Domenic DiVincentiis made 39 saves, Mason Shaw scored with 2:26 remaining and the Manitoba Moose opened their Central Division semifinal series with a dramatic 1-0 win over Grand Rapids at Canada Life Centre on Saturday afternoon.
The teams go back at it in Game 2 on Sunday (3 ET, ).
With the Moose working on a late power play, Walker Duehr had a shot blocked, but Shaw, stationed at the side of the net, gathered the loose puck and tucked it in for his first goal of the postseason.
DiVincentiis held the AHL’s second-ranked offense off the scoreboard and registered the first postseason shutout by a Moose goaltender since Eddie Lack blanked the Hamilton Bulldogs, 1-0, on May 8, 2011. He has allowed two goals on 91 shots in his three playoff starts (0.67, .978).
Michal Postava got the Game 1 start in net for the Griffins and stopped 22 of 23 shots.
(Manitoba leads series, 1-0)
Game 1 – Sat., May 2 – MANITOBA 1, Grand Rapids 0
Game 2 – Sun., May 3 – Grand Rapids at Manitoba, 3:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 6 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 8 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 9 – Manitoba at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern