[dropcap]D[/dropcap]espite snapping a scoring drought that’s lasted 115 total minutes of action, the Grand Rapids Griffins failed to stop Rockford’s Mark McNeill from notching the hat trick to give the Griffins a 3-1 loss.
Grand Rapids got on the board first as Landon Ferraro netted his second goal of the season just 3:29 into the opening frame. Andreas Athanasiou delivered a pass to Ferraro behind the goal line, positioned to the right of IceHogs goaltender Michael Leighton. He stuck the puck inside the goalpost.
Rockford would tie the game at 10:15. The Griffins failed to clear the puck from their end which led to T.J. Brennan firing a shot from the blank through traffic. McNeill gathered the rebound and scored against Tom McCollum.
The game would remain deadlocked until midway through the final frame. NcNeill caused a turnover leading to a clear scoring chance His shot deflected off the leg of Alexey Marchenko and into the net.
McCollum would be pulled in the final minute in favor of an extra attacker, giving way to McNeill’s third score of the night. A high backhanded shot near the neutral zone faceoff circle sailed carelessly into the net for the 3-1 final.
The Griffins fall to 3-6-1-0 on the year. McCollum made 22 stops on 24 shots.
Grand Rapids will return to Van Andel Arena Wednesday night to take on the Lake Erie Monsters at 7 p.m.
