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Griffins Blow 2 Goal Lead, Fall to Stars 3-2
GR wastes 29 save gem by Pearce...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
February, 18th, 2011
Grand Rapids jumped out to an early 2-0 lead but had trouble holding on as the visiting Texas Star rallied to force overtime and take a shootout win 3-2. Tomas Tatar (13) and Jamie Johnson (8) scored for the Griffins. Netminder Jordan Pearce made 29 saves in the loss and 4 of 5 in the shootout. The loss was the Griffins fifth in seven games in February.
The Griffins got off to a quick start, scoring a goal right away, but it was called off just as fast. Tatar finally scored one that counted 8:40 into the period when he walked out from behind the net and wrested a shot past Bachman that surprised him. Ehrhardt thumped Chupp along the boards with a thundering check that gave the Griffins some life. About five minutes later, Meech fired a cross ice feed to Johnson back door for an easy tap in to take a two goal lead. Tardif dropped the gloves in front of the penalty boxes with Tousignant and laid a pretty good beating on him. The Stars finally got one by Pearce on a 5-on-3 powerplay. The Griffins netminder made the initial stop but the puck just trickled through him and into the net. Shots on Goal: GR 10 - Tex 12.
Smith got checked into the griffins bench, got right back on the ice and ran the player that hit him. Two on one with Johnson and Owens, great pass by Johnson, but Owens fired it into Bachman's glove. Lots of good chances late in the period by Grand Rapids as the Griffins spent a lot of time around the Texas net. Shots on Goal: GR 10 - Tex 6.
Texas evened the score at two early in the period on a goal by Segal. Janik got boarded by Wathier and went down heavily. Several griffins took exception with the hit, most notably Smith who cross checked Wathier. A nice give and go between Tatar and Johnson while 4 on 4 ended up with a good scoring chance that Bachman had to reach behind him to make sure he got it. Shots on Goal: GR 13 - Tex 11.
Filppula came out of the box early in overtime and had a great chance to put the game away. Emmerton had a nice rush and was wiped out after taking the shot. This set up a Griffins powerplay that saw GR get several good chances but none that beat Bachman. Shots on Goal: GR 4 - Tex 2, For the Game: GR 37 - Tex 32.
The Shootout
Scevior started the first round for Texas, sending a low shot on net that Pearce stopped with a leg pad. Filppula countered for the Griffins but his weak shot five hole was stopped. Wathier ripped a shot that beat Pearce cleanly, low glove side. Minard went next for Grand Rapids and rang a big shot off Bachman's pads. Segal started the third round, making a nice move, but Pearce stayed with him and took the shot away. Mursak missed the net with his attempt. Roman Fired the puck wide of the net in round four followed by Johnson who decked and just couldn't get it over Bachman's pads. Tousignant tried to go low but Pearce took away the whole bottom of the net. And finally the captain fired the Griffins' fifth chance over the netand giving the stars a come from behind win.
Lines:
Tatar - Filppula - Mursak
Tardif - Emmerton - Pare
Owens - Johnson - Minard
Straub - Andersson - Keefe
Pairings:
Meech - Pyett
Lashoff - Ehrhardt
Janik - Smith
Starter: Pearce
Backup: McCollum
Scratches:
Kolosov - Knee
Amadio - Ankle
Raedeke
PP:
Owens - Johnson - Minard
Pare - Meech
Tatar - Filppula - Mursak
Smith - Pyett
PK:
Tatar - Filppula
Meech - Smith
Andersson - Johnson
Janik - Ehrhardt
Owens - Johnson
Observations:
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