The Manitoba Moose and Grand Rapids Griffins turned in two games of incredibly tight hockey to open their Central Division Semifinals series, with each side taking a victory. 

Manitoba scored a 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon, with Domenic DiVincentiis posting a 39-save shutout. The Griffins responded with a 2-0 win on Sunday, as Michal Postava recorded a 30-stop shutout to tie the series at 1-1.  

Grand Rapids topped the Western Conference standings in the regular season, going 51-16-4-1, while the Moose finished fourth in the Central Division with a 35-29-5-3 record. The first two games of the series at Canada Life Centre were emblematic of Manitoba’s best chance to win the series and overcome the 29-point gap between themselves and the Griffins in the regular season. 

“The only way that we have a chance to beat these guys is to defend,” said Moose head coach Mark Morrison. “We’ve done a good job with that for the most part. I thought they had one or two too many chances in the slot [in Game 2], but we’ll clean that up, and we’ll go after them again.” 

Grand Rapids combined a lethal dose of offence, scoring 255 goals in the regular season, good for the second most in the AHL, with suffocating defence, allowing a league-low 159 goals. The Moose claimed a pair of victories over Grand Rapids in the regular season, both by 3-2 scorelines, with one coming in overtime.  

The Moose owned a 28-4-2-3 record when they held their opposition to three or fewer goals this season. That mark is contrasted by a single win when they allowed four or more goals. The stark difference highlights even further how critical a strong defensive effort is going to be in Grand Rapids for the next three outings.  

“It’s kind of how we play,” said 2025 Calder Cup champion Phil Di Giuseppe. “If you take away the first Milwaukee game, [we’ve allowed just four goals]. We play stingy. It’s a little redundant, but [Grand Rapids] is a good team, so I think we’re doing a good job.  

DiVincentiis has been stellar since taking the Moose net in Game 2 of the First Round against the Milwaukee Admirals, allowing just four goals over four games, boasting a .968 save percentage. The Bolton, Ont. product’s strong performances have earned high praise from coaches and teammates alike, with defenceman Tyrel Bauer saying the goaltender has been “lights out.” 

With the Winnipeg portion of the best-of-five series now complete, the final three games will be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The Moose head into the remainder of the series as a confident group, armed with a blueprint they believe can lead them to the next round. 

“We feel good going into Grand Rapids,” said Bauer. “We thought we made a statement and played two hard games. It’s the nature of the playoffs in the AHL. The series is a little shorter, but we’re going to go into Grand Rapids, and we’re going to play the same way. We’re going to play hard, and we need two of three. It’s very manageable for our group.” 

Game 3 goes at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday night, with Game 4 at the same time on Friday. If necessary, a deciding Game 5 would be played on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. You can follow along while the Moose are on the road on 680 CJOB and with AHLTV on FloHockey. Pre-game coverage of Wednesday’s Game 3 on 680 CJOB begins at 5:30 p.m. CT.