GRAND RAPIDS -- In what was a defensive struggle, an NHL-caliber netminder stood tall in his return to the American Hockey League on Friday night.
In the first of a two-game set against the Manitoba Moose, Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Ville Husso turned away every shot he faced in a 1-0 victory.
- Buy Griffins tickets: Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek
It was a very bumpy game between the longtime rivals, but it didn’t lead to many scoring chances as the Griffins were outshot by the Moose, 22-19. However, Husso was required to make several key stops, especially with Grand Rapids leading late in the third period.
Friday night was Husso’s first action since he was sent down to GR by the Detroit Red Wings after clearing waivers earlier this week.
“It was a crazy week,” Husso said after the game. “I just came in and, you know, work hard, enjoy it. Hopefully, it won’t be too long. I think that’s the only way to look at it.”
The Finnish netminder started for the Red Wings in their season opener last week, but gave up four goals on 14 shots in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Husso assures he’s trying to make the most of the opportunity to play during his time with the Griffins.
“Just work hard, be a leader here. Show the way for the young guys here. When I played in the AHL [years ago] we had a couple guys from the NHL...try to give that winning mentality and bring it here.”
The lone goal on Friday night came off the stick of Joe Snively, the forward who signed a two-way contract with Detroit after spending the last two seasons winning Calder Cups with the Hersey Bears. It came just past the halfway mark of the second period, as the veteran ripped a shot past Moose netminder Milic for his first as a Griffin.
Snively admitted it was nice to get his first goal with his new team out of the way, and that adjusting to the group in West Michigan has been great.
“It’s been great,” Snively said. “Guys are welcoming. Got a great group of guys in the locker room. It’s been a little whirlwind of a start, but we’ll get on the road, spend some time together, it’ll be great.”
- Buy Griffins tickets: Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek
One somber takeaway from the win was the loss of Carter Mazur. Shortly after assisting on Snively’s goal, he received a hard hit from Manitoba forward Mark Liwiski. The Jackson native was shaken up on the play, and ended up leaving the game.
Head coach Dan Watson told the media after the game that Mazur is being evaluated by team doctors, and that they should have more information in the morning.
Sheldon Dries picked up the secondary assist on Snively’s goal, giving him his first point as a Griffin. Both teams failed to capitalize on their power-play chances as the Griffins went 0-for-3 on the man advantage, while the Moose were 0-for-2.
After Friday’s result, both Grand Rapids and Manitoba are 2-1-0-0 on the young season.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Griffins and Moose will meet again on Saturday night to wrap up their weekend set. It will be GR’s final home game until November.
More griffins
- Red Wings stress need to get two goalies in a groove
- Former Griffins star Michel Picard to be inducted into AHL Hall of Fame
- Marco Kasper makes case to remain with Red Wings
- Amadeus Lombardi’s two goals power Griffins to complete weekend sweep over Manitoba
- What Marco Kasper can do for slow-starting Red Wings
UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Home games in BOLD)
- Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. Manitoba Moose (7 p.m. ET)
- Friday, Oct. 25 @ Springfield Thunderbirds (7:05 p.m. ET)
- Saturday, Oct. 26 @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms (7:05 p.m. ET)
- Sunday, Oct. 27 @ Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3:05 p.m. ET)
- Wednesday, Oct. 30 @ Hartford Wolf Pack (7 p.m. ET)
You can watch and listen to the Griffins all season long on AHL.TV
- Buy Griffins tickets: Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek
Find AHL standings and results here