The Moose came out of the gate on fire with a beautiful passing play as Burrows broke to the net, just onside, Schultz found him with a backhand pass, and Burrows ripped a one-timer passed David LeNeveu, 23 seconds into the game.
After an evenly played opening eight minutes the Moose led the shot count 6-5.
Mike Keane had a great chance to net a second Moose goal midway through the first as he and Bieksa worked a pretty give and go but Keane was unable to handle to get a hold of the pass and sent his shot wide.
San Antonio tied things up with 7:17 to play in the first as Doug Doull was able to get the puck out in front to a wide open Randall Gelech, who roofed it for his fifth of the season.
The Moose finished the first period on the powerplay after a Ray Schultz interference call. They were unable to mount any pressure in the Rampage zone as the period expired with the game knotted at one and the shots 13-10 Moose.
Manitoba gave San Antonio their second powerplay of game at 4:54 of the second after Prestin Ryan was called for boarding. The Moose killed the penalty without a problem, not giving the Rampage a single shot on Centomo.
Alexandre Burrows had two great chances to give the Moose a lead as he tipped a point shot just wide and then picked up the puck in front and backhanded it just over the crossbar.
The Moose took the a man advantage for four minutes at 11:42 of the second after McLeod was given a double-minor for high-sticking and hooking.
After mounting minimal pressure on the ensuing powerplay the remaining two minutes were negated after a Kevin Bieksa slashing penalty.
Moments later Mojzis was called for a slashing penalty of his own, giving the Rampage a four on three powerplay. San Antonio took full advantage of the powerplay as Mike Bishai stepped in from the point and wired a slapshot through Centomo's five-hole.
The second period finished with the score 2-1 for the Rampage and the Moose winning the shot battle 16-15.
The Rampage went up two a quarter of the way through the third after Alexandre Burrows gave the puck to a wide open Martin Sonnenberg who shelfed it for his sixth of the season.
Both teams were called for seperate minors midway through the third after Prestin Ryan was called for hooking and Martin Sonnenberg was called for a dive.
With 6:02 to play in regulation the Moose took their fourth powerplay of the game when David Cornacchia was called for delay of game.
The Moose were again unable to get any pressure in the Rampage zone on the ensuing penalty as they continued to trail by two goals.
Jozef Balej got one back with 2:46 to play on a nice individual effort as he took the puck behind the net and put a wrap around through the legs of LeNeveu.
The Moose pulled Centomo with a minute to play but were unable to grab a late equalizer as time expired with the score 3-2 and the shots 22-21 for the Rampage.
1
2
3
TOTAL
San Antonio
1
1
1
3
Manitoba
1
0
1
2
First Period
1. Manitoba, Burrows 11 (Schultz, Jaffray) 0:23
2. San Antonio, Gelech 5 (Doull) 12:43
Penalties: Butenschon, Mtb (Cross-checking) 9:51; Spiller, San (Hooking) 14:21; Schultz, San (Interference) 18:06;
Second Period
3. San Antonio, Bishai 5 (Ulmer) 14:16 (PP)
Penalties: Ryan, Man (Holding) 4:54; McLeod, San Double-minor(High-sticking) 11:42; Bieksa, Man (Slashing) 13:37; Mojzis, Man (Slashing) 13:54; Bieksa, Man (Holding) 15:23;
Third Period
4. San Antonio, Sonnenberg 6 4:05
5. Manitoba, Balej 14 (Darby, Bayda) 17:14
Penalties: Jackman, San Major(Fighting) 4:18; McIver, Man Major(Fighting) 4:18; Keane, Man (Hooking) 7:50; Ryan, Man (Hooking) 9:43; Sonnenberg, San (Diving) 9:43; Cornacchia, San (Delay of game) 13:58;
Attendance:
7701
SHOTS ON GOAL
1
2
3
TOTAL
San Antonio
10
5
6
21
Manitoba
13
3
6
22
POWER PLAY STATS
San Antonio (1 for 6)
Manitoba (0 for 4)
GOALIES
HOME TEAM
S
SV
PCT (%)
Centomo
21
18
85.7%
Flaherty
0
0
00.0%
AWAY TEAM
S
SV
PCT (%)
LeNeveu
22
20
90.9%
Stirling
0
0
00.0%
1. SAN - M. Bishai 2. SAN - D. LeNeveu 3. MTB - M. Fortunus
The Moose will play their last game tomorrow night against San Antonio before taking 12 days off for the Christmas holidays. Great seats are still available or listen to the game live on CJOB.
Photos by Rusty Barton, Manitoba Moose. Click on one of the thumbnails at right to reveal a larger version of this image.
Photos by Jonathan Kozub, Manitoba Moose. Click on one of the below thumbnails to reveal a larger version of the image above.
