ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The last time Drew MacIntyre won a playoff game, he helped the Grand Rapids Griffins rally for a Game 7 victory over the Manitoba Moose in the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs. On Thursday, wearing the uniform of the team he once vanquished, he made 23 saves to lead the Moose to a 1-0 win over the Griffins in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals at the MTS Centre.
Jimmy Howard was outstanding in his own right for the Griffins, stopping 28 of Manitoba’s 29 shots, but he could not prevent Grand Rapids from suffering its seventh consecutive one-goal loss to the Moose.
The Griffins, who also lost Game 1 of last year’s division finals to the Moose before winning the series, will get another shot at their nemesis on Saturday when Manitoba hosts Game 2 at the MTS Centre.
The Griffins took a youthful approach to constructing tonight’s lineup, icing three players – forwards Cory Emmerton and Jan Mursak and defenseman Jakub Kindl – who completed their Ontario Hockey League seasons within the last two weeks. All made their playoff debuts during an otherwise uneventful first period, marked by Howard’s 10 saves and a pair of unsuccessful power play opportunities for each team.
Action picked up early in the second, with the Griffins generating two quick scoring chances on their former teammate and Manitoba’s Maxime Fortunus ringing a blast off the left post within the first three minutes. Howard was then peppered midway through the frame but stood strong, including making a highlight-reel left pad save on a Brendan Brooks redirection. Despite the Moose’s 18-12 shot advantage through 40 minutes, the game entered the third period scoreless.
Manitoba scored the game’s only goal on its 26th shot with 9:15 left on the clock. Skating down the right side, Yannick Tremblay dropped a pass back to Lee Goren, who ripped a shot over Howard’s glove from the high slot to ignite the partisan crowd of 5,889.
The Griffins had their opportunities to force overtime, receiving their fourth power play thanks to a hooking penalty on former Michigan Wolverine Mike Brown with 1:38 remaining, but were unable to get the equalizer despite sustained pressure and several chances in the closing seconds.
