The Rockford IceHogs may have lost to the Grand Rapids Griffins but Artyom Levshunov scored his first career AHL goal.

The Rockford IceHogs took on the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday night. The Chicago Blackhawks played the Detroit Red Wings earlier in the week, so these two organizations have seen each other often recently. 

This was already the third meeting this season between the IceHogs and Griffins. Rockford won the previous two 4-1 so the Griffins came in looking to avenge their early shortcomings against Rockford.

Overall, the Griffins have been significantly better than the IceHogs. At 8-1-1-0, the Griffins lead the Central Division. Rockford is in fifth with a 3-5-0 record. 3 of Rockford's 5 victories have come against the Griffins, however. That's hockey for you.

Rockford's lineup featured a few names that Blackhawks fans are familiar with. Frank Nazar, Colton Dach, Ethan Del Mastro, Kevin Korchinski, and Drew Commesso all played. However, it was the 2024 second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov, who made the headline. 

Levshunov started the year recovering from an injury so some of his AHL firsts are a bit delayed. Well, on Friday night, he did something that he is not going to forget any time soon. 

After a scoreless first and second period, Grand Rapids went up 2-0 before Frank Nazar cut the lead in half with a short-handed goal. It was then tied up on Levshunov's first career AHL goal. It couldn't have come at a more perfect time in the game. 

Unfortunately, the IceHogs conceded a goal quickly again and that served as the game-winner (final score of 3-2). The IceHogs aren't going to beat their big rival every time but they certainly give their best effort. 

You can't help but wonder why nothing happened on the scoreboard for either team until the third period. We'll see how they respond to that. 

For Levshunov, this is a very exciting moment for him despite the result of the game. His patience with the puck on the goal and his accuracy of the shot made it special. He'll remember it forever. 

Next up for Levshunov and the IceHogs is the second half of a back-to-back. This one will be a match against the Iowa Wild. Funny enough, the Blackhawks play the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. 

This big AHL milestone is now behind Levshunov. It is on the coaching staff and organization to develop him properly. With that first goal out of the way, he is free to continue building his game the right way. 

The plan is for Connor Bedard to be one of the main pieces on the team alongside Levhshunov. So far, the early returns for both at different pro levels have been good. 

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