Rockford, IL - The Rockford IceHogs couldn't match the Grand Rapids Griffins down the stretch, losing inside the BMO Center 4-2.

The Griffins jumped out to an early 1-0 lead while shorthanded. John Leonard earned a breakaway and slid the puck to his backhand and through Drew Commesso's legs.

Rockford countered right back at 15:49 of the 1st to the game 1-1. Jamie Engelbert fed Rem Pitlick in the slot and the Hogs veteran found daylight after stick handling in the crease.

Halfway through the 2nd period, Carter Mazur ripped the go-ahead goal into the top right corner with a wrist shot from the near dot. The IceHogs pulled even 2-2 with three minutes to go in the middle period when Joey Anderson beat Michal Postava five-hole.

In the final frame, Ondrej Becher burst into the zone with a partial break and went to his backhand for the 3-2 Griffins' lead. With less than a minute remaining, Jakub Rychlovsky put the final touches on a 4-2 Grand Rapids' win with an empty-net goal.

Up next, the IceHogs hit the road to face the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. inside Allstate Arena.