Griffins open Conference final with 3-1 win
Two goals in the opening 10-minutes helped the Grand Rapids Griffins overcome the San Jose Barracudas 3-1 in the opening game of its Best of Seven American Hockey League Western Conference final Saturday (May 20, 2017) at the SAP Center in San Jose.
Mitch Callahan opened the scoring with his fourth of the post season 6:45 into the contest and Ben Street doubled the margin 3:08 later before Kevin LeBlanc fired what would be the only goal of the game for the Cudas 41 seconds after the Street tally.
Jared Coreau took over from there, stopping 26 shots, including all 19 in the second and third periods to backstop the Griffins’ win. Matthew Ford added a little insurance with his goal just before the 11-minute mark of the final period.
Troy Grosenick stopped 25 shots in goal for the Barracuda who will host Game 2 of the series as well on Sunday (May 21).
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About Author
jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada and moved to the state of Wisconsin in my late 30's. I worked at various newspapers and magazines in various sports positions for 25 years before changing careers five years ago. Now I am streamlining my focus on hockey only and in particular, all levels of hockey in the American Midwest.