Amerks Washed Away By Grand Rapids
By: Thad Brown
Updated: March 2, 2012
The
Grand Rapids Griffins rode a three-goal third period en route to a 4-3
come-from-behind victory over the Rochester Americans at Van Andel Arena
on
Friday night. The loss snapped Rochester's three-game winning streak.
Colin Stuart (0+2) and
Phil Varone (0+2) chipped in two assists apiece for Rochester, with Brayden McNabb (1+0), Luke Adam (1+0), and
T.J. Brennan (1+0) providing the goals. Netminder David Leggio turned away 28 of 32 Griffins shots between the
pipes in his fourth straight start.
Joakim
Andersson (2+0) led the way offensively for Grand Rapids with a
two-goal performance, while Francis Pare (1+1) contributed a goal and an
assist. Louis-Marc Aubry
(1+0) also lit the lamp in the victory and goaltender Ty Conklin
finished with 34 saves.
The
Amerks got on the board first at 14:54 of the opening period when
McNabb potted his fourth goal of the season. The blueliner was the
recipient of a centering pass
from Varone in the slot and quickly snapped it through the legs of
Conklin.
Adam tallied his first goal as an Amerk to double the Rochester advantage to 2-0 just 1:51 into the middle frame.
The
reigning AHL Rookie of the Year pounced on a loose rebound in the slot
after a well executed line rush with Stuart and Evan Rankin, each of
whom picked up an assist on the play.
The
Griffins cut their deficit to 2-1 at 14:50 of the second period, as
Andersson buried a shot from the slot after taking a feed from Gustav
Nyquist.
Andersson cashed in his second consecutive goal 4:35 into the final period to even the score at two apiece.
After
Logan Pyett's point shot failed to get to the net, Andersson corralled
the puck and shoveled it into the net off the skate of a Rochester
defender.
Grand
Rapids scored its third straight unanswered goal at 9:39 of the third,
as Aubrey deflected home a pass from Pare from the right circle.
The Amerks answered back on the power-play at 13:33 to knot things up 3-3. Brennan
one-timed a Varone feed at the right-circle past Conklin for his 12th of the season, tying him for the most goals amongst AHL blueliners.
The
Griffins regained the lead 4-3 with just 3:35 remaining in regulation,
as Pare converted his own rebound from the top of the crease after
having his initial bid
denied by Leggio.
Rochester
heads north of the border on Saturday, March 3 for the first of
back-to-back tilts with the first-place Toronto Marlies at Ricoh
Coliseum. Game time is slated
for a 5:00 p.m.
