Manitoba made a pair of power-play goals stand up for a 2-1 victory over Grand Rapids at the MTS Centre on Tuesday night.
The teams will meet again in Winnipeg on Wednesday for their fourth get-together in six nights.
The Griffins dominated the action during the opening frame, outshooting Manitoba 12-2 and netting the first goal of the contest at the 10:07 mark. Krys Kolanos gained possession in the corner and circled to the high slot to leave a drop pass for Matt Hussey before snapping his linemate’s rebound just inside the goal post from the right dot.
Manitoba notched the equalizer 7:25 into the second when Nathan Smith slid a blind pass to the top of the crease, where an undetected Jason Jaffray jammed the puck through the pads of Stefan Liv.
Brandon Reid provided the go-ahead goal for the Moose at 6:15 of the third as he ripped a shot from the hashes over the shoulder of the goaltender. It was Reid’s first goal of the season.
Wade Flaherty finished with 27 saves to earn the victory for Manitoba, which ended a four-game winless slide (0-2-0-2). The Griffins saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
