The Grand Rapids Griffins won a tight game on Saturday night, building a 2-0 lead on goals by Tyler Spezia and Taro Hirose, and then hanging on for a 2-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs thanks to a 21-save effort by Calvin Pickard.
The Griffins’ website posted a game recap:
GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2 at Rockford IceHogs 1
Nov. 6, 2021
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Grand Rapids Griffins swept the weekend when they defeated the Rockford IceHogs 2-1 on Saturday at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The Griffins now have won three of their last four games and two straight away from West Michigan.
Grand Rapids got on the board first when it scored a shorthanded goal at the 9:07 mark. Dominik Shine broke free on the left side and passed the puck through the legs of a defender to Tyler Spezia who stood at the right circle and sent his shot past the blocker of Arvid Soderblom.
Just ten seconds later, Taro Hirose scored at the top of the right circle on a redirect off a flip pass from Jonatan Berggren putting the Griffins in front 2-0. Grand Rapids held a 10-7 shot advantage going into the first intermission, which marked the second time this season that the Griffins outshot their opponent after the opening frame.
Coming out of the break, Rockford looked to tie the game but netminder Calvin Pickard stood tall. The IceHogs were held to two shots through the first 12:57 of play in the second period.
After a Grand Rapids penalty, the IceHogs were able to get on the scoreboard during the power play. With 41 seconds remaining in the frame, Rockford’s goalie Soderblom sent the puck down the ice finding Evan Barrat who skated down and sent a backdoor pass to Brett Connolly at the right post, cutting the deficit to one. Pickard now has allowed just one goal in four of his six starts and has won three straight games.
It was all Rockford in the third period as the Griffins did not register a shot until the 11:07 mark. In the final 33 seconds Shine and Hirose came up big with two blocked shots to help Grand Rapids secure the 2-1 victory.
The Griffins’ website also posted a photo gallery and a set of highlights, courtesy of the IceHogs:
