Late Griffins goal sinks Wolves
Grand Rapids netted a power-play goal with 48.7 seconds left to capture a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
Shane Harper scored for the Wolves (9-7-0-2), and Matt Climie stopped 22 shots in the hard-fought loss to the Midwest Division-leading Griffins.
“We came out flat the first five minutes but then I thought we controlled the game,” said Wolves coach John Anderson. “We aren’t scoring many goals right now and when you don’t bury your chances it completely changes the complexion of the game.”
The Griffins (13-4-1-1) opened the scoring 4:51 into the game when Alexey Marchenko fed the puck to Tomas Jurco in the slot. Jurco found Calle Jarnkrok, who scored the first goal.
The Wolves evened the score at 18:29 of the second period on Harper’s fourth goal of the season, as Dmitrij Jaskin received an assist.
Grand Rapids picked up the game-winner at 19:11 of the third period on its only power play of the night. Jurco fired a shot that Climie kicked away, but Patrick Eaves converted the rebound.
Petr Mrazek posted 30 saves to pick up the win.
The Wolves host the Iowa Wild on Wednesday.