Frk’s game winner clinches Calder Cup title for Griffins

The Grand Rapids Griffins led just once in Game Six of the American Hockey League Calder Cup Championship series game at Van Andel Arena on Tuesday (June 13, 2017), but that lead lasted the final 7:19 of the contest.

Martin Frk fired the game winner, lifting the Griffins to a 4-3 edge in the game against the Syracuse Crunch and finished the team’s quest for its second Calder Cup Championship in four seasons. Ironically, the previous win also came against the same Syracuse Crunch.

The Griffins fought back from single goal deficits three times before Frk finally got the home side in front allowing it to claim the Calder Cup title on its second try. The Griffins won three of the first four, but was denied on its first attempt to clinch on Saturday (June 10) in Syracuse.

The Crunch held a one-goal margin at the end of both 20 (1-0) and 40 (3-2) of the game, the Griffins grabbing control with a pair of unanswered third period goals.

Yanni Gourde scored his eighth of the playoffs and first of a pair in the game with 5:51 to go in the first period but Matthew Ford’s eighth tied things up just 18 seconds into the middle frame.

Matt Taormina pushed the Crunch into the lead again at the 7:51 mark and that lead held up until Mitch Callahan tied it with his sixth of the playoffs just under four minutes later. Gourde’s second, with 1:50 to play in the session had the visitors up once again with just one period to play.

Tyler Bertuzzi, who won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as Playoff MVP, triggered the tying goal 3:50 into the final period, setting stage for Frk’s game winner.

After his stumble in the previous encounter, Jared Coreau came up with yet another strong performance for the Griffins, stopping 29 shots to collect his 15^th post season victory. Mike McKenna appeared in goal for the Crunch once again as well, handling 22 of 26 shots.

After celebration and handshakes, the Calder Cup was officially presented to Griffins’ captain, veteran defenseman Nathan Paetsch.

Much like the Cleveland Monsters of the previous season, the Griffins got hot at just the right time, heading into the post season. The Griffins picked up wins in its final three games of the regular season after dropping six of its previous seven costing it a shot at a first-place overall finish in the Central Division.

However, once the games started counting, the Griffins put together four straight wins to open the playoffs and rolled through the post season with a 15-4 record including a 3-0 sweep against the Milwaukee Admirals, back to back 4-1 decisions against the Chicago Wolves and San Jose Barracudas and finally, the 4-2 margin against the Crunch.