The Toronto Marlies three game winning streak came to end Friday night as Gustav Nyquist and Francis Pare converted in the shootout to lead the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-2 victory in the first of back to back games at Van Andel Arena.
Will Acton and Matt Frattin scored for Toronto and Ben Scrivens made 25 saves in the loss(18-9-2-1), but the Marlies have not lost in regulation in the last seven games(5-0-1-1).
Brendan Smith and Riley Sheahan had goals for Grand Rapids (17-9-1-1), Petr Mrazek made 26 saves for the Griffins.
Acton opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first, a period which Toronto dominated and outshot Grand Rapids.
Toronto’s special teams was at the forefront of the defeat, as their power play was scoreless in three chances and their penalty killing allowed two goals on three opportunities. The Griffins tied the game midway through the second, as Smith scored his fifth of the season with Keith Aucoin in the sin bin for a slashing minor.
Grand Rapids took the lead early in the third, with Sheahan’s seventh goal also coming on the power play, but Matt Frattin was awarded a penalty shot midway through the third period to tie it 2-2.
After overtime did not determine a victor, it went to a shootout, where Nyquist scored on a Mikhail Grabovski-like spin-o-rama. Joe Colborne scored and Frattin rang one off the pipe, before Pare scored the shootout winner.
Toronto plays Grand Rapids in the second of back to back games Saturday at 7pm.
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