ROCKFORD, Ill. — Austin Czarnik’s shootout-winning goal helped the Grand Rapids Griffins tie a franchise high of seven consecutive road victories at seven in a 3-2 shootout win over the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Center on Friday.
Alongside the consecutive road wins, the Griffins extended their win streak to six games, which is a season-high. Sebastian Cossa collected his sixth win in his last seven contests. The rookie goaltender recorded a .926 save percentage tonight, which added to his total .908 save percentage. Grand Rapids is now tied for second place in the Central Division with the Texas Stars.
The Griffins broke the tie late in the first frame when Josiah Didier cannoned a wrist shot past Drew Commesso from the right-wing boards for the 1-0 lead at 18:36.
Following a scoreless middle frame, the IceHogs found twine midway through the final period, as David Gust netted the game-tying goal with a high slot shot that beat Sebastian Cossa with 9:34 remaining. Roughly five minutes after the Rockford tally, a blast from the blue line bounced off Commesso’s pads, which was then whacked into the net by Amadeus Lombardi on the doorstep at 15:50.
With Commesso pulled and Rockford on the power play, the IceHogs tied the game up while 6-on-4 with a shot that was batted down behind Cossa by Mike Hardman in the crease with 1:36 remaining.
After 65 minutes of hockey, the game remained tied at 2-2. Cossa denied Cole Guttman, Brett Seney and Gust, which prevented Rockford from scoring a shootout goal. In the third round, Czarnik skated in and fired the puck through the five-hole of Commesso to seal both a 1-0 result in the shootout and a 3-2 victory over their Central Division foe.
Notes
– Both Czarnik’s (3-5–8) and Jonatan Berggren’s (7-6–13) point streaks ended at six games.
– Since Christmas, the Griffins are 11-2-1-0 and have outscored their opponents
-Tonight’s contest is the sixth time Grand Rapids and Rockford have clashed this season while being the 130th overall meeting between the two teams.
– The last time the Griffins strung together seven consecutive road wins was between Jan. 29 and Feb. 28, 2015.
Box Score
1. GR Czarnik (shootout-winner); 2. RFD Hardman (goal); 3. GR Didier (goal)
Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 20-15-4-1 (45 pts.) / Fri., Feb. 9 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m.
Rockford: 16-19-3-2 (37 pts.) / Sat., Feb. 3 vs. Manitoba 7 p.m. CST
Photo by Rockford IceHogs
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