FREE TICKETS!
This coming Thursday, May 7, at Pregame Sports Bar in St. Boniface, we are hosting Mailbag: Live! — an in-person version of our monthly online feature, which will also include a Winnipeg Jets season post-mortem and some discussion of the NHL Draft Lottery, among other things — and we want to see you there!
This event is exclusive to members of our Patron Program, but we’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away to subscribers of this newsletter. To enter, simply fill out this form with your name and email address before midnight Monday, May 4. Winners will be contacted Tuesday morning.
Good luck and hope to see you there!
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: One thing the Moose will want to avoid is getting into a track meet with Grand Rapids. That’s a fight they likely can’t win.
The Griffins can score with the best of them, including five players who lit the lamp at least 20 times. Leading the way was John Leonard, a 27-year-old journeyman forward with 81 games of NHL experience. He scored 33 times in just 47 AHL games this year.
Meanwhile, Manitoba’s leading goal scorer was Samuel Fagemo, who had 19 over 72 contests.
Defence needs to be the name of the game, and the Moose certainly found that element in holding Milwaukee to just one goal in two straight elimination games last weekend. Of course, a little offence wouldn’t hurt. Manitoba scored just five times in three games against the Admirals but managed to advance. It wasn’t for a lack of shots and chances, but finding a way to finish has been a season-long storyline for this squad.
I’ve seen Cossa play twice this season and my takeaway was the same each time: why isn’t this guy in the NHL? He’s going to be there soon enough, and the Moose will have to find a way to make life difficult for one of the AHL’s best at his position. Cossa, the 15th-overall pick in 2021, went 26-8-4 this year with a stellar 2.33 goals against average and .915 save percentage.
Getting some traffic in front of him for screens and tips and jumping on loose pucks and rebounds will be essential. There’s not going to be many, if any, highlight-reel type goals scored against Grand Rapids.
The crowd was a big story in the first round, with nearly 5,000 fans taking in Games 2 and 3 and providing an extra boost that plenty of players spoke about afterwards. Although the Moose don’t have home-ice advantage in this series, they do have the benefit of playing the first two games in their own barn before it shifts to Michigan for the duration.
“Obviously a huge difference and we felt it right away. From the regular season to the playoffs, (the fans) took it to another level and definitely it brought us to another level too,” said Yager. “We fed off the crowd and the energy and the atmosphere a ton. That’s part of the reason we came out of Round 1.”
KEN SAYS: After seeing two of the three games of the opening round in person, it’s clear the Moose are going to be moving up a weight class in this matchup. The Griffins were the top team in the AHL for the bulk of the season before ultimately finishing three points behind the Providence Bruins.
But the Moose deserve plenty of credit for their commitment to team defence against the Admirals, limiting their opponent to six goals in three games (one of which was an empty netter).
Trying to minimize the damage against the Griffins is a considerable chore, especially after the news that Salomonsson won’t be available. That means the veterans on the blue line will need to absorb the additional minutes and responsibility.
Tyrel Bauer certainly caught my attention during the series with the Admirals and he could be closer to his NHL debut than some folks thought, but that’s on the back burner until the fall. Bauer will need to be a physical presence who helps keep the front of the net clear for DiVincentiis, who came out of the bullpen and was tremendous.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Brown, who is eager for the opportunity to suit up in his first professional game.
“Obviously, it’s a new environment, a new league. These guys are good,” said Brown. “For me, I’m just going to be trying to play a simple game, playing hard and and I think those are going to be some things that I’m just going to have to rely on. And those are the things that come through in big games.”
Brown is a mobile D-man that moves the puck well and brings some size to the back end and you can be sure he’ll be looking to lean on his experience of playing in some high pressure games during his time with the University of Denver Pioneers, who captured the NCAA Frozen Four title last month.
The Griffins are a wagon, though it’s too bad former Brandon Wheat Kings centre Nate Danielson won’t likely be available as he works his way back from an injury that has sidelined him since mid-February and limited him to 18 AHL games this season.
Griffins centre Amadeus Lombardi, chosen by the Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, is someone to keep an eye on, as he’s averaged nearly a point per game during his past two seasons with the Griffins.
PROJECTED LINES
MANITOBA MOOSE
FORWARDS:
- Mason Shaw–David Gustafsson–Walker Duehr
- Jaret Anderson-Dolan–Danny Zhilkin–Sam Fagemo
- Brad Lambert–Brayden Yager–Lucas Wahlin
- Colby Barlow–Parker Ford–Phi Di Giuseppe
DEFENCE:
- Isaak Phillips–Kale Clague
- Ashton Sautner–Tyrel Bauer
- Dylan Anhorn– Garrett Brown
GOAL:
- Dom DiVincentiis
- Thomas Milic
INJURED: D Elias Salomonsson (shoulder surgery)
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: F Tyson Empey, F Kevin He, F Jacob Julien, F Fabian Wagner, F Jayden Dureau, F Chase Yoder, F Davis Burnside, D Dawson Barteaux, D Lukas Gustafsson, D Alfons Freij, D Ben Zloty, D Ethan Frisch, G Isaac Poulter, G Alex Worthington
GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS
FORWARDS:
- Carter Mazur-Sheldon Dries-John Leonard
- Tyler Angle-Amadeus Lombardi-Dominik Shine
- Eduards Tralmaks-Wojciech Stachowiak-Michael Brandsegg-Nygard
- Austin Watson-Ondre Beecher-Jesse Kiiskinen
DEFENCE:
- William Wallinder-Antti Tuomisto
- Erik Gustafsson-Anton Johansson
- William Lagesson-Axel Sandin-Pellikka
GOAL:
- Sebastian Cossa
- Michal Postava
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Moose coach Mark Morrison on embracing the role of underdogs:
“We know where we stand here. We’re playing against a very good hockey team. We’ve beat them a couple of times in the regular season. We’re a little bit worried about them, for sure. And that’s a good thing. We have to defend very well and we know how hard we have to work to stay in games. I think our plan is good.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Mike and Ken will have double coverage of Game 1.
You can find their stories online.
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