Teemu Pulkkinen scored a hat trick to lead the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 5-3 victory over the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena, giving the second-seeded Griffins a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven-series.
Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals is scheduled for Friday night in Michigan.
The American Hockey League's most prolific goal scorer this season netted his seventh, eighth and ninth goals of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Stephen Johns and Garret Ross both scored for Rockford to eliminate a 3-1 deficit to start the third period, but Pulkkinen tallied the game-winner with 2:46 left in regulation.