WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Wojciech Stachowiak recorded his third-straight multi-point effort for his 11th point in five outings (3-8—11), en route to the Grand Rapids Griffins' 7-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Saturday at the Canada Life Centre.

Grand Rapids extended its win streak to five games, and has at least a point in six-straight contests. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (1-1—2) grabbed his second-straight game-winner in his third-consecutive two-point night, and Erik Gustafsson (0-2—2) notched his 30th helper of the season for his 10th in six appearances. Eduards Tralmaks potted a helper to extend his point streak to five games (5-3—8), while Sheldon Dries’ goal moved his point streak to six. Eddie Genborg and Anton Johansson both bagged their first AHL goals. John Leonard (1-2—3) registered his fifth point in his last three games, and Michal Postava tallied 31 saves to improve to 15-6-0.

The Griffins opened scoring with 6:12 remaining in the first period while on the power play. Brandsegg-Nygard knocked it from the slot to Gustafsson at the top of the zone, and he fed it to Leonard, who fired in a one-timer from the right circle. With three seconds on the clock, Leonard backhanded a pass from the far boards to Dries in the slot, and he slapped the puck in for a 2-0 advantage.

Dylan Anhorn’s point-blank shot snuck past Postava 1:43 into the second slate, cutting Manitoba’s deficit to one. Just 45 seconds later, Brandsegg-Nygard backhanded one into the top-right corner from the doorstep to pull back ahead by two. The Moose put Thomas Milic in to relieve DiVincentiis 2:28 in, and 10 seconds later, Colby Barlow tapped it past the left post, making it 3-2. Johansson ripped one from the blue line just 70 seconds later and it bounced between Milic’s pads, reclaiming the Griffins’ two-goal advantage. At the 10:53 mark, Leonard dropped the puck off to Genborg in the right circle, and he snapped it in to grab a 5-2 lead.

At the 4:25 mark of the final frame, Stachowiak centered the puck from the far corner to Antti Tuomisto, who stuffed in the backdoor opportunity on Milic’s right side. With 1:49 to go, Jakub Rychlovsky hammered one past the left goal post from along the goal line to claim the Griffins’ 7-2 victory.

Notes

• The Griffins have scored at least five goals in three-straight contests, and in four of their last five games. They have outscored their opponents 18-5 in their last three outings. 
• Grand Rapids improved to 49-13-4-1 with 103 points through 67 games, and 25-6-1-1 on the road.
• The Griffins finished their regular-season series against the Moose with a 6-1-1-0 record.
• Shai Buium played in his 100th game as a Griffin.

Box Score

Grand Rapids 2 3 2 - 7

Manitoba 0 2 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Leonard 32 (Gustafsson, Brandsegg-Nygård), 13:48 (PP). 2, Grand Rapids, Dries 22 (Leonard, Gustafsson), 19:57. Penalties-Wahlin Mb (high-sticking), 13:15; Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (cross-checking), 18:30; Anhorn Mb (tripping), 19:05.

2nd Period-3, Manitoba, Anhorn 3 (Shaw, Anderson-Dolan), 1:43. 4, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 19 (Angle), 2:28. 5, Manitoba, Barlow 4 (Wahlin), 2:38. 6, Grand Rapids, Johansson 1 (Stachowiak, Tralmaks), 3:48. 7, Grand Rapids, Genborg 1 (Leonard, Wallinder), 10:53. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period-8, Grand Rapids, Tuomisto 8 (Stachowiak, Rychlovský), 4:25. 9, Grand Rapids, Rychlovský 7 (Tralmaks), 18:11. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 9-9-10-28. Manitoba 12-12-9-33.

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

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Postava 15-6-0 (33 shots-31 saves). Manitoba, DiVincentiis 11-16-2 (10 shots-7 saves); Milic 18-12-4 (18 shots-14 saves).

A-5,336

Three Stars

1. GR Leonard (goal, two assists) 2. GR Brandsegg-Nygard (game-winner, assist) 3. GR Gustafsson (two assists)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 49-13-4-1 (103 pts.) / Fri., April 10 vs. Chicago 7 p.m.

Manitoba: 31-28-5-1 (68 pts.) / Tue., April 7 vs. Milwaukee 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Manitoba Moose