Grands Rapids Advance To Central Division Finals
Detroit Red Wings forward Carter Mazur (34) who won the Player of the Game Award. (Source: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images) The Grand Rapids Griffins beat the Manitoba Moose 5-2 to advance to the Central Division Finals. Grand Rapids had a dream start and that too in quick fashion, putting up the first five unanswered shots in the top 3:28 minutes of the period.
After drawing a penalty 36 seconds later, the Griffins would cash in with a power play goal from forward Eduards Tralmaks eight seconds into the man-advantage. After that, even though Manitoba would outshoot Grand Rapids 4-2 in a shockingly low-shooting remainder of the frame that lasted 15:02 minutes, the Moose could not find the equalizer before the first intermission. Manitoba would get off to a better start in the second period and eventually cap off with the equalizer after Colby Barlow passed the puck away from a crowd behind the net to defenseman Dylan Anhorn who scored from the slot.
However, after a Moose power play would end with Manitoba only putting up one unsuccessful shot, Grand Rapids would find themselves on the power play again and two seconds before it's expiration, the Griffins would cash in with a man-advantage goal for the second time in the game, this time off the stick of defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka for the 2-1 lead into the second break. Just 97 seconds into the third period, Grand Rapids forwards Amadeus Lombardi and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard would double-team Anhorn in a 2-on-1 where Lombardi passed the puck to Brandsegg-Nygard who sniped it into the net for the insurance goal and the 3-1 lead. Manitoba's night went from bad to worse as after putting the Griffins on their fourth power play of the evening, forward Carter Mazur would score the third man-advantage goal of the game for Grand Rapids with just nine seconds of power play time remaining, padding the lead at 4-1.
With 4:44 minutes remaining, the Moose would capitalize on a clumsy Grand Rapids giveaway in the Griffins zone, gladly taking the gift-wrapped goal to cut the deficit to 4-2. But after Grand Rapids would score an empty-netter and restored the three-goal lead, the Moose bench knew their season was over. The Griffins will face the Chicago Wolves in the Central Division Finals Grand Rapids goalie Michal Postava made 19 saves of 21 shots for a save percentage of 0.
905. Manitoba goalie Thomas Milic made 21 saves of 25 shots for a save percentage of 0. 840.