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An Old Foe Continues To Give The Wolves Problems

The Grand Rapids Griffins take a 1-0 series lead with a dominating performance.

By JoshyHockey
St Louis Blues v Pittsburgh Penguins

The two sides haven't met in the post season since 2004 in which the Chicago Wolves swept their Central Division rival. Plenty has changed since then but one thing does remain to be a constant, the teams don't get along.

Neither side is known for being overly physical and instead rely on the goals to do the talking. The Wolves earned home ice advantage over the Griffins by just one point, 101 to 100. So you’d think things would be incredibly close and in some ways they are. But in the 10 (yes 10) meetings the clubs have had this season, the Griffins won eight of them. The trend didn't change tonight as the Detroit Red Wings affiliate cruised to a 4-1 win.

Despite the score the fault doesn't fall on rookie Ville Husso, who made 31 saves on the night. The score line could have been much worse as the second period alone the Griffins put up 19 shots.

If you’re looking for any sort of upside from this game then the face that Ty Rattie put up another point, an assist, which is a good sign. Sure it comes in a losing effort but the former highly touted prospect now has three points in six games. As for the goal, Kenny Agostiono adds to his totals with three goals this post season. Agostino now has six points in the past six games.

Elsewhere on the ice a rookie combo was tried out on the backend and showed some promise. Both Vince Dunn and Jake Walman are known to have a bit of flash and despite it not panning out tonight goals wise, the Griffins struggled to handle their speed.

News and notes:

The most noteworthy scratch tonight was Adam Musil, who had five points in five games in the first round against Charlotte. Though when it comes to the AHL sometimes an injury can go unannounced. Which is a shame but to think a healthy Musil didn't earn a spot in the lineup is a head scratcher. Wade Megan was also left out of the lineup but by the looks of it he should be game ready somewhat soon. The Wolves and Griffins have their second meeting in the series Friday night at 7 pm.