Grand Rapids, MI – Goaltender Collin Delia made a season-high 40 saves and forward Philipp Kurashev netted two goals in the third period to see the Rockford IceHogs (8-7-1-1) pull away from the Grand Rapids Griffins (7-8-2-0) 4-1 at Van Andel Arena Friday night. The win is the IceHogs’ third in a row and now have points if four consecutive contests (3-0-0-1).
Grand Rapids opened the scoring early in the game on the power play as forward Kyle Criscuolo deflected in his team-leading seventh goal of the season over the glove of Delia at 5:19.
The IceHogs responded with a pair of goals from a pair of defensemen in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the second break. Ian Mitchell picked up his second goal of the season at 6:20 on the power play, blasting a shot from the left faceoff circle past Griffins netminder Calvin Pickard (L, 26 saves on 29 shots). Just over three minutes later, Alec Regula picked up his first goal of the season, catching Pickard out of position from the right-wing circle.
In the third period, the IceHogs continued to push the pace and added to their lead on the man advantage with Kurashev’s first goal of the season at 7:24. Kurashev would seal the victory with his second marker of the night with an empty-net shorthanded goal with 13 seconds to play. Delia provided the defense with a period-high 16 saves.
The IceHogs finished the game 2-for-4 on the power play while the Griffins went 1-for-4.
The Rockford IceHogs close their three-game road trip tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. CT against the Griffins in West Michigan.
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