Holy Goalie

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin Pickard’s first shutout of the year propelled the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-0 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Friday at Van Andel Arena, marking the Griffins third win in just as many outings and fourth victory in the past five games.

Pickard’s shutout was his fourth of his Griffins career, moving him into a tie for 10th place in franchise history with Jani Hurme, Martin Prusek, and Eddie Pasquale. Pickard now has won four straight and has allowed one goal or less in five of his seven starts.

The opening period started well for the Griffins as they got on the board at the 5:12 mark. Jonatan Berggren sent a no-look pass that sailed through the defenders’ legs to Turner Elson who made a diving fall for the tap-in score at the right post. Berggren’s helper pushed his point streak (3-3—6) to five games.

Manitoba started to attack the goal when Simon Lundmark shot from the right circle with 11:52 remaining but Pickard held his own. Later in the first at the 16:52 mark, the Moose found themselves on a 2-on-1 break as Cole Perfetti skated down the slot with a chance to tie the game at one but Pickard was up for the task.

As the second frame began, Manitoba continued to pressure the net as they registered 14 shots, however the brick wall of Pickard was too much.

With 19 seconds remaining in the period, Tyler Spezia connected with Riley Barber who was skating down the left side and broke past the defenders to shoot a laser from the slot over the glove of Mikhail Berdin to give Grand Rapids a 2-0 lead. Barber’s tally was his fifth of the year, pushing his point streak (4-4—8) to five games.

As the final period started Manitoba hoped to cut the deficit to one during a power play midway through the frame, but Pickard stood tall to keep his perfect game alive.

As 2:11 remained in the contest, Manitoba pulled Berdin for an extra skater, hoping to mark a tally. However, Pickard stayed poised and recorded his first shutout of the season.