ICEHOGS END ROAD TRIP WITH 3-0 LOSS TO GRIFFINS

Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Rockford IceHogs (4-7-1-0) suffered their second shutout in the last four games as Jared Coreau and the Grand Rapids Griffins (7-4-0-0) defeated the IceHogs 3-0 at the Van Andel Arena on Friday night. The contest ended a four-game road trip for Rockford, who returns to the BMO Harris Bank Center to face the Charlotte Checkers tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Both teams had terrific chances to strike in the first, as the Griffins hit a pair of goalposts and Brandon Mashinter added one of his own for Rockford. It was a flukey goal, however that propelled Grand Rapids to the 1-0 lead. Louis-Marc Aubry sent a backhand pass through the top of the crease in the attacking zone, and it deflected off a skate before sliding over the goal line at 17:49 of the first. Rockford held a 13-11 advantage in shots on goal after the opening 20 minutes.

Goalposts rang again in the second period, as the IceHogs nearly evened the score before the midway point of the frame. Grand Rapids, however, doubled their lead when they took advantage of their first power play chance of the game. After racing up-ice to disrupt a Rockford clearing opportunity, Kyle Criscuolo deflected a shot from Joe Hicketts at 11:58 to help the Griffins take a 2-0 lead into the third.

Grand Rapids tacked on one final strike late in the third frame. A tic-tac-toe passing play saw Ben Street move the puck to Mitch Callahan on the left side of the Rockford zone. Callahan quickly fed the puck to Matt Lorito, who banked a shot off the right goalpost and over the line to seal the win with 4:22 left in the contest.

Carruth put forth a strong effort for Rockford, turning aside 39 of the 42 shots he faced while Coreau finished the game stopping all 30 IceHogs chances.

Next Home Game: Saturday, November 12 vs. Charlotte Checkers: Face-off is set for 7 p.m. as Rockford faces the Checkers in the third of four season meetings. Charlotte makes its first visit to the BMO Harris Bank Center on Nov. 12 and takes on the IceHogs for the fourth and final time on Feb. 18. Saturday is Brovember Night at the BMO in support of local prostate cancer research and education.