ROCKFORD, Ill – The Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Rockford IceHogs in a shutout 6-0 Saturday night at the MetroCentre, marking the midway point of the season with their 40th game.
The Griffins wrapped up their second contest of a season-high six-game road trip against the IceHogs. The team will continue on the road for 9 of their next 14 games, traveling to Texas on Thursday to take on the San Antonio Rampage.
Rockford landed on the board early in the first period, with three consecutive goals. With assists from Ben Smith, Ivan Vishnevskiy tallied two back-to-back goals for the IceHogs, the first at 4:35 and followed by a power play goal at 5:51 of the period. Shawn Lalonde continued the IceHogs’ scoring with a goal at 15:06, giving them a 3-0 advantage over the Griffins heading into the second period.
Brian Connelly kept the Rockford scoring frenzy alive, slipping a goal past Joey MacDonald just 34 seconds into the second period while Smith claimed his third assist of the night. Furthering the IceHogs’ lead to 5-0, Jeff Taffe notched a goal at 3:47.
The IceHogs found the net again in the third period, when Kyle Beach at fired off a goal at 8:13 extending their lead to 6-0. Alec Richards held the Griffins at bay, claiming a shutout with 22 stops while MacDonald posted 12 saves and Jordan Pearce tallied 17 saves.
Three Stars : 1. RFD Vishnevskiy (2 goals); 2. RFD Smith (3 assists); 3. RFD Richards (22 saves)
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