Feb. 19, 2023

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - The Grand Rapids Griffins won their fifth-consecutive road game in a 5-4 shootout victory over the Manitoba Moose on Sunday at the Canada Life Centre.

Victor Brattstrom (W, 26 saves) made two saves while Austin Czarnik and Elmer Soderblom scored in the shootout to push the Griffins to victory. Brattstrom also chipped-in an assist on the opening goal for Grand Rapids, his second of the year. Danny O’Regan earned the third star of the game, recording a goal and an assist. Tonight was O’Regan’s first multi-point outing since his Griffins debut on Dec. 22, 2022 against the Chicago Wolves (2-1–3).

The first shot by each team turned into goals, starting with O’Regan 53 seconds into the contest. The German forward skated past the blue line and maneuvered into the slot to rifle the puck into the top right corner of the cage to score. At 1:57, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby answered with a shot off the left pad of Brattstrom and in to tie the game. The Griffins offense continued to hum in the first, as Joel L’Esperance tacked on goal number two by tapping in a rebound off of Arvid Holm’s chest from the crease at 5:15.

With 5:05 remaining in the first, Matt Luff buried a one-timer from the top of the right circle off of Brian Lashoff’s assist to take a 3-1 lead. The tally forced the Moose to switch Holm for Oskari Salminen at netmidner. The goal was also Luff’s first since returning from injury on Jan. 28 and Lashoff’s second apple of the season. With just one second left, the Moose scored on a power play with Jansen Harkins lasering a slap shot from the right circle past Brattstrom.

After Soderblom hustled to force a turnover in Manitoba’s zone, Simon Edvinsson ripped a shot from the top of the left circle and off the pad of Salminen at 2:05. Jasper Weatherby was in prime position, allowing him to light the lamp on the doorstep of goal to take a 4-2 advantage. However, Manitoba’s power play brought the game back to a tie heading into the third with a pair of man-advantage goals at 8:15 (Leon Gawanke) and with 11:00 to go (Wyatt Bongiovanni).

After the Moose started 3-for-3 on the power play, Grand Rapids' penalty kill finally fended off Manitoba’s special teams on their fourth chance beginning at 15:35 in the third to keep the game knotted at four apiece. Edvinsson drew a penalty with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to enter overtime with a man advantage.

Despite having 10 shots and 2:26 of power-play time, the Griffins could not score in overtime to secure a win due to Salminen’s stellar play at goalie. Brattstrom returned the favor in the shootout, making a glove save on Harkins and deflecting Jeff Malott's shot with his pad to help secure a 5-4 victory on the road.

Notes
- L'Esperance’s first-period goal was the 100th of his professional career.
- Grand Rapids is 2-0-0-2 in shootouts this season and 12-0-2-2 in games decided by one goal.
-With the win, the Griffins snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-0-1) against Manitoba on the road.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 3 1 0 0 - 5
Manitoba 2 2 0 0 - 4

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, O’Regan 8 (Viro, Brattstrom), 0:53. 2, Manitoba, Jonsson-Fjallby 2 (Reichel, Bongiovanni), 1:57. 3, Grand Rapids, L’Esperance 15 (O’Regan, Hirose), 5:15. 4, Grand Rapids, Luff 4 (Lashoff, Chiasson), 14:55. 5, Manitoba, Harkins 13 (Gawanke, Chisholm), 19:59 (PP). Penalties-Nikkanen Mb (slashing), 17:42; Edvinsson Gr (tripping), 18:44.

2nd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Weatherby 5 (Edvinsson, Soderblom), 2:05. 7, Manitoba, Gawanke 13 (Harkins), 8:15 (PP). 8, Manitoba, Bongiovanni 9 (Heinola, Jonsson-Fjallby), 9:00 (PP). Penalties-Malott Mb (interference), 2:41; McIsaac Gr (interference), 7:09; Lashoff Gr (tripping), 8:23.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Gawanke Mb (delay of game), 10:18; Luff Gr (goaltender interference), 15:35; Malott Mb (interference), 19:28.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Heinola Mb (hooking), 3:06.

Shootout - Grand Rapids 2 (Czarnik G, Soderblom G, Andreasson NG), Manitoba 1 (Harkins NG, Jonsson-Fjallby G, Malott NG).

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 15-8-4-10-1-38. Manitoba 13-9-7-1-0-30.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 5; Manitoba 3 / 4.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 4-7-2 (30 shots-26 saves). Manitoba, Holm 13-7-3 (15 shots-12 saves); Salminen 13-9-3 (22 shots-21 saves).
A-4,535

Three Stars
1. MB Harkins (goal, assist); 2. MB Bongiovanni (goal, assist); 3. GR O'Regan (goal, assist).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 21-23-2-2 (46 pts.) / Mon., Feb. 20 at Manitoba 3 p.m. EST
Manitoba: 26-16-3-3 (58 pts.) / Mon., Feb. 20 vs. Grand Rapids 2 p.m. CST

Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Moose