Griffins defeat Manitoba Moose, 4-2, to take Central Division series lead

***Griffins Playoff Game #3 * Home Playoff Game #1 * AHL Game***

Narration by: James Gemmell. Photos by: Steve Katerberg. {See collage at bottom of article}

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Griffins took the pivotal third game of their best-of-five American Hockey League playoff series against the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday night in Grand Rapids, 4-2. The Griffins now lead the Central Division semifinals, two games to one.

But the Moose made it a nailbiter in the end, deliberately instigating a coincidental penalty late, and then pulling the goalie for an extra attacker. That led to a Moose goal with 3:12 left in regulation, and suddenly it was 3-2; just a one-goal difference. The Moose pulled their goalie again for an extra skater in the final moments and almost lit the lamp again; but the strategy came back to bite them: Carter Mazur scored the second of his two goals in the game on an empty-netter with 45.6 seconds left.

It had been 25 days since the Griffins had a home game, following a long layoff after the regular season ended - and after playing the first two games of this series at Manitoba. The strange playoff format also meant Manitoba played the first five games of their postseason at home, including the ones against Milwaukee in their first-round series conquest against the Admirals.

The Griffins finished with 32 shots on goal and the Moose had 17.

The Griffins took a 3-0 lead in the second period and then held on late in the final frame for the home win in front of 7,581 spectators - the largest crowd for a Griffins' home playoff debut game since 2019, when 7,690 attended. The Griffins' public relations team tells us that the last time more fans attended the first Grand Rapids home game of a series was in 2016 when 7,915 fans showed up. A crowd of 8,751 watched a Griffins' home opener in 1998, when the team played in the now-defunct International Hockey League.

Game 4 of the Central Division semifinals will face off at 7 p.m. Friday night at Van Andel Arena. It will be broadcast by WOOD Radio AM 1300/106.9 FM. If a fifth game is necessary to decide the series winner, it will be played Saturday in Grand Rapids at 7 p.m.

1st Period recap: Griffins 1, Moose 0. An exciting first period, with a few flurries by the Griffins and some nice, blocked shots by their defense. They lead in shots on goal, 11-6.

The Griffins put the pressure on the Moose bigtime early on, firing multiple shots but most got blocked or went wide of the net. The two that were on goal were saved by Moose goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis. The Griffins tilted the rink for two of the game's first three minutes but did not reach paydirt with the puck.

[7:28pm] You can tell it's a playoff game: no penalties about halfway through the first period. DiVenctiis has rejected 77 of 79 shots on goal in the series so far, and Griffins netminder Postava has rejected 54 of 55 shots in the series.

Defenseman Garrett Brown with a wicked slapshot from the right point for Manitoba and Postava extended his right leg to block it.

The Griffins light the lamp with 8:03 to go in the first frame. Jacub Rychlovsky knocks in a rebound and GR draws first blood. Antti Tuomisto and Erik Gustaffson with the assists. A nice pass by Gustaffson to set up the shot that got knocked home.

The Griffins lead in shots on goal, 9-3.

Dominik Shine missed an open net from in close with 4:15 left in the first frame, off a pass from Anton Johannson, otherwise G.R. would've been up 2-0. Shine was a bit off balance and, therefore, had a tough angle on that shot.

With two minutes left in the 1st period, John Leonard laid down to block a shot a few feet in front of the Griffins' goal and netminder Michal Postava. And Axel Sandin-Pellika also hit the deck to deny a Moose shot on goal. Almost as many Moose shots had been blocked by the Griffins' defensemen at that point than had gotten past them to reach Postava.

2nd Period: The Griffins 3, Moose 1. The Griffins were riding high with a 3-0 lead late in the period, but the Moose made it a two-goal game with a last-minute goal. The Griffins had 8 shots in the period to Manitoba's 4, and led in shots on goal through two periods, 19-10.

It started getting chippy about five minutes in. The Moose's Shaw try to play the rough stuff, checking Griffins into the boards. But with 15:19 to go (4:41), Grand Rapids gets a goal on a shot from Erik Gustaffson that caroms off DiVencentiis's leg pad after bouncing off the ice. John Leonard and Dominik Shine with the assists. A strange goal but the Griffins will take it. The Griffins are up, 2-0, in this pivotal Game 3.

The Griffins killed off a two-minute tripping penalty against Wojciech Stachowiak at the 7:30 mark. But now, 10:11 in the period, Grand Rapids left wing Eduards Tralmaks gets called for a high-sticking penalty. The Griffins had a 2-on-1 shorthanded chance, but DiVencentiis was equal to the task. With 4:45 to go, the penalty against GR expires. GR leads in shots on goal, 17-9.

Carter Mazur with a quick wrist shot from 10 feet in front of the Moose net, and the puck beats DiVencentiis above his left glove, and it's 3-0 Grand rapids with 3 minutes left in the period. Mazur gloved the puck out of the air, tossed it to the ice and fired a shot that rattled the Moose cage in more ways than one. Gustafsson having a great night of nice passes to help set up Griffins' goals. It was an unassisted marker, though.

Manitoba tallies with 37.7 seconds to go in the period. Mason Shaw credited with the goal after a several-minute review, his second of the playoffs. Dylan Anhorn and David Gustafsson got the assists.

3rd Period:

Griffins' forward Jakub Rychlovsky almost scored with 11 minutes left in regulation, but DiVentiis made a quick save to deny Rychlovsky his second goal of the game and keep the score at 3-1 in favor of GR. The shots on goal favor GR, 24-13.

Some very hard hits behind the Moose net and tempers are boiling over. However, both teams are controlling their tempers just enough - not wanting to give the other team a penalty and man advantage late in the contest.

The Griffins are forechecking hard and changing lines frequently, trying to stay fresh for the homestretch.

Michael Brandsegg-Nygard with a golden opportunity flying down the right wing with just over four minutes to go but, alas, the play is whistled offside. The Griffins just have to play smart, defensive hockey to skate off with the victory and a crucial 2-1 series lead. Winning would mean they would only have to win one of two possible remaining games - both at home - in the series and could clinch it Friday night.

The Griffins lead in shots on goal, 31-14, with 3:30 to go in regulation.

The Moose's Phillip Di Giuseppe is trying to stir things up with the Griffins' Antii Tuomisto. Di Giuseppe dropped his gloves and grabbed Tuomisto by the neck behind the Griffins' goal, with Antii didn't drop his gloves. Nonetheless, both he and Di Giuseppe are hit with roughing penalties. The strategy to make it a four-on-four strategy works for the Moose: they score with 3:12 to go, just seven seconds after the coincidental minor penalties are called. Samuel Fagemo with the unassisted goal for Manitoa. Anhorn and David Gustaffson with the Moose assists on the goal. Manitoba pulled their goalie in exchange for adding an extra attacker, and now it's a one-goal game. With 2:24 to go, the Moose add the extra attacker again and almost tally twice. Griffins' goalie Michal Postava with a quick arm save to prevent a miraculous Moose comeback.

The Moose show a lack of sportsmanship, trying to hit the Griffins' players. Carter Mazur makes Manitoba pay with an empty-net goal with 45.6 seconds left in the game, to make it 4-2. The Moose were even hitting Griffins after the final horn sounded.

-----------------Game Notes from Griffins' P.R.:

Game 1 Recap

Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals served up a goaltending battle on Saturday at the Canada Life Centre, as Domenic DiVincentiis made 39 saves to backstop the Manitoba Moose to a 1-0 win over the Griffins. Michal Postava countered with 22 saves for the Griffins in his Calder Cup Playoff debut, denying every shot by the home squad until Mason Shaw popped home a rebound during a power play with just 2:26 remaining in the third period. Including his 25 appearances during the regular season, the co-winner of the AHL’s Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award – with teammate Sebastian Cossa – still has yet to allow more than three goals in a game this season. Now in their fifth playoff series against Manitoba, the Griffins are still looking for their first Game 1 victory over the Moose. Manitoba won each of the last three series after taking Game 1 on home ice, most recently the 2018 division semifinals. The Griffins are 2-3 all time in best-of-five series when losing Game 1, most recently falling to Texas in three games during the 2025 Central Division Semifinals. 

Game 2 Recap

A day after ending Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals on the wrong end of a shutout, the Griffins and goaltender Michal Postava responded in kind on Sunday by blanking the Manitoba Moose 2-0 to even the best-of-five series at one win apiece. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård provided the spark for the Griffins’ offense, scoring the game’s first goal in the opening period before assisting on William Wallinder’s insurance tally late in the third, as the Griffins found a solution to Moose netminder Domenic DiVincentiis. Postava’s shutout was the first by a Griffin in the playoffs since Jared Coreau made 25 saves in a 3-0 win over the Moose in Game 4 of the division semifinals in 2018. Only one other Grand Rapids rookie has ever earned a playoff shutout: Petr Mrazek, who blanked four opponents during the Griffins’ run to the 2013 Calder Cup. The Griffins are 2-4 all time in best-of-five series that were tied after two games.

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For the first time in franchise history, the Griffins’ playoff run started in the month of May. Last year’s Game 1 of the Central Division Semifinals versus Texas on April 29 at Van Andel Arena was the previous latest date for their playoff opener. Game 1 at Manitoba on Saturday was 13 days since the Griffins’ regular-season finale, and Game 3 on Wednesday will mark their first home game in 25 days. Game 3 on May 6 will also be the Griffins’ latest home playoff debut ever (previously May 1 in 2024 & 2013). 

Setting the Stage

The Griffins clinched their 20th playoff berth (28 postseasons) with a franchise-best 51-16-4-1 record (.743) and 107 points, claiming first place in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference and second overall in the AHL. Grand Rapids matches up against fourth-seeded Manitoba Moose (35-29-5-3, 78 pts.), who defeated the fifth-seeded Milwaukee Admirals 2-1 in the first round for their first series victory since 2018. The Moose have reached the Central Division Semifinals for the first time since 2023. Grand Rapids finished the regular season series against Manitoba with a 6-1-1-0 record, including 3-0-1-0 at Van Andel Arena and 3-1-0-0 at the Canada Life Centre.