Nov. 13, 2021

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Griffins fell to the Manitoba Moose 6-2 on Saturday at Van Andel Arena, which ended their three-game winning streak.

Despite the loss, Riley Barber (4-5—9), Jonatan Berggren (3-4—7) and Taro Hirose (2-7—9) all extended their point streak to six games.

The opening period was not in the Griffins favor as they let in four goals, the most given up in a period this season. At the 6:40 mark, Manitoba’s Austin Poganski made a pass to Jimmy Oligny who stood in the slot and sent a one-timer through the legs of netminder Victor Brattstrom and gave the Moose the early score.

With 9:11 remaining in the period, Manitoba attacked again when C.J. Suess danced around the defenders in the Grand Rapids’ zone and fired a wrister into the net, extending its lead to two.

After a pair of unanswered goals, Berggren stood at the left circle and connected with Turner Elson as he skated down the slot by himself to put the Griffins on the board at the 12:40 mark. This tally marked Elson’s second straight game with a goal and third in the last four contests.

Just as Grand Rapids scored its first, Manitoba added another to its lead. With 5:06 remaining, Mikey Eyssimont chased the puck behind the net and wrapped around the goal mouth for the score.

At the 15:14 mark in the opening period, Kristian Reichel fought for the loose puck when teammate Jeff Malott got free and stood in between the circles and smashed the puck into the right corner, extending the Manitoba lead to three.

As the middle frame began, Brattstrom was relieved of his duties by Calvin Pickard. The Griffins then went on to allow just two shots in the second, which was the fewest allowed in a period this campaign.

With 10:27 left in the frame, Barber got tripped by an opposing players stick and slid to make a pass to an open Kyle Criscuolo who stood left of the goal crease and reduced the Grand Rapids deficit to two, marking his second goal of the season.

As the final period started, Manitoba looked to take advantage on the power play. At the 1:25 mark, Malott took a shot but Pickard was able to make the save. However, the rebound fell to Greg Meireles and he finished the opportunity in the left corner to extend the Moose lead, 5-2.

With 16:20 remaining, Reichel skated down the right side on a 2-on-1 break and found Maier who took a shot from the slot to give Manitoba the 6-2 victory.

The third period saw Grand Rapids register only two shots, marking the fewest attempts in a period for the Griffins this year. Grand Rapids garnered just 16 total shots in the contest, which was the fewest attempts in a game since Oct. 22, 2021 when the team totaled 22 chances at Manitoba.

Notes

• D.J. King registered his first AHL point on an assist.

Box Score

Manitoba 4 0 2 - 6
Grand Rapids 1 1 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Manitoba, Oligny 2 (Poganski, Gustafsson), 6:40. 2, Manitoba, Suess 1 (Heinola, Nogier), 10:49. 3, Grand Rapids, Elson 4 (Berggren, King), 12:40. 4, Manitoba, Eyssimont 5 (Maier, Kovacevic), 14:54. 5, Manitoba, Malott 3 (Reichel), 15:14. Penalties-Polei Mb (fighting), 9:20; Witkowski Gr (fighting), 9:20.

2nd Period-6, Grand Rapids, Criscuolo 2 (Barber, Hirose), 9:33. Penalties-Kovacevic Mb (slashing), 4:35; Oligny Mb (roughing), 10:43; Eyssimont Mb (fighting), 20:00; Newpower Gr (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating), 20:00.

3rd Period-7, Manitoba, Meireles 2 (Malott, Suess), 1:25 (PP). 8, Manitoba, Maier 4 (Polei, Kovacevic), 3:40. Penalties-Poganski Mb (interference), 5:20; Eyssimont Mb (tripping), 13:28.

Shots on Goal-Manitoba 19-2-14-35. Grand Rapids 4-10-2-16.
Power Play Opportunities-Manitoba 1 / 1; Grand Rapids 0 / 4.
Goalies-Manitoba, Holm 2-1-1 (16 shots-14 saves). Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 0-3-1 (19 shots-15 saves); Pickard 5-2-0 (16 shots-14 saves).
A-6,969

Three Stars

1. MB Suess (goal, assist); 2. MB Malott (goal, assist); 3. MB Maier (goal, assist)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 5-5-0-1 (11 pts.) / Wed., Nov. 17 vs. Chicago 11 a.m.
Manitoba: 7-5-1-0 (15 pts.) / Thu., Nov. 18 vs. Milwaukee 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins