Gustafsson scores late, Moose stun Milwaukee to force Game 3

Manitoba was down to its last breath, and then David Gustafsson changed everything with 42.6 seconds left.

The winger tipped Brayden Yager’s point shot past Matt Murray on the power play Friday night, lifting the Moose to a 2-1 win over Milwaukee in Game 2 of the Central Division first round and forcing a decisive Game 3. It was Gustafsson’s first goal in seven career Calder Cup Playoff games, and it came with Manitoba staring at elimination before a home crowd at Canada Life Centre.

Milwaukee had seized the early edge in the second period when Ryan Ufko scored shorthanded just 1:42 in, putting the Admirals in control of a short series that had already tilted their way after a 4-1 Game 1 victory. But Manitoba answered quickly. Parker Ford tied it a little more than two minutes later for his second goal of the series, settling the game into a tense deadlock that held until the final minute. Then Yager’s shot found Gustafsson in front, and the Moose had the late finish they desperately needed.

Domenic DiVincentiis helped make the comeback stand up in his postseason debut, stopping 19 of 20 shots to earn the victory. Across the ice, Murray followed his 42-save performance in Game 1 with another heavy workload, turning aside 33 shots in defeat. The goaltending has been every bit as tight as the scoreline suggests, with neither team finding much room to breathe in a series that has been decided by one swing play after another.

Manitoba entered the playoffs as the Central Division’s No. 4 seed, seven points ahead of No. 5 Milwaukee after finishing 3-0-0-2 in its final five regular-season games. The Moose also beat the Admirals 4-3 on April 7 to clinch their playoff berth, then watched Milwaukee take the opener behind Cole Schneider’s winner with 4:07 left in regulation. Instead of letting the series slip away, Manitoba turned Game 2 into a reset.

Game 3 is set for Sunday, April 26, at 2 p.m. CT, with the winner advancing out of a best-of-three series played entirely in Winnipeg because the Moose finished higher in the standings. The late Gustafsson goal did more than save one night. It turned a series that looked headed in one direction into a true coin flip, with another playoff finish now waiting back at Canada Life Centre.