Special Teams Shine in Grand Rapids 3-0 Win Over Milwaukee
Photo Credit: Brianna Nevins/Milwaukee Admirals
On Saturday night, the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Milwaukee Admirals, 3-0, improving their record to 26-1-0-1 and giving Sebastian Cossa his fourth shutout of the season.
As is tradition when the two play one another, feistiness was sprinkled throughout the game, allowing us to get a good look at Grand Rapids’ special teams.
With 9:16 to play in the first period, the Griffins headed to their first penalty kill of the night. Defender William Wallinder finally used his big body to his advantage, pinning the Admirals against the boards during board battles and pushing Milwaukee off the puck behind the net. Forward Austin Watson broke up a few key plays, as well.
The Griffins had an unsuccessful power play towards the end of the first period. However, Antti Tuomisto shone bright when he foiled a shorthanded breakaway attempt by the Admirals. Shortly after, he had the lone shot for Grand Rapids on the man advantage. It was a doozy of a shot that Milwaukee goaltender Matt Murray somehow managed to stop.
Grand Rapids scored back-to-back power play goals in the second period. They occurred within a span of 34 seconds, and both plays were heavily driven by forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, who continually set up defender Erik Gustafsson to take multiple shots. Gustafsson's heavy-handed shots from the top of the slot turned into a power play goal and primary assist.
The Griffins then went on to successfully kill back-to-back penalties, only allowing three registered shots during 1:31 of a two-man disadvantage. William Lagesson and Wallinder were on the ice for the entirety of the 5- on -3, with Sheldon Dries and Watson splitting appearances. Wallinder provided stay-at-home defense, pushing Admirals out of the crease. While Lagesson roamed the lower half of the defensive zone, clogging shooting and passing lanes.
Due to a less spicy style of play, Grand Rapids’ special teams only made one appearance in the third period in the form of a power play. Yet again, Tuomisto put his defensive skills on display, dropping guys in the neutral zone and foiling shorthanded breakaway attempts by slamming Milwaukee up against the boards. The Griffins were unable to score on the man advantage, but had Tuomisto not been quick enough to break up multiple plays, the Admirals would have been able to unleash a few high danger shorthanded shots on Cossa.
The momentum gained from their final power play of the night propelled the Griffins through the rest of the third period. Add Watson’s empty net goal to the mix, and Grand Rapids was able to skate away with the 3-0 win over Milwaukee.
Other Things To Note
lan Mitchell and Gustafsson complement each other really well. It's been neat to watch them alternate roles. One Stays attached to the crease. The other is free range. Then, they swap places.
After signing another PTO, Chad Hillebrand was back on the fourth line, being a playful menace. However, if a line is crossed, he has zero problem making someone pay for the crime they've committed. We saw this in the last five minutes of the second period when Hillebrand fought Kalan Lind for laying an unsavory hit on Nolan Moyle in front of the benches.
Sebastian Cossa earned his fourth shutout of the season and seventh of his AHL career, stopping all 26 of the shots Milwaukee threw on net. He also became the sixth goalie in franchise history to play in 100 regular-season games as a Griffin.
Milwaukee’s Daniel Carr will be looking to avenge Saturday night's performance when the Admirals and Griffins meet again on New Year's Eve. Cossa denied Carr a goal seven times, one of which was a penalty shot. Despite Carr's best effort, Cossa was able to track every move he made in the Griffins’ defensive zone.
Last night's win was Dan Watson's 100th regular-season win as Head coach of the Griffins. He is the second-fastest coach in franchise history to win 100 games.
Gustafsson’s two-point game gave him 10 points in his past six games. It was also his sixth multi-point game this season.
Dries is riding a four-game point streak with eight points. He now has six multi-point games this season.
Ondrej Becher is on a three-game point streak.
Bob Kaser Post Game
Below are the post game interviews Bob Kaser, play by play for the Griffins, did with Austin Watson and Sebastian Cossa.
