WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The Grand Rapids Griffins split a weekend series in Manitoba, losing to the Moose 4-2 on Saturday night in the MTS Centre. The Griffins remain in a second-place tie with the Hamilton Bulldogs, four points behind the Moose in the North Division.

Jimmy Howard made a season-high 32 saves in the game, while Karl Goehring stopped 31 saves in net for the Moose. The Griffins (13-7-3-3) remain at 32 points after the game, while the Moose (18-7-0-0) jump to 36. The loss marks only the second time in nine games that the Griffins have lost when giving up the first goal.

For the second night in the row, the Moose scored early to take a 1-0 lead over the Griffins. On Saturday night, it was Dan Gendur putting Manitoba up when he banged in a pass from Mark Cullen 1:42 into the game. And just like the previous night, Grand Rapids responded quickly. Jamie Tardif scored on a slap shot from inside the blue line just 2:45 after the Manitoba goal to square the score at 1-1.

Mattias Ritola’s power-play goal at the 8:22 mark of the first put the Griffins in front by the score of 2-1. After multiple saves by Goehring, including one on Darren Haydar from in close, Ritola jammed home a rebound for Grand Rapids’ second goal of the contest and his eighth of the season.

Late in the second period, after a streak of 17 consecutive shots by the Moose, Jason Krog tied the game at 2-2 with his second goal against the Griffins in as many nights. From the right side of the crease, Krog redirected the puck past Howard and into the net with 3:46 remaining in the period.

Maxim Ouellet scored 4:14 in the third period to put the Moose up by the score of 3-2. Howard made a save on a shot by Krog, but the puck trickled behind him and Ouellet tapped it into the net for his fifth goal of the season. Then Guillaume Desbiens made it a two-goal game at the 7:23 mark of the third when he tucked a backhander inside the left post.

Three Stars: 1. MTB Krog (Goal, assist); 2. MTB Ouellet (Goal, assist); 3. MTB Grabner (Assist)