LAKELAND – The M-1 Griffins United broke open a close game with the Lakeland Eagles by scoring four goals in the third period to win going away, 7-2, on opening night.
M-1 entered the third period leading 3-1, and then cranked up the power play in the third period. The Griffins were three-for-three on the power play in the third period – getting power play goals from Devin Price, Anderson Brien, and Griffin Przybylo to blow the game open in the final period.
“That was a huge plus for us. It’s something we’ve been working on hard in practice. Obviously, at the beginning of the season it’s a work in progress, but when you get three in a game it’s definitely a plus and something that will be a highlight for us,” Griffins head coach Paul Fox said.
The Griffins had started strong, getting a goal from Brien just 3:28 into the game when he claimed a loose puck in front and shoveled it into the open side of the net for an early 1-0 lead for M-1.
The Griffins made it 2-0 early in the second period when Ben Kramar picked up a loose puck behind the net, came out the back side of the play and stuffed it into the net for a shorthanded goal.
Lakeland got their forecheck going in the second period, however, and would go on to outshoot the Griffins 10-7 in the period. The Eagles would also get on the board with 12:50 left in the period when Fisher Christian drove the net in transition. Goalie Noah Cooper stopped the original shot, but Kyle Sierota was there to jam in the rebound to cut M-1’s lead to 2-1. That was the only goal that Lakeland could get in the period, however, and when Kramar got his second goal of the period with 34.2 seconds left on the clock, wristing a shot in from the slot to make it 3-1, the Griffins were able to go into the period with a bigger lead than they started the period despite being outshot in the middle frame.
“We didn’t have any sustained pressure offensively,” Eagles head coach Tim Ronayne said. “We had spurts, and in a game you can’t do that. It’s got to be consistent all the way across the board.”
Overall, the Griffins got two goals and an assist each from Brien and Kramar. They also got multipoint nights from Ryan Transit (two assists), Price (one goal, two assists), and Ethan Utych (two assists). In all, nine different players had at least one point for the Griffins.
“I love the way our fourth line went out there at the end the last minute and thirty seconds they were out there and got that last goal. And that was all work ethic,” Fox said. “To have four lines get out there and get on the score sheet, that was fantastic.”
Goalie Noah Cooper stopped 26 of 28 shots in net for M-1.
In addition to Sierota’s goal, the Eagles got a goal from Mitchell Beller and two assists from Caden Pierson. Goalie Jason Slicker made 27 saves for the Eagles.
M-1 starts the season 1-0. The Griffins head north to Alpena for a pair of games this weekend.
Lakeland (0-1) will travel even further north, making the trek all the way to Sault Ste. Marie to face Big Rapids and Sault Ste. Marie on Friday and Saturday.
“It’s not the start we wanted but Royal Oak (M-1) had a lot to do with the way we played. They never stopped, and they continued to play hard. They played a great game, and we didn’t. Bottom line,” Ronayne said. “The good thing is we can turn it around. It’s our first game. We wanted a better output, but we just didn’t have it.”
