ROSEMONT, Ill. – Right wing Martin Frk nabbed a goal and an assist while goaltender Jared Coreau made 26 saves to help the Grand Rapids Griffins overcome the Chicago Wolves 4-1 in Game 1 of the Central Division Finals Wednesday night at Allstate Arena. The Griffins now own a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Left wing Kenny Agostino netted his third goal of the postseason to push his scoring streak to four games with six points (3G, 3A), and rookie netminder Ville Husso (2-2-1) turned aside 30 shots in the loss.
The Griffins (1-0) opened scoring just 40 seconds into the first frame when Frk – making his postseason debut after missing six games – sped up the left wing and lasered a shot past Husso on the glove side.
During their first power play of the game, the Griffins cashed in 1:02 into the man advantage when Matthew Ford, standing in front of the net, redirected a Frk point shot at 8:07 of the period.
Chicago (0-1) cut Grand Rapids’ lead in half at 9:25 when Petteri Lindbohm shoveled a pass around the left-side offensive boards to Ty Rattie behind the Griffins net. Rattie feathered a pass into the slot directly to Agostino, and he backhanded the puck behind Coreau (4-0) for his second goal in as many games.
After a scoreless second period, and 3:48 into the third session, the Griffins extended their lead 3-1 when Tomas Nosek skated in on the left wing, stopped behind the net and peeled back around to the front of the net for a backhand tally.
Ben Street delivered an empty-net marker at 18:09 for Grand Rapids’ fourth and final goal of the contest.
The Wolves will look to even the series in Game 2 of the Central Division Finals on Friday (May 5) at Allstate Arena. For ticket information or 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs updates, visit ChicagoWolves.com.
