Grand Rapids falls in overtime to the visiting Ice Hogs but keeps its point streak alive
Grand Rapids falls in overtime to the visiting Ice Hogs but keeps its point streak alive
Last night at Van Andel Arena, the Grand Rapids Griffins fell 5-4 in overtime to the visiting Rockford Ice Hogs. Despite the defeat, the Griffins picked up a point with the OT loss, extending their present unbeaten run to 18 games (one game shy of the franchise record of 19).
Grand Rapids got off to a strong start on the evening, building a 3-0 lead over the opening 25 minutes on the strength of a Carter Mazur power play goal, Matt Luff's first goal of the season, and an early second period goal from Marco Kasper.
However, from the second half of the second period onward, the game began to drift beyond the Griffins' control. First, Rockford's Cole Guttman (a teammate of Mazur's on Denver's 2022 National Championship-winning team) with just over eight minutes to play in the second.
Still, GR carried a 3-1 lead into the third, but that lead evaporated over the course of three Rockford goals in under two minutes during the second half of the third. The Griffins needed a late goal from Joel L'Esperance to tie the game with just under three minutes to play, forcing overtime and salvaging at least a point.
In overtime, Rockford's Ethan Del Mastro found the winner 3:46 into the extra session. Sebastian Cossa made 21 saves on 26 shots in the losing effort.
"Frustrating," said GR coach Dan Watson, when asked to describe his team's performance. "Emotions got a little high, and probably got out of it a little bit. But the third period, the three goals they scored, we got a little bit lose in coverage at the net front, which we've done a really good job of as of late, and we missed coverage. That team'll kill ya with those plays...Just have to understand what's expected of us down the stretch, and we've done a really good job. To get a point here, I guess it's frustrating, but a point's a point."
Despite that frustration, the Griffins will travel to Cleveland for a Monday night game with the Monsters and a chance to match the team's all-time best unbeaten streak.
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