GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Led by 36 saves from Michal Postava, the Grand Rapids Griffins powered to a 2-1 win over the Manitoba Moose in their home opener at Van Andel Arena on Friday.

The Griffins improved to 2-0-1-0 on the season and 4-0 in home openers under head coach Dan Watson. Highlighted by a 16-save second period, Postava stole the spotlight in front of an electric home crowd to move to 2-0. On offense, Cameron Butler scored his first goal of the campaign while William Lagesson tallied his second, an unassisted second-period marker that proved to be the game-winner.

Almost nine minutes into the contest, Wilmer Skoog nearly converted during a power play off a backhand pass from Dominik Shine, but Domenic DiVincentiis made the save to keep it scoreless.

Seven minutes later, the Griffins broke the ice with their first home goal of the season. Out of the left corner, Kienan Draper found Butler at the top of the crease for a redirection through the goaltender’s five-hole at the 15:54 mark.

Grand Rapids doubled its margin 2:11 into the second period. From center ice, Lagesson led a rush into the Manitoba zone, skating down the right side before cutting in and tucking a shot  through the DiVincentiis’ pads for a 2-0 cushion.

Early in the third, the Moose took advantage of a Grand Rapids turnover in the defensive zone to halve their deficit at the 4:17 mark. Noah Gregor dangled around two defenders before backhanding a shot past Postava, finally solving the netminder on Manitoba’s 29th shot of the night.

The Moose pulled DiVincentiis for an extra attacker with 1:15 remaining, but the Griffins did not yield another shot and sealed the 2-1 win. 

Notes

• In the four home openers under Watson (4-0), the Griffins have outscored their opponents 13-5.
• Over the last 11 years, Grand Rapids is 9-2 in home openers. All time, the Griffins hold a 19-11-0-1 record.
• Carter Bear, the 13th overall pick by Detroit in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft and a native of Manitoba, made his professional debut tonight.

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

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Butler 1 (Draper, Bryson), 15:54. Penalties-Yager Mb (hooking), 8:23; Attard Gr (tripping), 17:59.

2nd Period-2, Grand Rapids, Lagesson 2   2:11. Penalties-Empey Mb (fighting), 2:20; Butler Gr (fighting), 2:20; He Mb (slashing), 2:51; Stillman Gr (tripping), 5:32.

3rd Period-3, Manitoba, Gregor 3 (Ford), 4:17. Penalties-Skoog Gr (holding), 13:15.

Shots on Goal-Manitoba 9-16-12-37. Grand Rapids 13-9-11-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Manitoba 0 / 3; Grand Rapids 0 / 2.
Goalies-Manitoba, DiVincentiis 1-1-0 (33 shots-31 saves). Grand Rapids, Postava 2-0-0 (37 shots-36 saves).
A-9,371

Three Stars
1. GR Postava (W, 36 saves); 2. GR Butler (goal); 3. GR Lagesson (game-winning goal)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 2-0-1-0 (5 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 10 at Milwaukee 7 p.m. EDT
Manitoba: 2-1-0-0 (4 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 10 at Chicago 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/ Griffins