By Jen Sharpe
www.moosehockey.com
The Manitoba Moose dominated the Lakehead University Thunderwolves 8-1 in the first exhibition game of the 06-07 season in Thunder Bay, ON. Tyler Beechey was named first star of the game, with a three-point performance.
The first exhibition game of the 06-07 season started out quick for the Moose, with a flurry of shots from Marc-Andre Bernier on Lakehead goalie Chris Whitley. Just over two minutes into the game, Matt Craig received a pass across the front of the Lakehead crease from Dustin Wood and slipped it past Whitley for the first Moose goal of the season.
A few big hits at centre ice on both sides carried both teams through first five minutes of the game, culminating in a scoring chance by Lakehead's Alphonso at the 16:00 mark.
A shot from the point by Lakehead's Rawski hit the cross bar and excited the crowd eight minutes into the game. The Moose recovered with a drive to the home team's zone, and Bernier nearly capitalized by slipping it past Whitley's right pad into the net. At the halfway point of the first, Manitoba had a three-shot lead over Lakehead, leading 10-7.
Whelan challenged Manitoba's Julien Ellis with a quick shot from the hash marks, snapping up the rebound for another shot before the whistle. Moose Captain Mike Keane wrapped up a rush in the Lakehead zone by attempting to jab the puck past Whitley before he could get his glove on it.
A scramble infront of the Moose net with just over four minutes left in the period resulted in a thrilling glovehand grab by Ellis to trigger a whistle.
With Nathan Smith in the box on an interference penalty -- the first penalty of the game -- Manitoba fought off a charge by the Thunderwolves late in the first. With that penalty successfully killed, and another powerplay to benefit from shortly after, the Moose wrapped the period on the offensive, firing a handful of shots before the buzzer. At the end of the first, Manitoba led Lakehead 1-0, outshooting them 22-12.
The Thunderwolves came out strong in the second, however Rawski got called for hooking only 43 seconds in. With the man-advantage, the Moose pushed hard for that two-goal lead. Putting pressure on LU defence, Manitoba's Masse managed to pass the puck to Bernier, who effortlessly flicked it past Whitley at 2:41.
Less than a minute later, Gajic pushed the Moose to a three-goal lead by roofing the puck right under the Lakehead crossbar. Contois and Fortunus were credited with assists.
After those two early goals, the Moose continued to dominate the first half of the second, bringing their shot total to 34 (Lakehead = 14 shots) by the 10:00 mark.
After stopping all 14 shots faced in the first period and 12 minutes of the second, Julien Ellis was replaced by Mike Ayers. Manitoba's new netminder came out strong, stopping a shot early in his shift and snagging a second shot with his glovehand with six minutes left in the period.
Countering the goaltending change with his own offensive punch, Tyler Beechey deflected Max Fortunus' wrist-shot over the shoulder of a Lakehead defenceman and into the net, to put the Moose up 4-0.
With only 1:33 left in the second and Whitley scrambling on the ice infront of the Lakehead net, Beechey doubled his goal total by flipping up a loose puck off a Bernier rebound over the sprawled goalie's glove. With that goal, Manitoba closed the second period up 5-0 and leading the shotcount 41-22.
The third period started out even, with both teams registering shots within the first few minutes. Manitoba's Naumenko ruined Lakehead's rally just before five minutes in, however, with a rebound off Mike Keane's shot to put the Moose up 6-0.
Pushing the Moose lead past seven goals, Bernier scored his second goal, and third point, of the game off a pass from Masse at 9:18 of the third.
The crowd of 3,070 had something to cheer about at 12:57 when sniper Dan Speer netted a powerplay goal to put Lakehead on the board. The celebration didn't last long, however, as Contois countered with another Manitoba goal only 30 seconds later. Moose led 8-1 with just over 5:00 left in the game.
Manitoba held onto their 7-goal lead for the remainder of the game, wrapping the Friday night game in Thunder Bay 8-1 over Lakehead. The Moose outshot the Thunderwolves 60-29.
|
| |
1 | 2 |
3 |
TOTAL |
| Manitoba |
1 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
| Lakehead University |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
First Period
MTB - 2:11 M. Craig (1), D. Wood
Penalties:
MTB - N. Smith 2.00 Interference 16:15
LU - D. Speer 2.00 Hooking 18:04
Second Period
MTB - 2:41 M. Bernier (1), D. Masse, T. Beechey
MTB - 3:27 M. Gajic (1), A. Contois, M. Fortunus
MTB - 14:37 T. Beechey (1), M. Fortunus, M. Gajic
MTB - 18:27 T. Beechey (2), M. Bernier, D. Masse
Penalties:
LU - S. Rawski 2.00 Hooking 00:43
LU - D. Speer 2.00 Hooking 8:00
MTB - M. Craig 2.00 High Stick 11:47
MTB - A. Contois 2.00 Hooking 14:51
LU - S. Rawski 2.00 Holding 15:50
MTB - N. Naumenko 2.00 Hooking 19:24
Third Period
MTB - 4:26 N. Naumenko (1), M. Keane, A. Bolduc
MTB - 9:18 M. Bernier (2), D. Masse
LU - 12:57 D. Speer (1), A. Brown
MTB - 13:34 A. Contois (1), P. Cole, M. Craig
Penalties:
LU - M. Maissoneuve 2.00 Interference 6:30
MTB - N. Kuiper 2.00 Holding Stick 12:20
LU - D. Kivell 2.00 Holding 13:11
LU - M. Robinson 2.00 Hooking 16:17
Attendance:
3070
SHOTS ON GOAL
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
TOTAL |
| Manitoba |
22 |
19 |
19 |
60 |
| Lakehead University |
12 |
10 |
7 |
29 |
GOALIES
| Manitoba |
S |
SV |
PCT (%) |
| Ellis |
14 |
14 |
100% |
| Ayers |
15 |
14 |
93.3% |
| Lakehead University |
S |
SV |
PCT (%) |
| Whitley |
60 |
52 |
86.7% |
1. MTB - T. Beechey
2. MTB - M. Bernier
3. LU - C. Whitley
- Manitoba and Lakehead meet again tomorrow night in Thunder Bay, ON. The puck drops at 6:30pm central.
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