April 6, 2023

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - After a sluggish opening period with only one shot on goal, the Grand Rapids Griffins regrouped to win 5-2 over the Manitoba Moose on Thursday at the Canada Life Centre.

The Griffins posted 31 shots and 5 goals in the final 40 minutes of play after being outpaced 10-1 in shots during the initial 20. Carter Mazur recorded the first two goals of his professional career in the third frame, as well as adding an assist to Danny O’Regan’s goal. In four outings with Grand Rapids this season, the Jackson, Mich., native has four points (2-2–4). With a tally and an assist tonight, O’Regan has 24 points through his last 22 appearances (11-13-24).

The Griffins matched their season low in shots in a period with just one in the opening frame. However, their penalty kill shined against Manitoba’s power-play unit (fifth in the AHL) by fending off three power-play opportunities for the Moose. In the six minutes the Moose had a man advantage, Grand Rapids held them to just three shots.

The Griffins turned up the heat offensively in the second, firing 19 shots on goal. O’Regan opened up scoring on a power play early in the middle frame by pump faking and releasing a shot from the top of the right circle past Oskari Salminen at 1:02. Manitoba followed with a pair of man-advantage scores from Daniel Torgersson (2:24) and Greg Meireles (15:28) to take a 2-1 lead into the third.

Grand Rapids reached another gear in the final stanza, lighting the lamp four times. Mazur went first, scoring on the short side of the cage with a shot over the left shoulder of Salminen just 22 seconds into the period to tie it. Seth Barton scored his second goal of the season and his second in three games with a rocket of a one-timer from the left circle at 5:18 for the game-winner. Jasper Weatherby found the back of the goal on an odd-man rush with 12:18 to go, sliding a backhand attempt inside the left goal post for a 4-2 edge. Mazur capped off the night after the Moose pulled Salminen with 3:34 left, scoring an empty-netter at 18:16 for a 5-2 win.

Notes
- In his first start with Grand Rapids, Ryan Bednard picked up the win with 29 saves.
- Brian Lashoff notched his 100th assist in the AHL on Barton’s game-winner.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 0 1 4 - 5
Manitoba 0 2 0 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Viro Gr (tripping), 1:32; Heinola Mb (hooking), 5:19; Newpower Gr (roughing), 8:33; Sawchuk Gr (tripping), 15:12; Malott Mb (roughing), 20:00.

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, O’Regan 17 (McIsaac, Mazur), 1:02 (PP). 2, Manitoba, Torgersson 11 (Harkins, Stewart), 2:24 (PP). 3, Manitoba, Meireles 8 15:28 (PP). Penalties-Newpower Gr (fighting), 1:14; Malott Mb (fighting), 1:14; Barton Gr (delay of game), 2:02; Limoges Mb (hooking), 5:19; Sautner Mb (slashing), 6:11; Nikkanen Mb (slashing), 7:24; Andreasson Gr (holding), 14:34; Barton Gr (hooking), 17:44.

3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Mazur 1 (Spezia), 0:22. 5, Grand Rapids, Barton 2 (Lashoff, Andreasson), 5:18. 6, Grand Rapids, Weatherby 6 (L’Esperance, Shine), 7:42. 7, Grand Rapids, Mazur 2 (Weatherby, O’Regan), 18:16 (EN). Penalties-Heinola Mb (tripping), 2:45; Gawanke Mb (misconduct - abuse of officials), 18:16; Polei Mb (misconduct - abuse of officials), 18:16.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 1-19-12-32. Manitoba 10-11-10-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 6; Manitoba 2 / 6.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Bednard 1-0-1 (31 shots-29 saves). Manitoba, Salminen 17-13-6 (31 shots-27 saves).
A-3,120

Three Stars
1. GR Mazur (two goals, assist); 2. GR O’Regan (goal, assist); 3. MB Torgersson (goal).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 28-32-4-4 (64 pts.) / Fri., April 7 at Manitoba 7 p.m. EDT
Manitoba: 34-24-5-4 (77 pts.) / Fri., April 7 vs. Grand Rapids 6 p.m. CDT

Photo by Jonatan Kozub/Moose