SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Grand Rapids Griffins seized home-ice advantage in the Western Conference Finals and set a franchise record for best playoff start on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda in Game 1 at the SAP Center.
The Griffins, now 8-1 during this postseason, grabbed an early 2-0 lead over the conference’s regular season champs and left the rest to Jared Coreau and their penalty killers, as Coreau made 26 stops and backstopped a unit that denied the Barracuda’s potent power play on all six of its opportunities.