GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Amadeus Lombardi’s first two-goal game as a professional paved the way for a Grand Rapids Griffins 2-1 victory over the Manitoba Moose on Saturday at Van Andel Arena to complete the weekend sweep. 

Grand Rapids is now undefeated in three games at home for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, when it won its first eight games at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins also improved to 3-1 overall for the first time since 2016-17, their most recent Calder Cup championship season. Sebastian Cossa turned away 29 shots but saw his home shutout streak this season come to an end after 103:31 minutes and the Griffins’ home shutout streak this campaign ended at 163:52. In the young season, Cossa has shown a 1.67 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage through three outings. 

Grand Rapids sported another scoreless tie with the Moose after the first period before Lombardi put the Griffins on the board with his first goal of the season at 4:05 in the second. Dominik Shine skated in close and fired a backhanded pass to Lombardi in the crease who found the back of the net. Joe Snively extended his point streak to three games (1-2—3) after being credited with the secondary assist. 

Manitoba battled back, as Tyson Empey tied the score at one with 16:08 remaining in the contest. Empey corralled a rebound off of Cossa’s initial save and shoveled the puck into the net. 

Lombardi hit paydirt once more at 11:54 in the third frame to put the Griffins back on top, 2-1. Lombardi broke away from Manitoba defenders and sent the puck past the right leg of Domenic Divincentiis for his second goal of the game. 

With 1:44 left to play, the Moose pulled Divincentiis to put on the extra attacker. Manitoba fired a shot in with 20 seconds remaining, but Cossa dove from the opposite side of the goal to make the glove save. Cossa and the Griffins’ defense held strong the rest of the way and skated away with a 2-1 win. 

Notes

• Sheldon Dries played his 400th career game as a pro. 
• Head coach Dan Watson improved his all-time home-ice record to 26-7-4-2 (.744).
• The Griffins remain in the top five of the AHL for goals against, allowing 1.25 tallies per game.

Box Score 

Manitoba 0 0 1 - 1
Grand Rapids 0 1 1 - 2

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Conley Mb (interference), 2:26; Kuzmin Mb (tripping), 8:15; Didier Gr (tripping), 12:56; Söderblom Gr (delay of game), 19:04.

2nd Period-1, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 1 (Shine, Snively), 4:05. Penalties-Anhorn Mb (holding), 9:04; Rafferty Gr (tripping), 11:42; Viro Gr (slashing), 12:51.

3rd Period-2, Manitoba, Empey 1 (Lundmark, Nikkanen), 3:52. 3, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 2   11:54. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Manitoba 6-11-13-30. Grand Rapids 8-9-7-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Manitoba 0 / 4; Grand Rapids 0 / 3.
Goalies-Manitoba, Divincentiis 1-1-0 (24 shots-22 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 2-1-0 (30 shots-29 saves).
A-4,578

Three Stars 

1. GR Lombardi (two goals) 2. GR Cossa (W, 29 saves) 3. MB Divincentiis (L, 22 saves). 

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 3-1-0-0 (6 pts.) / Fri., Oct. 25 at Springfield 7:05 p.m. 

Manitoba: 2-2-0-0 (4 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 26 vs. Rockford 2 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins