and jammed home a rebound with 22.4 seconds left on the clock for a 3-2 lead.
In the third, both teams exchanged power play goals. Riley Sheahan scored 4:51 into the frame while Marcus Granlund scored 55 seconds later to make the score 4-3. Both scored from the slot.
With four-minutes remaining, Backman made a possible series-saving play for the Griffins. Mrazek raced out to the blue line for a loose puck, being far left out of position when Granlund eventually gathered the puck and took a shot. Backman dove to knock it into the left corner and saved the goal.
With a few seconds left, Ferraro scored into an empty net from a sharp angle to seal the victory. Mrazek made 24 saves in his 28 consecutive playoff start for the Griffins while the Heat’s Ortio stopped 31.
The game marked the final for the Abbotsford Heat franchise and it’s the second straight year the the Griffins brought the curtain down on an AHL team in the first round. Last year, they won a five-game series that ended the Houston Aeros run before they moved to Des Moines and became the Iowa Wild.
The Griffins will host Games 3,4 and 5 of the conference semifinals, regardless of who they face in the next round.
