Defensemen Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro among those with costly bad moments in Rockford's 3-2 OT loss to Grand Rapids. Goalie Jaxson Stauber beaten on two strong-side goals under pads.

The Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, blew a two-goal lead in the third period and fell 3-2 in overtime to the Grand Rapids Griffins in their playoff opener on Saturday.

Stocked with top prospects, including forward Lukas Reichel and defenseman Wyatt Kaiser (minus-1), the IceHogs owned a 2-0 advantage after 40 minutes. But they couldn't manage or build on it before a crowd of 5,947 at the refurbished BMO Center.

Jaxson Stauber, who played in six games with the Blackhawks in 2022-23, was in goal for Game 1 of the best-of-five series with the Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings' AHL farm club. Stauber stopped 34 of 37 shots, but was beaten on a couple of strong-side chances he should have blocked — including one by Grand Rapids Jonatan Berggren at 4:14 of overtime.

Decent Start...

Reichel set up Rockford's opening goal with some smart boards work deep in the Grand Rapids zone. Michal Teply fired in Reichel's quick pass from behind the net 4:24 into the first period for a 1-0 IceHogs lead.

Zach Sanford, a journeyman the Blackhawks acquired in January when they were depleted by injuries, made it 2-0 off a rush at 11:20 of the second. He converted a nifty backhand pass from Mike Hardman.

Crummy Third Period 

The Griffins got goals from Dominik Shine and Amadeus Lombardi in the third to tie it and send it to overtime.

Shine stuffed the puck under Stauber from the strong side 3:05 into the third on a four-on-four. He broke in from the right circle following a coverage mix-up that included AHL All-Star defenseman Ethan Del Mastro.

Lombardi tied it with 4:25 left, scoring from the slot after trailing in late on an odd-man rush. Kaiser and fellow NHL Future Watch Top 10 prospect Colton Dach were on the ice along with Sanford, Hardman and Filip Roos.

Berggren won it when he slipped around Kaiser in the left circle and stuffed in another short-side shot off Stauber's pads.

Game Two of the series is on Wednesday, May 1 in Grand Rapids.

The Wirtz Corporation, the family-controlled entity that owns the Blackhawks, also owns the IceHogs.