The Manitoba Moose, fresh off an Eastern Conference road trip, returned home to face a familiar foe in the Grand Rapids Griffins. Going into this series, the Moose had recorded a point in their previous five games, a trend they were looking to continue.
Despite that, the Moose have struggled to win that second game to secure a series win. After suffering a sweep at the hands of the Griffins the last time these two teams played, the Moose were looking to rebound.
Game Recaps
Game 1, Mar. 4, 2025: GR 2 – 5 MB
The first game between the two division rivals was a morning affair, with the arena packed with kids for a 10:30 a.m. puck drop. With how much energy was in the building, a quick start was key, and the Moose were able to get them on their feet shortly after the puck was dropped.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby opened the scoring just 23 seconds into the game, taking a centering feed from Mason Shaw and burying it past Griffins netminder Jack Campbell to make it 1-0. The volume in the building was almost piercing, which makes sense given the age range of the average spectator.
The Moose added to their lead at the mid-way mark of the second period, with Mark Liwiski managing to bang home a loose puck past Campbell to make it 2-0. Just two minutes later, Dominic Toninato made it 3-0 on the power play, deflecting home a Shaw shot from the top of the circles.
The Griffins got on the board just under seven minutes into the third period, with Shai Buium recording his first American Hockey League (AHL) goal. The rookie cut the deficit to 3-1, although that didn’t last very long.
Just over a minute later, Jonsson-Fjallby’s second of the game restored the three-goal lead for the Moose. This one came shorthanded and made it 4-1. The Moose added another goal just minutes later, as Tyson Empey buried a feed from Jaret Anderson-Dolan to make it 5-1. It was Anderson-Dolan’s second helper of the game.
The Griffins added one more on a goal from Cross Hanas. That made it 5-2, and that’s where the score stayed as the Moose took game one of their two-game set.
Domenic DiVincentiis was spectacular in the win, stopping 35 shots in what’s just another game where he looked like a seasoned veteran. He has arguably been the most important player for the Moose over the past several games and has clearly won that starting job.
DiVincentiis now carries a 0.922 save percentage (SV%) in 16 games for the Moose, stopping 30 or more shots in nine of those games. After his win on Mar. 4, the rookie now has an 8-6-1 record.
Game 2, Mar. 5, 2025: GR 3 – 2 MB (SO)
The second game of this series was much more contested than the first, with neither team able to get much going in the first period. There were plenty of sticks and bodies in the way, and both teams appeared to be getting frustrated.
The Moose finally broke through in the first two minutes of the second, as Fabian Wagner one-timed home a pass from Dylan Anhorn to make it 1-0. It was Wagner’s first professional goal and second point in as many days.
Hanas recorded his second goal of the series late in the second, tying the game up 1-1. His ninth goal of the season appeared to subtly shift the momentum in the Griffins’ favor.
Just over six minutes into the third, the Griffins took their first lead of the game. Joe Snively was able to bang home a loose puck past Moose netminder Kaapo Kahkonen and put Grand Rapids up 2-1.
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With the game winding down, the Moose were able to tie the game up on Elias Salomonsson’s fourth goal of the season. His power-play tally came with just four minutes remaining in the third, making it 2-2.
After overtime didn’t solve anything, the two teams headed to the shootout to decide a winner. The Griffins converted on two of their chances, winning the game by a final score of 3-2. Hanas, who had a big series, scored the shootout winner.
Looking for a Series Win
The Moose have had a tendency as of late to win just one game in every series, which in a vacuum seems like a good thing. The problem is they’re doing that when trying to make up ground in their division, and the constant series splits don’t really allow them to move up at all.
I asked Moose head coach Mark Morrison about the importance of finding series wins after yet another series split, and he emphasized the importance of stringing a few wins together.
“It’s important, especially at home here,” Morrison explained. “We did a great job on the road to go above .500, and now we need to add up some points if we want to make a serious challenge against the teams in front of us.”
It’s not exactly a clear-cut guarantee the Moose can make any noise in the playoff race in the Central Division, but the easiest way to make sure that doesn’t happen is if they can’t string together a few wins in a row. As Morrison said, they need to find a way to pick up more points than they have, which is asking a lot of a team that has picked up points in seven straight and still sits eight points back of the final playoff spot.
Talented Wranglers Coming to Town
The Moose are in tough once again as the 30-20-6 Calgary Wranglers are coming to Winnipeg for a two-game weekend set. in their six meetings so far this season, the Wranglers hold a 5-1-0 record against the Moose.
I asked assistant coach Morgan Klimchuck about what the team is looking to take into that tough series against the Wranglers, and he emphasized strong defensive play as the key to keeping them at bay.
“I thought we defended well today,” Klimchuk said after the shootout loss on Mar. 5. “There’s a lot of weapons on that Calgary team that you give them time and space they will make you pay.”
