Carter Mazur Hat Trick Propels Griffins to 4-3 Win Over Stars
Photo Credit: Texas Stars
Grand Rapids Griffins (4) at Texas Stars (3)
Griffins Lines
John Leonard - Sheldon Dries - Dominik Shine
Tyler Angle - Amadeus Lombardi - Carter Mazur
Eduards Tralmaks - Ondrej Becher - Jakub Rychlovsky
Carson Bantle - Gabriel Seger - Alex Doucet
Griffins Pairings
William Lagesson - Ian Mitchell
William Wallinder - Justin Holl
Alex Kannok Leipert - Antti Tuomisto
The Grand Rapids Griffins opened their 30th anniversary season with a 4-3 win over their Central Division rival, the Texas Stars. Grand Rapids newcomer Eduards Tralmaks kicked off the scoring 6:47 into the game when his shin redirected AKL's shot from the point into the net. The play kicked into motion when Tralmaks descended upon the puck after the faceoff. Once it was passed off to AKL, Tralmaks rushed toward the crease to be ready for rebound recovery. Little did he know that leg would provide all they needed to take the lead.
With 10:02 to play in the first period, Arttu Hyry tied the game at one for the Stars. Antonio Stranges set him up from the boards behind the net. Once Hyry received the puck, he dropped to a knee and fired a shot down the slot and over Sebastian Cossa’s right shoulder.
On this play, Griffins defender Alex Kannok Leipert barreled into Vladislav Kolyachonok in hopes of breaking up the pass to Stranges. Kannok Leipert got there a hair late to stop the pass. Despite not being able to stop the pass, it showed he knows how to assess a defensive situation properly. Unfortunately, for him, the minds of Stranges and Kolyachonok move at a faster speed than most players in the league, which is why Kannok Leiper was unable to get to the pass in time.
Forward Carter Mazur had an incredible second period, scoring two goals in the span of 6:35 to give the Griffins the 3-1 lead over the Stars.
The first came 5:23 into the second off a lovely backhand pass from forward Tyler Angle. This is where I toot Kannok Leipert’s horn again as he was able to get the puck to Angle from behind the blueline in the defensive zone. When Angle received the pass, he was gliding undetected through the neutral zone towards the offensive zone. The fact Kannok Leipert was able to get the puck to Angle without drawing attention to him was a thing of beauty.
Mazur scored his second goal of the night on the power play with 8:02 left in the second period. Forward Sheldon Dries dropped a pass back to forward John Leonard, who snuck into the play from the boards. Leonard then proceeded to draw attention away from Mazur by circling through traffic and making the Stars think he was going to move the play across the ice. This left Mazur wide open at the top of the slot, allowing him to quickly launch the puck into the net.
Texas tied the game at three, scoring two goals in the opening 5:41 of the third period.
On the first goal of the third period, the Griffins did a good job of laying multiple solid hits to try and prevent the Stars from moving up ice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop Matt Seminoff from finding the back of the net. The game-tying goal was courtesy of Stranges, who was left completely unattended above the faceoff circle to the left of Cossa.
With 3:04 left in the game, Mazur scored his third goal of the night to give the Griffins the 4-3 win over the Stars. Leading up to Mazur’s goal, the Griffins spent 30 seconds moving the puck around the offensive and neutral zone. There was someone sitting in the back half of the neutral zone at all times to prevent the play from entering the defensive zone. Also, Texas kept leaving Mazur unattended. So, when he was able to sneak around the back of the net and open up shop below the goal line, it allowed Dries to get Mazur the puck when Remi Poirier left the right side of the net open.
But Wait! There’s More!
Special Teams
Power Play
Grand Rapids went 1 for 3 on the power play. They moved fast and found ways to distract the Stars’ kill from plays the Griffins were setting up.
The power play is already looking better than February of last season.
Penalty Kill
William Lagesson earned a double minor high-sticking penalty putting the Griffins down a man for four minutes in the back half of the first period. During those four minutes, Grand Rapids’ kill gave up minimal shots,3, and they had one shorthanded breakaway attempt. They forced Texas to constantly have to pass and switch up their plays.
Notes and Quotes
Last night’s broadcast was the most I’ve ever heard the veteran rule mentioned in a game. Maybe because, as of last night, the Griffins had seven veterans on the roster, and each one consistently provides a positive impact on the team. During the intermission report, Head Coach Dan Watson said the veterans on the team have worked out a system to determine which vet might sit for a game.
Justin Holl was a nice addition to the blueline last night. He acted as an extension of Cossa multiple times and had no problem getting in the thick of the action. Coach Watson had some lovely things to say about Holl’s attitude in the intermission report . “That was going to be my first point, what a great human being he is. He comes right down. He fits right in. He’s chatting with the guys. There’s no pouting. There’s no sulking.”
Defender Antti Tuomisto is faster than last season, but it looks like he doesn’t know how to use the speed to his advantage. Also, an interesting thing to note, Tuomisto looked solid on the penalty kill, but was inconsistent with his 5v5 play
The fourth line of Carson Bantle, Gabriel Seger, and Alex Doucet was not as loud as I thought they would be. They didn’t make any egregious mistakes, which is always a positive.
3 Stars
1st - Carter Mazur - Grand Rapids - 3 goals (Mazur was also awarded the AHL’s First Star of the Night for Opening Night)
2nd - Antonio Stranges - Texas - 1 goal, 1 assist
3rd - Arttu Hyry - Texas - 1 goal, 1 assist
Honorable Mention : In his return to the AHL, Tralmaks had a heavy and positive presence in every zone. He blocked shots in the defensive zone, helped set up plays in the offensive zone, and got under the skin of the Stars in the neutral zone.
Last season, faceoffs were a struggle with only one player, Gabriel Seger, having above a 50% success rate. In last night’s game, Tralmaks showed a lot of promise receiving and chasing down pucks during the faceoff. It’s important to note that he is not a faceoff taker. Tralmaks is typically a flank, a winger who sits on the outside of the faceoff circle. Flanks are very important to a faceoff turning into a successful play. If a flank can box out the opponent or have quick enough hands/feet to get to the puck, a simple faceoff can turn into a goal.
He was hands down the best flank for the Griffins in game one.
What’s Next
The Griffins and Stars meet again on Saturday night at 8pm.
On Friday, October 17th, Grand Rapids returns to Michigan to play their home opener at Van Andel Arena.
