IHL recaps for March 20, 1998

Saturday, March 21, 1998 | 9:56 a.m.

From Sports Report Service.

Grand Rapid Griffins 2, Cleveland Lumberjacks 1

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Defenseman Travis Richards scored on a power play 1:09 into the third period to give the Grand Rapids Griffins (34-27-10) a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Lumberjacks Friday night. Van Andel Arena's 23rd sellout crowd of the season, 10,834, was on hand as the Griffins clinched a Northeast Division playoff spot for the second consecutive season. Lane Lambert gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead late in the first period, but Griffins goalie Patrick Lalime shut down the Jacks' offense for the rest of the game. He finished with 26 saves and was named the game's second star. Cleveland was playing with a revamped lineup after trading for six players from the Quebec Rafales. Claude Boivin put the Griffins on the board with a power play goal in the second period. Goalie Derek Wilkinson faced 30 shots and made 28 saves as the Jacks dropped their second straight, both to Grand Rapids.

Fort Wayne Komets 5, Quebec Rafales 0

QUEBEC CITY--The Fort Wayne Komets (39-24-5) handed the Quebec Rafales their fourth straight loss Friday, a shutout in front of 6,712 at Le Colisee. Three of the Komets' goals, two by Dan Currie and one by Ian Boyce, came on power plays. Andrei Bashkirov's even-strength tally made the score 3-0 at the first intermission, and Carlin Nordstrom added a final goal 8:33 into the third. Komets goalie Bruce Racine made 27 saves to post the shutout. Frederick Deschesne stopped 37 of 42 for the outgunned Rafales (23-41-7).

Utah Grizzlies 6, Cincinnati Cyclones 5 (SO)

CINCINNATI--Craig Lyons scored in the eighth shootout round to help the Utah Grizzlies (43-21-8) snap a three-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones Friday before 7,749 at The Crown. The Grizzlies, who rallied for four unanswered goals in regulation to force the shootout, won the tiebreaker 5-4. Kip Miller, who also scored the Grizzlies' first goal, tied the score 5-5 at 15:06 of the third period, with assists from Lyons and Jaroslav Modry. Mark Lawrence started the Utah comeback 15:22 into the second, followed by third period goals from Bob Needham and Nicklas Andersson. The Cyclones (35-25-12) took control early with two goals by Doug MacDonald and single tallies by Brent Fedyk, Gilbert Dionne and Todd Simon. Fedyk and Simon also assisted on two goals each. Utah netminder Mark MacArthur stopped 25 of Cincinnati's 30 shots in regulation. Geoff Sarjeant turned away 31 of 36 on the way to his 17th loss for the Cyclones.

Houston Aeros 4, San Antonio Dragons 2

HOUSTON--Brent Hughes scored twice to lead the Houston Aeros (44-20-7) to a 4-2 win over the San Antonio Dragons Friday in front of 9,715 at the Compaq Center. David Oliver's winning goal, scored on a power play at 2:59 of the second period, made the score 3-1. Gord Kruppke finished with a goal and an assist for the Aeros, and Ken McRae had two assists. Daniel Shank and Todd Reirden scored for the Dragons (21-41-8). Both teams took 25 shots. Houston goalie Ryan Bach made 23 saves, while San Antonio's Sergei Zvyagin stopped 21.

Orlando Solar Bears 3, Kansas City Blades 2

KANSAS CITY--Hubie McDonough's power play goal 2:06 into the third period gave the Orlando Solar Bears (35-25-9) a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Blades Friday in front of 5,231 at Kemper Arena. Solar Bears goalie Allan Bester was named star of the game for his 35-save performance. Mark Beaufait had a goal and assist, and Eric Nickulus put Orlando up by a goal 2:05 after the opening faceoff. Jason Cirone and Shawn Heins scored for the Blades (34-27-11), who had won two straight coming into Friday's game. Kansas City goalie Pokey Reddick faced 36 shots, 17 of them in the first period, and made 33 saves.

Long Beach Ice Dogs 6, Las Vegas Thunder 4

LAS VEGAS--John Byce's hat trick led the Long Beach Ice Dogs (47-19-8) to a 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Las Vegas Thunder (29-34-7) Friday night. The Southwest Division rivals met in front of 8,485 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Byce's final two tallies, both in the second period, set off a flurry of five unanswered goals. Doug Ast scored on a power play 5:09 before the second intermission, then assisted on third-period tallies by Vitali Yachmenev and Darryl Williams. Yachmenev and Kevin Todd also had two assists each for the Ice Dogs, and Jocelyn Lemieux helped set up three goals. Assists on goals by Ken Quinney, Joe Day and Jesse Belanger pushed IHL scoring leader Patrice Lefebvre past the 500-point mark for his Thunder career. He also becomes the first player in the league this season to top 100 total points. Ilya Byakin also scored for Las Vegas, aided by the first of Quinney's two assists. Las Vegas goalie Manny Legace took the loss despite making a franchise-record 50 saves. Kay Whitmore faced only 22 shots in the Long Beach goal, stopping 18.