GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — On Friday, the Grand Rapids Griffins ran into a hot goalie in Kasimir Kaskisuo. They peppered the Chicago Wolves goalie with 33 shots, but he stopped every one, as the Griffins fell 2-0.

On Sunday, the Griffins ran into another hot goalie in Milwaukee’s Matt O’Connor. It looked like the Griffins were going to be held off the scoresheet for the second consecutive game, but a center-ice slap shot from Filip Hronek on the power play broke the 114-minute scoreless streak for the Griffins, and a Tyler Bertuzzi power-play goal secured the 2-1 win against the Admirals at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins had 27 shots on goal through the first two periods and hit a couple of posts. Griffins coach Todd Nelson said Sunday’s game reminded him of Friday’s matchup.

“I had flashes of the same type of game,” he told Wings Nation. “I liked our play away from the puck. I’d like to see us generate more. We’re getting some shots on net, but a lot of them are perimeter. So, we’re going to have to find a way to get in tight and get rewarded.

“Our power-play goal that Bert scored, it was just being hungry in front of the net. That’s what we need more consistently. But our play away from the puck was fine five on five. What it came down to (Sunday night) was special teams. We got two power-play goals, and our kill was excellent.”

The Griffins were a perfect 7 for 7 on the penalty kill and now sport an 81.3 penalty-kill percentage, which is 22nd in the AHL.

Hronek’s slap shot from center ice was a knuckler that dipped down and fooled O’Connor and tied the game at 1-1 with 7:36 left in the third period.

“It was a knuckler — when he hit the puck, it didn’t have the trajectory that a normal shot would take,” Nelson said. “It dipped down, so sometimes those kinds of shots fool goalies.”

Tom McCollum got the start for the Griffins, making his fourth start of the season. The 27-year-old made a number of key saves to keep the game close. He had 33 saves in notching his first win of the season.

“I really thought as a whole, as a team, we did a great job,” McCollum said. “The guys did a great job of giving clean lanes to see pucks. At the same time, we were able to get guys clearing my rebounds.”

McCollum has a GAA of 3.97 and a .880 save percentage after Sunday’s win. Nelson said McCollum was “excellent.”

“I thought Tommy was great,” Nelson said. “He was big for us on the penalty kill. He had to make some big saves the last five minutes when they were on the power play.”

McCollum looked poised in net and relied on great positioning to make a number of big saves. Despite not getting many starts this season, McCollum said he’s comfortable whenever he plays.

“It’s definitely tough, fortunately, I kinda got used to it last year when I wasn’t playing at all to start the season,” he said. “I think the important thing is I’ve put in a lot of work with (Brian Mahoney-Wilson), our goalie coach. I think that’s helped me a lot. I feel very comfortable in the net.”

Bertuzzi looked even more confident than he did in his first game. He had a team-high four shots and continued to play his patented physical style of hockey.

“I thought it was better, I think he was more involved (Sunday),” Nelson said. “That’s expected. I expect that from Bert. First game back, you don’t have high expectations, you just want to see how he handles it. He was fine in the first game — (in Sunday’s) game, especially in the third, I thought he competed hard and he was making some good plays.”

After a Matt Puempel shot on the power play, a scramble ensued in front of the net, and Bertuzzi got his stick on the loose puck and beat O’Connor for the game-winning goal.

“It’s a conference game, division game. Points are huge in these types of games. We’re happy to get a win,” Bertuzzi said.

Evgeny Svechnikov, who has one goal in his first seven games since returning from a neck injury, was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s game.

Svechnikov has struggled getting back up to game speed, looking unconfident and unable to make an impact. Nelson said the scratch wasn’t based on performance, but rather was a chance for the 21-year-old to re-evaluate his play.

“He needs time off,” Nelson said. “He needs a chance to step back and watch the game from up top, see what he thought about it. Sometimes, when players do that, they get a different perspective. Bottom line is nobody cares more than Evgeny Svechnikov. I think right now, he’s just putting too much pressure on himself. It’s just a reset button for him. We look to get him back in the lineup on Wednesday. Hopefully, this helps.”