WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- With a 6-3 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Friday at the Canada Life Centre, the Grand Rapids Griffins claimed their seventh-overall 100-point season, and their first since 2016-17.

The Griffins’ 101 points are the fifth-most in the team’s 30-year history, and 66-games played marks the fastest in franchise history the team has reached the century mark. Eduards Tralmaks (5-2—7) tallied a goal for his seventh point in four outings, and Wojciech Stachowiak (3-6—9) grabbed his ninth point in his last four appearances. Sheldon Dries bagged a helper to extend his point streak to five games, while Erik Gustafsson logged an assist for his eighth in five contests. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard notched the game-winner and an assist, and Sebastian Cossa improved to 26-7-4 behind a 29-save performance.

Grand Rapids lit the lamp 4:16 into the first period when Stachowiak tore past Manitoba defenders on a breakaway and popped one past Thomas Milic. Anton Johansson fired the puck at Milic from the right circle and it bounced over to Tralmaks, who stuffed in the rebound on the backdoor to claim a 2-0 lead with 5:43 on the clock. The Griffins tallied their third of the period on a 2-on-1 when John Leonard hammered home a feed from across the slot from Dries with 3:09 left. 

Jacob Julien put the Moose on the board at 10:57 of the second slate when he walked into the slot and snapped the puck past Cossa. Manitoba cut its deficit to one 1:46 later when Phillip Di Giuseppe slipped down low and put it in from out front. With 4:50 remaining, Nikita Chibrikov centered one to Chase Yoder, who backhanded it in on the doorstep to knot the contest at 3-3.

The Griffins reclaimed a one-goal edge with 8:19 to go in the final frame when Amadeus Lombardi fed the puck to Brandsegg-Nygard in the slot, and he put it over Milic’s glove. Just 14 seconds later, Lombardi walked into the left circle and flipped the disc between the netminder’s pads to go up by two. The Moose pulled Milic with 3:16 left, and Gabriel Seger bagged the empty-netter with 1:40 remaining to take the 6-3 win.

Notes

• Currently, the Griffins’ magic number to claim the Western Conference title is one.
• Grand Rapids improved to 48-13-4-1 through 66 games, and 24-6-1-1 on the road.
• Johansson potted two assists for his first points of the season.
• Jakub Rychlovsky skated in his 100th game as a Griffin.
• Grand Rapids improved to 21-0 when leading after the first period.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 3 0 3 - 6

Manitoba 0 3 0 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Stachowiak 12 (Gustafsson), 4:16. 2, Grand Rapids, Tralmaks 25 (Johansson, Stachowiak), 14:17. 3, Grand Rapids, Leonard 31 (Dries, Johansson), 16:51. Penalties-Chibrikov Mb (hooking), 8:45; Lombardi Gr (hooking), 9:48.

2nd Period-4, Manitoba, Julien 1 (Vitelli, Barlow), 10:57. 5, Manitoba, Di Giuseppe 13 (Anhorn, Fagemo), 12:43 (PP). 6, Manitoba, Yoder 2 (Chibrikov, Yager), 15:10. Penalties-Julien Mb (holding), 3:32; Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (holding), 12:24.

3rd Period-7, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 18 (Lombardi, Lagesson), 11:41. 8, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 14 (Brandsegg-Nygård), 11:55. 9, Grand Rapids, Seger 8   18:20 (EN). Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 11-9-10-30. Manitoba 6-12-14-32.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 2; Manitoba 1 / 2.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 26-7-4 (32 shots-29 saves). Manitoba, Milic 18-12-4 (29 shots-24 saves).

A-4,095

Three Stars

1. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (game-winner, assist) 2. GR Stachowiak (goal, assist) 3. MB Julien (goal)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 48-13-4-1 (101 pts.) / Sat., April 4 at Manitoba 3 p.m. EDT

Manitoba: 31-27-5-1 (68 pts.) / Sat., April 4 vs. Grand Rapids 2 p.m. CDT

Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Manitoba Moose