The Grand Rapids Griffins suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to the Texas Stars on Sunday, and the Griffins’ website posted a recap thereof:
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Despite earning a point, the Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Texas Stars 3-2 in overtime on Sunday at Van Andel Arena courtesy of a power-play game-winner.
Dominik Shine tallied his seventh goal of the year during the outing, good for his third point in the last four games (1-2—3). Elmer Soderblom earned his second goal of the campaign, while Brogan Rafferty and Shai Buium were credited with assists. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa turned away 27 shots, maintaining a .919 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against average alongside a 10-5-3 record.
Just 3:27 into the contest, Shine broke loose from the Texas defense and gave the Griffins an early lead with an unassisted goal. Grand Rapids quickly added to its lead when Soderblom sniped the puck home at 8:28. Soderblom skated into the Stars’ zone and went bar down past the netminder at the top of the right circle. Grand Rapids finished the first frame ahead 2-0, as The Griffins’ first two shots resulted in goals.
The Stars earned their first tally of the outing with 3:34 left in the second period when Justin Hryckowian scored. Each team killed off a penalty in the frame, as the Griffins preserved a 2-1 lead entering the third.
Grand Rapids jumped out to an 8-3 shot advantage in the final period and held the lead, but with 1:24 remaining, Hryckowian tied the score at two with his second goal. A Griffins’ penalty left them short handed for the final 1:18 of regulation but they denied the Stars’ scoring efforts, extending the contest to overtime.
Grand Rapids entered overtime short handed and turned away three shots, but Arttu Hyry snuck the puck past Cossa for the game-winning goal at 1:28, as the Griffins fell 3-2.
The Griffins’ website posted a photo gallery, a highlight clip and an interview clip…
MLive’s Tyler Kuehl posted a recap…
Cossa played well overall, even though he was handed his third overtime loss of the year, stopping 27 of the 30 shots he faced on Sunday. The 22-year-old was moving well and put himself in the right place at the right time to make some key saves.
“I felt good. Thought I was in good position for most of the game. Can’t complain too much about the goals…good goals. I wish I had that second goal back, obviously, but I felt pretty good tonight, honestly.”
The Griffins are now 3-3 in games that go beyond regulation, while the Dallas Stars’ American Hockey League affiliate is 5-1.
Despite the solid start and at least salvaging a point, the ending result left head coach Dan Watson disappointed with his team’s third defeat in as many games.
“I thought for sure we had the leg up,” Watson said. “I thought our first period was good. I thought the start of our third period was good. We were casual with the game in the second period, casual down the stretch, missing chances, not skating hard enough.”
Watson admitted the recent schedule, which saw the Griffins play six games in nine days, capped off a busy stretch for his team. He says the break is coming at a needed time.
“It’s been a long first half…especially with the latest stretch we’ve had with the travel and everything. Our guys earned this break, and we need to reset.”
And EP Rinkside’s Sean Shapiro scouted both teams participating in the game:
Elmer Söderblom — since the start of the 2022-23 season, where he started in the NHL, Söderblom has slipped tremendously down the Red Wings organizational depth chart. The 6-foot-8 forward has also struggled in the AHL this season, entering Sunday’s game with eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 28 games.
Despite that, I actually like a bit of Söderblom’s game on Sunday, and it certainly didn’t hurt that he scored in the first period. Söderblom had more connected elements to his game than I recall seeing in the past, there were a couple times he was effectively a one-two passing option moving through the neutral zone.
Nate Danielson — There were a couple nice moments for Danielson, but if not for his draft status I wouldn’t have made any note of his impact on the game. Danielson was fine defensively, that’s always going to be a strength, but there wasn’t much to speak of in the offensive zone. There was one moment where he delayed the play offensively to setup a lane for Dominik Shine.
Shai Buium — Grand Rapids went with seven defensemen on Sunday, so partners were kind of jumbled, but Buium was noticeably good throughout the game. I thought he had decent composure with the puck on his stick, and read the space well.
Continued, with an analysis of Cossa’s game.
