On home ice for the first time in two weeks, Rockford got in the win column in their Western Conference semifinal series with a 4-1 win over Grand Rapids in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
The Griffins still hold a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Thursday.
Mark McNeill scored shorthanded, Ryan Hartman added a power-play goal and Stephen Johns recorded a goal and an assist to spark the IceHogs, who had been outscored 10-4 in the first two games of the series.
Rockford killed off seven of eight Griffins power plays and Michael Leighton (4-2) stopped 23 of 24 shots to halt the two-game losing streak.
Teemu Pulkkinen scored a power-play goal for Grand Rapids, his league-leading 12th goal in eight postseason games.
Tom McCollum (5-2) made 23 saves as the Griffins saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
Western Conference Semifinals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
2-Grand Rapids Griffins vs. 4-Rockford IceHogs
Game 1 – Wed., May 6 – GRAND RAPIDS 5, Rockford 3
Game 2 – Fri., May 8 – GRAND RAPIDS 5, Rockford 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 13 – ROCKFORD 4, Grand Rapids 1
Game 4 – Thu., May 14 – Grand Rapids at Rockford, 8:00
Game 5 – Sun., May 17 – Grand Rapids at Rockford, 5:00
*Game 6 – Tue., May 19 – Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 20 – Rockford at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
