Sleepy Sunday Win For Grand Rapids
Photo Credit: Nicolas Carrillo/Grand Rapids Griffins
After a wild and ruckus filled Friday evening game, the Grand Rapids Griffins and lowa wild met on Sunday afternoon for what turned out to be a rather docile and boring game. or, as head coach Dan Watson called it, "a slow paced, snoozer game”.
It took lowa a little over 10 minutes into the game to register a shot on goal. Which wasn't much of a shock as both teams played a rather sloppy and uninspired first period. However, Grand Rapids’ defense did stand to the call multiple times, preventing the Wild from sniffing Iowa's offensive zone for much of the opening period.
Things began to heat up in the second when Nolan Moyle and Bradley Marek dropped the gloves 2:58 into the period. Moyle was getting man handled along the boards, and when the refs wouldn't call anything he decided to take matters into his own hands. Well, his own fists are more like it.
A few minutes later, John Leonard got the crowd going by scoring his 15th goal of the season. He now leads the league in goals, and has a 30.6 % success rate.
Leonard has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. In typical humble fashion, Leonard credited the talent of his teammates for this skill. “Just playing with some really good players. Dries is a smart player, works hard,” said Leonard of his teammates. “Shine is the exact same way. Really good on the forecheck. Smart. Can make plays under pressure. And, it's a lot of fun to play with him.”
By the time the third period rolled around, the Griffins began to look more like themselves. They started to make smarter plays and during the back half of the final period looked more awake. This new found energy allowed Grand Rapids to finish strong and hand Sebastian cossa his second shutout out of the season, 1-0.
Even though the Griffins won, they are not resting on their laurels. Every guy on the team wants to win, but they want to play well in the process. Tonight was not their best game, but believe me when I say this team will show up on Wednesday against the Cleveland Monsters with more energy and a clearer focus on the task at hand
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You can listen to the post-game press conference below:
