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Griffins Torpedo Admirals 4-1 To Advance
McCollum stellar in net stopping 28 of 29...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
April 25th, 2016
The Grand Rapids Griffins brought out the brooms, sweeping the 1st place Milwaukee admirals from the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs in three games. Thomas McCollum held his team in during a shaky first period and stopped 28 of 29 shots on the night. Grand Rapids torched Milwaukee's Marek Mazanec for four goals including two that passed through the net. Anthony Mantha tallied a pair including the game winner, while Colin Campbell and Brian Lashoff each had singles.
Colin Campbell stole the puck in close on the forecheck and had a nice chance, then Eric Tangradi pounced on the rebound and almost squeezed a shot through Mazanec and the post. Odd man rush for Milwaukee as Xavier Ouellet got beat and Thomas McCollum faced three shooters alone, stoning them each in turn. Anthony Mantha with a drive from the circle that just missed. Robbie Russo, last man back on the powerplay, turned the puck over for a 2-on-0, but McCollum poked the puck away. No shortage of chances at either end of the ice. The Griffins getting untracked with some crazy defensive breakdowns. Andy Miele took an offensive zone penalty, killing a Griffins powerplay. Tomas Nosek with a steal and a shorthanded chance. Milwaukee finally cashed in as McCollum made the first two stops and then Payerl walked around Mark Zengerle and chipped it into the net from the doorstep. Nosek at the buzzer weaving in and out of the Admirals like pylons for a dangerous chance. McCollum was the difference this period. Shots on goal: GR 9 - Mil 15.
Tangradi in front with a couple of point blank chances off the rebound of a Mantha shot. Long point shot by Brian Lashoff looked like it passed through the net and into the corner. At the next stoppage in play, it was reviewed and called a goal. A minute later, Mantha at the side of the net blew a shot through the net again, leading to another review and another goal. That spelled the end of the night for the net as it went out the Zamboni entrance in favor of a backup. Mantha rang a shot off the post as Grand Rapids really picking up the pace. Miele with a break and a shot, Mazanec gave up a big rebound, but Tangradi couldn't get to it. Nick Jensen jumped up into the play weaving his way to the net for a shot. Jensen with another foray to the net for a shot and then got it back for a big drive from the point. Bertuzzi shorthanded breakaway but he fired it high. Mantha in the low slot, blazed a shot past a screened Mazanec, stick side for a 3-1 lead. Shots on goal: GR 11 - Mil 6.
Campbell wicked on the forecheck, shorthanded, early in the period. The Griffins had a shortlived powerplay, but another Andy Miele offensive zone penalty ended it prematurely. Blistering pace to the third period. Miele digging in the corner to get the puck out of danger, taking some punishment. Nosek taken down hard along the endboards and left the ice holding his arm. Campbell picked off a lazy pass at the line, went in alone on Mazanec, deked him out of his pads and scored to extend the lead to 4-1. Bertuzzi with a huge hit along the endboards. Frk with a scoring chance and then taken down, Bertuzzi caught retaliating and sent to the box. Mazanec to the bench with nearly three minutes left for an extra attacker. Zengerle with a chance on the empty net but a diving defenseman blocked it. Callahan missed just wide on another chance. Ouellet with a big open ice hit. Milwaukee swarming the Griffins net, but can't get much through the defense. McCollum making huge stops in traffic. Hoggan in on the empty net but taken down to draw a penalty. The Griffins held on as time ran out, clinching the first round win and advancing to face Lake Erie. Shots on goal: GR 6 - Mil 8. For the game: GR 26 - Chi 29.
Lines:
Hoggan - Aubry - Campbell
Tangradi - Miele - Mantha
Bertuzzi - Nosek - Frk
Cleary - Zengerle - Callahan
Pairings:
Paetsch - Sproul
Lashoff - Jensen
Ouellet - Russo
Starter: McCollum
Backup: Coreau
Scratches:
#20 Renouf
#23 Grant - Injury
#29 Svechnikov
#32 Hirschfeld - Seizure/Brain Surgery
#37 Nastasiuk
#44 Rechlicz
#46 Criscuolo
#47 Hicketts
#48 Saarijarvi
PP:
Callahan - Miele - Mantha
Frk - Sproul
Tangradi - Zengerle - Bertuzzi
Ouellet - Russo
PK:
Campbell - Nosek/Aubry
Lashoff - Jensen
Miele - Callahan
Paetsch - Ouellet/Russo
Observations:
McCollum was definitely at the top of his game tonight. he was confident and in position to make the stops look easy. he may have been the key to the first round, stopping 91 of 94 shots.
Colin Campbell had a super game, even if you don't count the goal he scored. He provided energy and drove Milwaukee to distraction with his forechecking. His linemates Louis-Marc Aubry and Jeff Hoggan also were very noticeable and played good games.
Another player who had a good game was Ryan Sproul who was solid defensively and also did a great job of shooting the puck on the PP.
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