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IceHogs Outlast Griffins 2-1
Mantha takes over AHL scoring lead with 6th goal...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
October 21st, 2016
Anthony Mantha kept up his hot hand, netting his 6th goal in 4 games, but it was not enough as the Griffins fell 2-1 to the visiting Rockford IceHogs Friday night. The third year sniper assumed the AHL scoring lead, turning his demotion by Detroit into an assault on the league leaderboard. Special teams helped do in the Griffins as Rockford went 2-for-2 with the man advantage while GR was 0-3. Jared Coreau had another strong performance stopping 30 of 32 shots.
Neither team had much of an advantage during a very slow first period. Play was back and forth with very little offense generated. The IceHogs had a couple of semi-dangerous chances, but Coreau came up big to keep the game scoreless. Shots on goal: GR 8 - Roc 10.
Mitch Callahan had a great chance on a 2-on-1 when he dragged the puck around a diving defenseman and fired a shot off Johansson's shoulder. Coreau was money in traffic, stopping two great shots from close in. A Svechnikov hooking penalty proved costly as Abbot notched a powerplay goal to open the scoring. he almost made up for it a minute later when he had a wicked rip from the line that just missed the net. Kyle Criscuolo picked up a rebound and just fired it wide on an empty net. Great defensive play by Renouf to take away a scoring chance with a sliding poke check. Shots on goal: GR 9 - Roc 9.
Nathan Paetsch got beat one on one, a rare occurrence, and Lundberg made the most of it, firing a shot past Coreau, stick side, for a powerplay goal. Mantha got the Griffins in the board when he crashed the net and converted a centering pass from Lorito in the corner. Coreau with a huge stop on Johnson, who had been left alone in front. The Griffins had several quality chances in the latter stages of the period as they attacked the net looking for the equalizer. Coreau to the bench for the extra attacker, but the Griffins could not get possession in the attacking zone. Callahan at the side of the net missed a glorious chance to tie things up in the final minute. The clock ran out, giving the Griffins their first loss of the season. Shots on goal: GR 11 - Roc 13. For the game: GR 28 - Roc 32.
Lines:
Tangradi - Lorito - Mantha
Bertuzzi - #10 Street - Callahan
Svechnikov - Aubry - Criscuolo
#21 Borkowski - Turgeon - Campbell
Pairings:
Lashoff - Jensen
Paetsch - Russo
Hicketts - #20 Renouf
Starter: Coreau
Backup: Pasquale
Scratches:
#11 Cleary - Veteran
#17 Caito
#39 Sadowy
#37 Nastasiuk
#44 Allen
#55 Ford - Veteran
PP:
Callahan - Lorito - Tangradi
Paetsch - Mantha
Bertuzzi - Criscuolo/Street - Svechnikov
Hicketts - Russo
PK:
Aubry - Campbell
Lashoff - Jensen
Callahan - Criscuolo
Paetsch - Renouf
Observations:
This was a pretty tame game between these two spirited rivals. Normally the intensity between Rockford and Grand Rapids feels like a playoff contest, but tonight it was snoozer.
Dan Renouf made his season debut and played a pretty strong game, shaking off the rust pretty quickly. He stood out with a couple of defensive plays, using his speed and wingspan to knock the puck away and out of trouble.
Ben Street also made his Griffins debut, sliding into the center spot between Callahan and Bertuzzi. It does not appear that he is 100% after his pre-season injury, as evidenced by winger Mitch Callahan handling the majority of the faceoff duties for the line.
Speaking of Callahan, He currently sits 10th in league scoring and just missed a couple of opportunities to climb that list, including missing a shot on a wide open net in the closing seconds of the game.
Jared Coreau deserved a better fate as he made some incredible stops and looked very calm and composed in the net. There was one sequence where he closed off the net and three quick saves in a row right on the doorstep from two different shooters (angle's).
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