Griffins top Wolves, 3-1

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Grand Rapids Griffins ended the three-game weekend in style with a 3-1 win over the Chicago Wolves on Sunday at Allstate Arena.

The Griffins finished the weekend with five of six possible points in three matchups. Matt Luff, Danny O’Regan and Taro Hirose each extended their point streaks, with Luff pushing his run to five games (2-4–6) and Hirose (1-3–4) and O’Regan (1-3–4) recording a point or more in each game this weekend. In his last eight appearances, Hirose has 10 points (2-8-10) and is currently tied in 13th place in assists in the AHL with 35. Alex Nedeljkovic also secured his 100th victory in the AHL with 28 saves on 29 shots as well as an assist on Dominik Shine’s empty-netter to seal the win.

The Griffins outshot the Wolves 9-6 in the opening frame and were the lone team to light the lamp. At 15:31, Luff intercepted a pass behind the net and found Hirose in the crease, allowing him to tap the puck between the pads of Zachary Sawchenko for a 1-0 lead.

Grand Rapids’ penalty kill fended off two power-play opportunities for Chicago to begin the second period. With a 5-on-3 advantage at 10:37, Hirose reached out his stick to retain the puck in the left circle and flung a slick pass to O’Regan on the doorstep. O’Regan buried the shot, giving the Griffins a 2-0 lead and their seventh power-play goal in five outings. The Wolves quickly responded at 11:54, as Ryan Dzingel scored in his first game back from injury to cut their deficit to one.

The Griffins killed off another pair of power-play chances for Chicago in the third, helping them retain their lead down the stretch. The Wolves pulled Sawchenko with 2:38 remaining, allowing Nedeljkovic to send a heave down the ice for a potential goalie goal. His attempt glided wide left, setting up Shine to score an empty-netter from the left circle at 18:37.