Dec. 21, 2018

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — A third-period explosion of three back-to-back goals over the span of two minutes and 13 seconds led the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose at Bell MTS Place on Friday.

Leading goal-scorer Chris Terry found twine for his 19th goal of the season, while Matt Ford and Dominic Turgeon each netted goals in the final frame to break a 1-1 stalemate between the Griffins and Moose.

The victory snapped a four-game winless streak on the road for Grand Rapids and put its record at 16-11-2-2. The Griffins will close out the two-game series with Manitoba (11-15-2-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST before taking a six-day break for the holiday.

Matt Puempel managed to capitalize on one of the Griffins' eight shots in the first period to put Grand Rapids in the lead. Puempel redirected a shot from Winnipeg native Dylan McIlrath along the boards past Moose goaltender Eric Comrie, giving the Griffins a 1-0 advantage with 5:51 left in the frame.

Manitoba’s Austin Carroll took that advantage away with only 43 seconds left in the first period. Felix Girard sent a backhand pass to Carroll from behind the goal line, who stayed tight to the net and tucked it behind Grand Rapids goaltender Harri Sateri to knot up the score at 1-1.

The stalemate carried throughout a scoreless second period, one that included a stretch of 5:54 on the power play for the Griffins after Manitoba’s Alexis D’Aoust was called for holding at 14:36 and Logan Stanley was issued four minutes of penalties less than two minutes later.

Even with the advantage, the Griffins didn't find the net until 5:42 of the third period when Turgeon kicked off the three-goal stretch. Dominik Shine brought the puck into Manitoba’s zone and beat Stanley at the blue line before sending the puck to Turgeon at the corner of the left-wing circle, who whipped in a shot to put Grand Rapids up, 2-1.

Thirty-nine seconds later, Ford capitalized on a turnover from Carroll near center ice and brought it to the doorstep, clearing a shot past Manitoba defenseman Cameron Schilling and Comrie to give the Griffins a two-goal lead.

Terry netted the last goal of the game just 1:34 after Ford’s to make it 4-1. In his second game back in the lineup after being sidelined for four contests due to injury, Carter Camper collected the puck along the goal line and sent it to Terry in front of the goal, who beat defenseman Sami Niku and Comrie from the slot.

Sateri, who tallied 18 saves in the third period alone, finished the night with 27 saves for the win.

Notes: Comrie made 24 saves on the night, while the Griffins and Moose tied in shots with 28...The penalty kill finished the night a perfect 2-for-2, while the power play finished 0-for-5...Prior to Friday night, the Griffins had scored three times in their last 171.57 of play...Terry notched a second point on the night with a secondary assist on Puempel’s goal...Turner Elson missed his third consecutive game due to injury.

Three Stars: 1. GR Terry (goal, assist); 2. GR Turgeon (game-winning goal); 3. MB Girard (assist)

Photos by Jonathan Kozub/Manitoba Moose