GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Ben Street put the Grand Rapids Griffins’ 51st shot past Mike McKenna 7:02 into the second overtime on Saturday to give the home squad an unforgettable 6-5 victory over the Syracuse Crunch and a 2-0 lead in the Calder Cup Finals.
In the third-longest contest in Van Andel Arena history, the Crunch fought back to tie the game on four occasions and carried the play for most of the first and second overtime periods. Sixteen of their 55 shots came during the first overtime, when Jared Coreau tied a franchise playoff record for saves in a period to enable Grand Rapids to withstand Syracuse’s constant, swarming effort in the Griffins’ zone.
As the chess match ticked into its 88th minute, Eric Tangradi scooped up a turnover at the Syracuse line and sped down the right side before slipping a feed to Street, who beat McKenna far side from the right hashmarks to ignite the sellout crowd of 10,834.
The Griffins, now 9-0 at home during the playoffs, will now play as many as three straight games at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, where the Crunch also sport a perfect 9-0 mark during the postseason. Game 3 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m.