WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Jason Krog’s goal midway through the second period proved the difference as the Manitoba Moose defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins, 2-1, for the second consecutive night on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in their North Division finals series. Krog took a backhand pass from a rushing Alexandre Bolduc on what turned out to be the deciding play and fired the puck past Griffins goaltender Jimmy Howard at 10:10 of the middle frame. It was Manitoba’s fifth consecutive playoff victory, and Moose netminder Cory Schneider again loomed large, stopping 28 of 29 shots. The Moose opened the scoring early in the first period while killing off a power play. With Nolan Baumgartner off for roughing, Manitoba cleared the puck out of its zone and applied pressure deep in the Grand Rapids zone. Bolduc took advantage of a defensive miscue behind the Griffins’ net and slapped the puck between Howard’s pads for his third of the playoffs. Grand Rapids evened things up at 6:31 of the second period, with Baumgartner serving an interference penalty. Darren McCarty slipped the puck past Schneider’s right pad just 15 seconds into the man advantage for his third of the postseason. But Manitoba responded less than four minutes later, when Bolduc launched a rush down the wing and found Krog for the finisher. The teams swapped power plays early in the third period, but neither could capitalize on their man advantage. Grand Rapids outshot Manitoba, 14-8, in the final frame and 29-22 overall. Game Three will be played Monday night in Grand Rapids.
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