GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Victor Brattstrom’s 30-save outing propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins past the Iowa Wild 3-1 on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins now hold a 5-2-0-0 record in the season series against the Wild with one meeting left.
Riley Barber pushed his career-high point streak to 12 games (9-6—15) with an assist and is now tied for the fourth longest point streak in Griffins’ history. Turner Elson recorded his 22nd helper of the season, a new career best. Jonatan Berggren tallied two points (1-1—2), placing him fourth in the all-time scoring rookie list in franchise history and second in game-winning goals among rookies in the AHL this season with seven.
For the 10th consecutive game, the Griffins allowed their opponent to tally the contest’s first goal. After winning a faceoff in Grand Rapids’ zone, Iowa struck at 11:11 in the opening frame when Mason Shaw gathered the puck and placed it through the five-hole of Brattstrom.
The Griffins tied the game with 5:13 remaining in the stanza. Berggren from the left circle fed the disc to Kyle Criscuolo. Criscuolo then swatted the puck between the pads of netminder Zane McIntyre.
A scoreless middle frame saw the teams combine for just three shots in the opening 10 minutes. Despite being outshot 8-4 in the period, Grand Rapids went into the final intermission with a 15-14 edge in shots.
The Griffins tallied two in the third to propel them to a victory. At 7:16, Taro Hirose found Berggren at the left wing and sent a wrister over the stick of McIntyre. With 3:51 remaining in the final period, Josh Dickinson wrapped around the right post and tucked the puck past McIntyre, handing Grand Rapids a 3-1 win.
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