The Grand Rapids Griffins Have Advanced To the 2nd Round Of the AHL Playoffs
By Nick Seguin
7 years agoLast night, the Grand Rapids Griffins completed their sweep of the Milwaukee Admirals in the first round of the AHL Playoffs, winning the game 3-2 in overtime and the series three games to zero.
It certainly wasn’t the easiest series for the Griffins, who finished 2nd in their Division. Game 1 was another overtime thriller where the teams exchanged goals all game before Tomas Nosek buried the final one at 9:32 of the overtime frame.
Game 2 was a battle. A total of 10 roughing penalties were handed out to both teams and one unsportsmanlike conduct was given (to Evgeni Svechnikov at the end of the second period). The game was much closer than the final 5-2 score suggests. Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice, once on a breakaway coming out of the penalty box, and Axel Holmstrom added one on a beauty pass from Svechnikov. But two of the Griffins goals were empty netters at the end of the game.
In game 3, the Griffins were playing catch-up as Milwaukee twice took the lead. The Griffins managed to tie it both times with goals from Tomas Nosek and Matt Lorito, whose tying goal came with less than four minutes left in the game. Kyle Criscuolo was the eventual overtime hero as he tipped in a point shot from Dan Renouf at 10:03 of the extra frame.
It was a good series for a lot of players, but the Griffins were led by Evgeni Svechnikov (1G, 3A) and Tyler Bertuzzi (2G, 2A) who each had four points in the three games. Jared Coreau was the starter in all three games and posted a .931 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average. With their top players playing at this level, the Griffins have a good chance to make a deep run in these Calder Cup Playoffs.
The second round begins on Wednesday, May 3 against the top-seed Chicago Wolves. They beat the Griffins for the Division Title in the final game of the season by a single point. This should make for a great series, so stay tuned and keep cheering on our future stars! Go Griffs!
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