GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Carter Mazur (2-1—3) recorded his second-consecutive two-goal game to propel Grand Rapids to a 5-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose in Game 4 of the Central Division Semifinals on Friday at Van Andel Arena, as the Griffins claimed the series 3-1 to advance to the Central Division Finals.

Michal Postava backstopped the Griffins with a 19-save performance and has stopped 86 of 91 shots faced through the playoffs, giving him a .945 save percentage and 1.25 goals-against average. Grand Rapids tallied three power-play goals, courtesy of Eduards Tralmaks, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Mazur, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard notched his second goal of the postseason. Amadeus Lombardi and Erik Gustafsson each bagged two-assist nights. 

The Griffins, who clinched a series at home for the first time since the 2017 Calder Cup Finals, will begin their next venture in the Central Division Finals against the second-seeded Chicago Wolves. Game 1 is set for Thursday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena.

Grand Rapids’ offense sparked quickly, as just 1:40 into the first period Brandsegg-Nygard and Lombardi camped out on the doorstep and punched a trio of unsuccessful chances at Manitoba’s Thomas Milic, who replaced Domenic DiVincentiis in net following the Moose’s 4-2 loss in Game 3.

Exactly three minutes later, during Grand Rapids’ first power play, Gustafsson slid the puck from the top of the zone to Tralmaks in the right circle, and he slapped a one-timer past Milic’s blocker to claim a 1-0 advantage for the Griffins.

Postava recorded six saves in the opening frame to keep the Moose off the board. His best stop came with nine seconds to go when Parker Ford skated down the right side and slung the puck toward the netminder from the top of the circle, but Postava closed his pads to deny the chance.

The Moose knotted the score at one apiece 3:04 into the second frame. Colby Barlow grabbed a loose puck out of a scramble at the net and passed it out to the high slot to Dylan Anhorn, who snapped it through a crowd and over Postava’s blocker.

With 5:10 remaining and two seconds to spare on a man-advantage, Sandin-Pellikka scored a highlight-reel tally to put the Griffins back on top. Taking a feed from John Leonard in the neutral zone, the Gallivare, Sweden, native sped past a defender at the blue line and split two defenseman before slipping the puck between Milic’s pads from the bottom of the right circle.

Nursing that one-goal lead entering the third period, the Griffins got the eventual game-winner from Brandsegg-Nygard just 97 ticks in, as he snapped Lombardi’s centering feed below the crossbar from the slot to finish off a 2-on-1. 

Mazur added insurance to the Griffins’ lead on the power play at the 8:42 mark. Lombardi passed the puck down low to the Michigan native, who carried it out front and shot it over Milic’s glove for a 4-1 lead. Milic skated to the bench with 4:47 to go for an extra attacker, and Game 3 history repeated itself when Phillip Di Giuseppe snatched a turnover and fired it past Postava on a point-blank attempt to sneak the visitors within two.

The Manitoba netminder found the bench again with 4:33 to go, as the Moose pressed to make it a one-goal contest, but Mazur potted the empty-netter from deep in his own zone 90 seconds later to reclaim the three-goal lead. In a last-ditch effort, Milic snuck to the bench one final time with 2:56 left, but Postava denied two Manitoba shots to seal the 5-2 victory.

Notes

• The Griffins scored three power-play goals just once during the regular season, going 3-for-5 in a 4-3 shootout loss at Chicago on Nov. 9.
• For the first time in their history, the Griffins won a best-of-five series in four games after losing Game 1.
• For the second time ever, the Griffins won a series after being shut out in Game 1. They rallied to defeat Houston in five games (3-2) during the 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals, the first step on the way to their first Calder Cup championship.
• The combined attendance of 15,357 for tonight (7,776) and Game 3 on Wednesday (7,581) was the third-largest ever for Grand Rapids’ first two home games of a playoff year, trailing only 1997 (20,971) and 2019 (15,400).

Box Score

Manitoba 0 1 1 - 2

Grand Rapids 1 1 3 - 5

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Tralmaks 1 (Gustafsson, Stachowiak), 4:40 (PP). Penalties-Shaw Mb (holding), 4:04.

2nd Period-2, Manitoba, Anhorn 1 (Barlow, Yager), 3:04. 3, Grand Rapids, Sandin-Pellikka 1 (Leonard), 14:50 (PP). Penalties-Brandsegg-Nygård Gr (goaltender interference), 9:59; Sautner Mb (high-sticking), 12:52; Rychlovský Gr (tripping), 15:45; Di Giuseppe Mb (interference), 17:07.

3rd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Brandsegg-Nygård 2 (Lombardi, Mazur), 1:37. 5, Grand Rapids, Mazur 3 (Lombardi, Gustafsson), 8:42 (PP). 6, Manitoba, Di Giuseppe 1 (Ford, Anderson-Dolan), 15:16. 7, Grand Rapids, Mazur 4   16:57 (EN). Penalties-Empey Mb (slashing), 6:51.

Shots on Goal-Manitoba 6-6-9-21. Grand Rapids 7-10-9-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Manitoba 0 / 2; Grand Rapids 3 / 4.

Goalies-Manitoba, Milic 0-2 (25 shots-21 saves). Grand Rapids, Postava 3-1 (21 shots-19 saves).

A-7,776

Three Stars

1. GR Mazur (two goals, assist); 2. GR Sandin-Pellikka (power-play goal); 3. GR Lombardi (two assists)

Record/Next Game

Grand Rapids: 3-1 / Central Division Finals Game 1 / Thursday, May 16 vs. Chicago 7 p.m.

Manitoba: 3-4

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins