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Admirals Blitz Griffins 6-3
Keller's Two Goal Lone Bright Spot...
By Jason Kasiorek
www.griffinscentral.com
The Milwaukee Admirals seem to play better in Van Andel Arena, authoring another convincing blowout on the Griffins home ice. A sub-standard effort, and some poor defensive coverage made this game easier than it should have been for the Admirals. Seldom used Ryan Keller had a pair of goals for Grand Rapids, while Langfeld scored his second in 2 games in the loss.
Grand Rapids came out flat in the first, failing to even register an official shot on goal until the 12:31 mark. Campbell showing some nice chemistry with Himelfarb, but only for a few shifts before disappearing from the bench for the trainers room. The game faced a delay when the scoreboard, game-clock and shot-clock's all turned off during play. Eventually they were restored and the game continued. Campbell returned to the bench seemingly none the worse for wear. Milwaukee is winning all the little battles, and GR is having a hard time getting anything going. The Admirals took a 1-0 lead on the powerplay when Lehtonen snuck in behind Hussey took a pass from the corner and one-timed it past Howard, stick-side, just shy of the 15 minute mark. Keller tied things up 3 minutes later on a goalmouth scramble. The puck was in the crease with several Griffins jamming at it, before Keller pulled it back and roofed it over Goering. Bootland almost made it 2-1 when he surprised the Ads netminder with a lightning quick shot from in his feet. The Griffins picking up their play a little and the hitting game is starting to appear. Shots on goal GR 7 - Mil 9.
Ericsson dropped the gloves with Brown early in the second, and gave a good accounting of himself before losing his balance and taking a couple of shots. Himelfarb had a brilliant wraparound attempt while on his knees but was stopped at the line. Oulahen eased up on his man in front allowing Vigilante to snap a quick shot that beat Howard from close range, taking a 2-1 lead. About five minutes later a Grand Rapids clearing attempt was picked off, and Leahy shot a fluttering puck past a scrambling Howard for a 3-1 lead. A few minutes later, Howard cheated off the post, and Segal wristed a bad angle shot from the corner between Howard and the post, stick-side. Shortly thereafter a bang-bang play out front left Peverly open for a backdoor pass, open-net. The Griffins are back on their heals and the defensive lapses are killing them. GR 3 - Mil 11
Liv brought in to start the third down 5-1, seems to bring a little life to GR. A flurry of Griffins shots on the doorstep but Goehring hangs on. Langfeld chipped one in on the rush, streaking down the sideboards and letting one go from a real bad angle that found it's way in. Ellis with a nice wraparound attempt and a few extra pokes. Matt really turned it up a notch in the third and was physically dominant along the boards. Bootland took a hard hit behind the Milwaukee net, and was bent over on the bench for awhile. Grand Rapids closed to within 2 when a Langfeld cross-ice feed found Keller who rifled the puck over a sliding Goehring. Miller may have lost some teeth on a non-call high stick, but stayed in the game. Koistinen put the nail in the coffin when he skated into the Griffins zone and let a shot go that beat Liv cleanly, high, glove-side. Liv out of the net with about two minutes left giving the Griffins a 6-on-4 powerplay, but it was too little too late. Shots on goal GR 17 - Mil 2. For the game GR 27 - Mil 22.
Lines:
Langfeld - Miller - Bootland
Oulahen - Himelfarb - Campbell/Keller
Hussey - Ellis - Brooks
Langfeld/Oulahen - McGrath - Keller/Campbell
Pairings:
Smith - Quincey
Ericsson - Meech
Syvret - Galvin
Starter: Howard
Backup: Liv
Scratches:
Norton - Back
Insana
Radunske
Barney
PP:
Langfeld - Miller - Bootland
Campbell - Quincey
Keller - Ellis - Brooks
Syvret - Galvin
PK:
Hussey/Langfeld - Ellis
Smith - Quincey
Oulahen - Bootland
Meech - Ericsson
Hussey - Campbell
Three Stars:
3 Mil Peverley
2 GR Keller
1 Mil Vigilante
Observations:
GR came out very flat in this one, and really looked off in the second. A lot of guys standing around and not hustling.
Kip Miller didn't play up to his normal level, and really looked like he was in a funk, making poor plays on the powerplay and looked tired in the later stages of the game.
Matt Hussey is another player who had a tough game. Several giveaways and errant passes and a -3 tell the story.
Bootland was working hard in the early going, making things happen and getting the puck to the net and his linemates. Kudos to Booter, keep up the good work.
Jimmy was not as bad as the boxscore looks, he was hung out to dry on sevral of the goals, but looked to have lost his composure and made some mental errors on the last couple.
The Himelfarb line was the only one that consistently played the body all night.
Click here for the Official Scoresheet.
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