WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Despite entering the final period down 3-1, the Grand Rapids Griffins scored four unanswered goals in the third, propelling them to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Manitoba Moose on Thursday at the Canada Life Centre. The two-goal deficit marked the largest the Griffins had overcome in a regulation win this season. 

Ondrej Becher (1-1—2) earned his first professional two-point game alongside Brogan Rafferty's second of the season (1-1—2). Tim Gettinger secured a goal, good for his third in the last three outings. Joe Snively and Sheldon Dries both scored their 15th goal of the year, while Dries increased his point streak to four (3-1—4). Dominik Shine (1-4—5) also raised his streak to four and Alex Doucet (1-3—4) improved to three. In his first appearance since Oct. 18, Carter Mazur returned from injury and tallied an assist. Goaltender Ville Husso manned the net for the Griffins, saving a season-high 39 shots in the win. Grand Rapids finished perfect on the power play (1-for-1, 100%) and the penalty kill (2-for-2, 100%). 

Just 1:26 into the opening period, Gettinger gave the Griffins an early lead. Gabriel Seger skated along the right boards and sent a centering feed inside for Gettinger, who tipped it home. Grand Rapids went on the penalty kill for nearly four straight minutes following penalties at 11:02 and 13:51 but ended up killing both. However, with 1:45 remaining in the frame, C.J. Suess tipped a shot from Simon Lundmark past Husso to tie the game. The Griffins posted just five shots in the period to Manitoba’s 18. 

The Moose took a 2-1 lead just 1:28 into the second frame when Jaret Anderson-Dolan fired a shot towards the goalmouth from the blue line and the puck deflected off Ben King into the back of the net. Manitoba tacked on their third goal at 12:02 when Parker Ford scored from the right circle. Gettinger attempted to net his second goal of the night on a breakaway chance with 2:35 left in the frame, but Thomas Milic turned it away and the Griffins exited the period down 3-1. 

Grand Rapids earned its first power-play opportunity at 1:09, and Snively trimmed the deficit to one just 43 seconds later. Snively skated into the left circle and snapped a shot towards the net. His shot was blocked by a Manitoba defender but Snively collected the rebound and sent a backhand shot past Milic. At 3:39, the Griffins tied the game when Becher tucked a shot inside the right goalpost from the high slot. 

Grand Rapids continued to pour on the offensive output, as Rafferty put the Griffins back on top at 5:25. A feed from Doucet found Rafferty wide open above the right circle. Rafferty drew back for the slapshot, as a Manitoba defender slid past him before Rafferty ripped it home into the upper left corner. With 9:49 remaining, Dries skated into the Manitoba zone, crossing over defenders at the blue line and snapping a shot into the back of the net from the left circle to give the Griffins a 5-3 lead. Grand Rapids held onto its two-goal advantage into the final minutes when the Moose pulled Milic with 1:51 remaining. However, Ford earned his second goal of the game with just 12 seconds left, bringing Manitoba within one. The Moose won the initial faceoff, but skated offsides and the Griffins secured the 5-4 win.

Notes

• The Griffins improved to 4-9-0-0 when trailing after the second period.
• 10 of the last 12 meetings between Grand Rapids and Manitoba have been decided by one goal, including all five matchups this year. 

Box Score

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

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Gettinger 4 (Seger), 1:26. 2, Manitoba, Suess 7 (Lundmark, Lucius), 18:15. Penalties-Dries Gr (hooking), 11:02; Tuomisto Gr (interference), 13:51.

2nd Period-3, Manitoba, King 6 (Anderson-Dolan), 1:28. 4, Manitoba, Ford 9 (Lambert, Phillips), 12:02. Penalties-No Penalties

3rd Period-5, Grand Rapids, Snively 15 (Becher, Wallinder), 1:52 (PP). 6, Grand Rapids, Becher 3 (Buium, Rafferty), 3:39. 7, Grand Rapids, Rafferty 4 (Doucet, Mazur), 5:25. 8, Grand Rapids, Dries 15 (Shine, Didier), 10:11. 9, Manitoba, Ford 10 (Shaw, Coghlan), 19:48. Penalties-Barteaux Mb (slashing), 1:09.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 5-9-15-29. Manitoba 18-15-10-43.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 1; Manitoba 0 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Husso 7-1-0 (43 shots-39 saves). Manitoba, Milic 4-10-2 (29 shots-24 saves).
A-1,825

Three Stars 

1. GR Snively (goal); 2. GR Becher (goal, assist); 3. MB Ford (two goals)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 23-12-3-1 (50 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 25 at Manitoba 3 p.m. EST

Manitoba: 11-22-1-1 (24 pts.) / Sat., Jan. 25 vs. Grand Rapids 2 p.m. CST

Photo by Manitoba Moose