Moose ‘Can’t Get Too High Right Now’ After Blanking Grand Rapids in Series Opener

In a game where one mistake could decide everything, Domenic DiVincentiis didn’t make one.

The Manitoba Moose goaltender turned aside 39 shots to shut out the Grand Rapids Griffins in a 1–0 Game One win at Canada Life Centre.

DiVincentiis said they “can’t get too high right now,” following the 1-0 win.

It was called a David-vs.-Goliath matchup heading into the game, but Manitoba hung with the Griffins and earned the early series edge.

It wasn’t always clean for Manitoba. They had chances they couldn’t afford to miss—and nearly paid for it.

Mason Shaw’s lone goal with 2:26 left in the third period pushed Manitoba to victory, and it gave shades of game two against Milwaukee with another late-game power play goal.

Before Shaw’s game-winning goal, the Moose had two other power play chances, but could not strike, even with extended offensive zone possession.

The Moose were too focused on finding the perfect shooting lane, and against a team like Grand Rapids, those mistakes usually end the game.

In the neutral zone, David Gustafsson was trying to drop a pass back to a defender, but Dominik Shine picked up the puck for a shorthanded breakaway. The same sequence had played out minutes earlier—but DiVincentiis turned both chances aside.

Manitoba did what they could to contain Grand Rapids’ overwhelming offence. When the Griffins rolled their lines, Manitoba had to adjust on the fly. When push came to shove, Manitoba pushed back even harder.

Manitoba didn’t just rely on DiVincentiis—they made his job manageable. Shots were blocked, lanes were taken away, and rebounds were cleared before Grand Rapids could generate second chances.

The effort was one period at a time, and head coach Mark Morrison said he was “really happy” with the result heading into the third period.

He later added that there were guys on the bench saying that “we got this” and that they “had to break eventually.”

It was always going to come down to one goal—and Manitoba found it.

Morrison added in his post-game scrum that he expects Grand Rapids to push harder—a message echoed by the players.

Morrison would not give a definite answer when asked who his game two starter would be. DiVincentiis said that “there’s a lot of gas left in the tank” when asked if he’d be ready to go for game two.

They’ll have less than 24 hours to reset—but after stealing Game One against one of the AHL’s best teams, the Moose have already proven they can hang.

Now, the challenge is doing it again.