GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins have mounted some furious rallies in the 3rd period at home this young season, but once again Friday night it was too little, too late.
The Toronto Marlies skated away with a 7-3 win. They had led the Griffins, 5-1, before Grand Rapids tallied twice in the final frame. More on that in a moment, but first a look at how the game started at Van Andel Arena.
The Marlies drew first blood. After a pause in action in the first period, the Griffins turned the puck over in the right circle in front of their net on the faceoff. And the Marlies immediately converted on a quick wrist shot by Josiah Slavin for the first goal of the game at the 7:15 mark. Alex Steeves got the assist.
With 9:42 to go in the opening period, the refs called the Griffins' Wyatt Newpower for a two-minute tripping penalty. The Griffins had killed off all but :23 seconds of Toronto's power play, when the Marlies' Kieffer Bellows was whistled for a slashing penalty. So, after Grand Rapids killed the Marlies power play off, it went on one of its own.
With about :15 seconds left in the Griffins' power play, Jonatan Berggren beat Marlies goalie Keith Petruzzelli with a shot, but did not light the lamp. The puck dropped behind Petruzzelli in the goal mouth but he scooped it up a foot in front of the goal line. Moments later, yet another penalty was called - this time to Griffins defenseman William Wallinder for delay of game with 5:38 left in the first frame. He had flipped the puck over the glass partition in the defensive zone.
The Marlies then scored on a deflected shot by Dmitry Ovchinnikov on the power play with 3:38 left in the first period to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. Nick Abruzzese and another Marlie were credited with the assists.
With 0.05 seconds left there was a big pileup in front of Petruzzelli, but the puck didn't cross the goal line. The Griffins outshot Toronto in the opening period, but the Marlies led where it counted, 2-0.
In the second stanza, the Griffins failed to capitalize on the remaining time left on a power play.
Just 3:29 into the period, Grand Rapids again pressured the Marlies' netminder, but the Griffins' Simon Edvinsson was jabbed with a stick went down to the ice in front of the goal in obvious pain for about a minute. The Marlies' Kyle Clifford received a five-minute major penalty for spearing. That incident left a bad taste in the Griffins' mouths and it led to a number of skirmishes as the game continued.
The Griffins capitalized on their power play. Left wing Tim Gettinger got the Griffins on the scoreboard with a goal about 7 minutes into the period. He banged in a rebound that had ricocheted off a post for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Taro Hirose and Brogan Rafferty assisted on the tally. Edvinsson returned to the ice moments after taking the spear to his ribs.
After their penalty expired, the Marlies put the biscuit in the basket with 11:14 left in the 2nd period to take a 3-1 lead. Ovchinnikov notched his second goal of the game, as he knocked in a fortuitous rebound off the goal post.
But Toronto wasn't done score by any means. With just over 6 minutes left in the 2nd period, the Marlies took a commanding 4-1 lead on a goal by Abruzzese. He had a wide-open right side of the net to shoot at from close range after receiving a sweet tic-tac-toe pass from Alex Steeves, who had received a pass from Logan Shaw. Griffins' goalie Sebastian Cossa had no chance to block it.
At that point, Toronto only led by one in shots on goal, 17-16, but had an imposing three-goal lead.
With 1:27 left in the 2nd period, the Griffins got another opportunity when a two-minute tripping penalty was assessed to the Marlies' Zach Solow. But, alas, the Griffins fail to scored. So, the Marlies led, 4-1, after two periods.
In the 3rd period, the visitors lit the lamp again, scoring just 1:21 in on a delayed penalty, as Bellows scored on a 2-on-1 break, clanking the puck into the net off the short-side post. That made it 5-1. Joseph Blandisi got the assist on the goal, and Toronto now led in shots on goal, 23-18.
The Griffins later scored on a give-and-go goal by Zach Aston-Reese at the 5:49 mark, who adeptly lifted the puck past the shoulder of Petruzzelli. It was Aston-Reese's first marker of the season. That drew Grand Rapids to within three goals. Nolan Stevens and Dominik Shine had the assists.
The Griffins scored again with 7:45 remaining in regulation, to make it a two-goal game, 5-3. Amadeus Lombardi scored on a rebound after Petruzzelli made a leg save. It was Lombardi's first goal of the season. Carter Mazur and Elmer Solderblom had the assists.
The Griffins once again put some pressure on Petruzzelli with about two minutes left in the game, but lost the puck - and then the game - when the Marlies intercepted the puck, pushed it down the ice and Alex Steeves outraced the Griffins to tap it in for an open-net goal. That made it 6-3.
A short while later, Dmitry Ovchinnikov was credited with a hat trick, scoring his final goal for Toronto before the final horn.
Things had gotten fiesty in the final frame following the spearing incident, and with 38.2 seconds left, tempers boiled over at center ice. There were at least two heavyweight fights with several big blows landing that sent two Marlies to the ice. Dominik Shine connected on one of the punches, and was visibly upset after one of his Griffins' teammates was sucker-punched. It was tough in the maze of bodies in the skirmish to tell who did what.
The Griffins won the fights, but lost the game to fall to 3-4-1-1 on the season. Toronto - the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate - improved to 6-3-2-0.
Matthew Hellickson was assessed a 4-minute penalty after the melee at the 19:21 mark. A couple players received game misconducts and one received a 10-minute misconduct. The names and specifics of the penalties were being clarified as regulation ended.
The Griffins won the fights, but lost the game to fall to 3-4-1-1 on the season. Toronto improved to 6-3-2-0.
The Marlies finished with a 27-to-24 shots-on-goal advantage at the end of the game.
Griffins goalie Sebastian Cossa played well, despite giving up five of the goals. He had no chance of some of them, and fortunate bounces, power plays and the Griffins' empty net at the end of the game contributed to some of the Marlins' other scores.
The Griffins will host the Marlies again Saturday night at 7 o'clock. Given how Friday night's game finished, it may be a contentious contest, in more ways than one.
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Nick Abruzzese scores after being on the receiving end of two tic-tac-toe passes that gave him an open net, and left Griffins' goalie Sebastian Cossa sprawled on the ice.Photo: Photos by Steve Katerberg
The Marlies' Dmitry Ovchinnikov scores his second goal of the game in the 2nd frame, during a goal-mouth scramble. That gave Toronto a 3-1 lead.Photo: Photos by Steve Katerberg
Things got rowdy in the final two minutes at Van Andel Arena. Here, Wyatt Newpower exchanges blows with an unidentified Marlies' player.Photo: Photo by Steve Katerberg
Several fights broke out near the end of the game.Photo: Steve Katerberg