GRAND RAPIDS, MICH — Coming into a must-win game after dropping game three of the Calder Cup Western Conference Finals, the Grands Rapids griffins defeated the Utica Comets in an overtime thriller with goals from Red Wings prospects Xavier Ouellet, Anthony Mantha, and Andreas Athanasiou. Didn’t get to see the game? No worries, we’ve got you covered.
The first goal came at the hands of defenseman Xavier Ouellet. With good cycling in the Comets zone, Dylan Larkin and Jeff Hoggan pick up the apples on this goal. Larkin has three points in his first three games as a pro. What a beautiful pass by the rookie right here.
<iframe src=”http://gfycat.com/ifr/WarlikeWellgroomedCurlew” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” width=”682″ height=”380″ style=”-webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;-webkit-transform: scale(1);” ></iframe>
The second Grand Rapids goal came from Anthony Mantha. He did a great job at creating the breakout, and Brian Lashoff dished the puck up to Andreas Athanasiou who then fleeced the puck right over to Mantha’s stick to poke it past Utica Goalie Jacob Markstrom.
<iframe src=”http://gfycat.com/ifr/ImpartialBronzeApisdorsatalaboriosa” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” width=”682″ height=”380″ style=”-webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;-webkit-transform: scale(1);” ></iframe>
The game-winning goal came at the hands of Andreas Athanasiou. While the Comets should have been called for a penalty when Nicklas Jensen decided to crosscheck goalie Thomas McCollum, I think in this case they’re happy for the non-call, as the other Nick Jensen got the puck to the speedy Athanasiou, who burned Markstrom with his slick hands. This wouldn’t be the first time Athanasiou has done this, he’s quite good.
<iframe src=”http://gfycat.com/ifr/MellowUnequaledAcouchi” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” width=”682″ height=”380″ style=”-webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;-webkit-transform: scale(1);” ></iframe>
The series is now tied 2-2, and game five will take place tomorrow (May 31st) in Grand Rapids at 5pm ET. The Griffins have played extremely well every other game so far in this series, so let’s hope the the young guns can shake off that trend, and take a 3-2 series lead and finish it up going back to Utica.
Let’s Go Griffins!