Moose survive Milwaukee scare, now face powerhouse Grand Rapids challenge

That rescue mattered because Manitoba had already slipped from a Central Division bye position into the grind of the playoff path. On March 11, the Moose were still third in the division, but a late stretch of 8-10-0-2 over their final 20 regular-season games dropped them behind Texas and into a first-round series they had been trying to avoid. In a division where the top three teams get byes, falling to fourth or fifth means one more series just to survive, and Manitoba had to earn its way through Milwaukee. The club also returned to the 2026 postseason after missing out in 2025, after making the playoffs in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Once the Moose got to Milwaukee, the margin stayed razor thin. Domenic DiVincentiis made his postseason debut in Game 2 and Game 3, and over those two starts he stopped 50 of 52 shots. He turned aside 31 more in the decisive Game 3 on Sunday afternoon, while Walker Duehr and Samuel Fagemo supplied the goals in a 2-1 win that sent Manitoba through and gave the franchise its first series victory since 2018. Matt Murray, who had handled the heavy lifting earlier in the series, finished with five goals allowed on 108 shots, a 1.68 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

Now the reward is a far harsher test. Grand Rapids was the first team to clinch a berth in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, locking it up on Feb. 27 with 20 games and 51 days still left in the regular season. The Griffins’ start was stunning, 29-1-1-1 through 32 games, the best opening run in the AHL’s 90-year history through 25 games, and they also tied a league record with a 14-0-1-1 road points streak. Even after a six-loss stretch in nine games, Dan Watson’s club still enters the Central Division semifinals with the kind of profile that has made every opponent treat it as a measuring stick.