By Travis Kondratuk
www.moosehockey.com
Julien Ellis played his best game as a pro as he stopped all 30 shots the Crunch fired at him in regulation. Unfortunately his counterpart, Tomas Popperle in goal for Syracuse also stopped all of the shots fired his way. This goaltenders battle was settled in overtime, with the Crunch finally ending the scoreless draw at 2:18 of the extra frame as Jamie Pushor scored his first goal of the season to seal the win for the home team.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
Jannik Hansen is a coaches decision scratch for tonight's game, marking the first game that Hansen has missed for the Moose all season.
Prestin Ryan was a little over-zealous as he pushed a few Crunch players at the side of the Moose net and he was assessed the first penalty of the game for roughing at the 1:31 mark of the first period.
The Moose's number two ranked penalty-kill was able to kill off the minor penalty without incedent and the two teams remained tied at no score.
Mike Brown took the second penalty of the game for interference at 8:16 of the period. Julien Ellis made a great glove save off a hard shot from Adam Pineault at the right face-off circle to keep the score tied for the Moose.
Olivier Labelle put the Moose on the powerplay for the first time as he took a hooking penalty for the Crunch at 10:19. Andrew Murray of Selkirk, Manitoba took a second hooking minor that gave the Moose a two-man advantage for :31. The team could not capitalize on the advantage however leaving the game scoreless.
Mike Brown and Olivier Labelle decided to spice up the affair by squaring off at centre ice. This one was more of a wrestling match as neither player landed much, but Brown did get the take down at the end of the fight. Both players got 5:00 for fighting for their efforts.
Ryan Caldwell took the third hooking penalty of the period for the Crunch to put the Moose on the powerplay one more time with 4:25 left in the period. The Crunch killed it off leaving the Moose 0-for-3 on the powerplay.
Julien Ellis came up with a big save with :11 left in the first as he closed the pads on a Geoff Platt one-time effort from the left face-off circle, keeping the score tied after one period of play.
The Moose lead 12-8 in shots as both teams went scoreless on the powerplay in the first period.
Second Period
The Moose almost jumped out to the lead when Jason Jaffray skated across the Crunch blueline and dropped the puck for Alex Edler who drilled a slapper off the post, just missing at the :45 mark of the second.
Brad Moran hit the second post of the period for the Moose as he blasted a shot from the left face-off circle, Shaun Heshka failed to put the loose puck into the open net on the rebound. The Crunch took their fourth hooking penalty of the game on the play putting the Moose back on the powerplay.
Tomas Popperle kept the game scoreless as he made a nice pad save on Jason Jaffray who redirected a feed from Lee Goren. The Crunch were able to kill off the remainder of the man-advantage.
Julien Ellis made a nice save of his own as he flashed the leather on Andrew Murray in front of the net, stoning the Crunch winger to keep the scoreless drought alive.
After a scrum at the side of the Crunch net, Lee Goren and Alexandre Picard stepped out and squared off just inside the blueline. Both players removed their helmets and grabbed on, however much like the earlier fight this one was more of a wrestling match. Goren did manage to get his arm free and tagged Picard with one hard shot as both players fell to the ice. Geoff Platt was given an extra 2:00 minor for high-sticking in the scrum.
The two teams were unable to score again as both goalies have shut the door on the opposition's chances. The Moose lead 26-16 in shots and are 0-for-5 with the man-advantage through 40:00.
Third Period
At the 4:15 mark, Alexandre Picard absolutely drilled Alex Edler behind the Moose net and was given a 2:00 boarding penalty in the process, putting the Moose on their sixth man-advantage of the game. Manitoba failed to capitalize again leaving them 0-for-7 on the game.
Fantastic end-to-end action followed as the teams went several minutes without a whistle, but neither team could beat the opposing goaltender. Both Ellis and Popperle stood tall as they were forced to make several good saves each.
Julien Ellis bailed out his defence as Ben Simon stole the puck and walked in all alone on the Manitoba netminder. Ellis made a fantastic pad save to keep the game scoreless on the 21st shot of the night for the Crunch at 13:13 of the third.
The Moose decided to test their penalty-kill once again as Alex Edler took a tripping penalty with 3:02 to go, giving the home-town Crunch a glorious opportunity to take the lead. The 21 year old rookie Julien Ellis made several fantastic saves to keep the Moose tied. The Moose penalty killers managed to stifle the Crunch powerplay and Ellis made all the saves when called upon.
Ellis was forced to make one last save with :00.8 seconds left in regulation, but he did look behind him as he wasn't sure if he had stopped it.
The Crunch narrowed the gap in shots in the third period as they outshot Manitoba 14-5 in the final frame but could not beat Julien Ellis as he made several fantastic saves to keep the Moose in the game.
Overtime
Alexandre Picard took the puck from behind his own net and skated end-to-end before circling behind the Moose net where he backhanded a pass out front to Jamie Pushor. Pushor stepped in and slapped home his first goal of the season at the 2:18 mark of OT spoiling Ellis' effort to earn his first victory. Julien Ellis was spectacular in the loss, making 30 saves and earning third star honours. The overtime loss was the second loss in extra time versus the Crunch this year for the Moose.
Moose scratches: Nathan McIver, Jannik Hansen, Adam Keefe, Tyler Bouck, Drew MacIntyre, Wade Flaherty
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Global Highlights - Moose @ Crunch - stream
| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| Manitoba |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Syracuse |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Jan 26, 2007 - Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter FIRST PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - P. Ryan Mtb (roughing) 1:31, M. Brown Mtb (interference) 8:16, O. Labelle Syr (hooking) 10:19, A. Murray Syr (hooking) 11:48, M. Brown Mtb (fighting) 14:16, O. Labelle Syr (fighting) 14:16, R. Caldwell Syr (hooking) 15:35 SECOND PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - D. Verot Syr (hooking) 5:27, N. Smith Mtb (hooking) 11:20, N. Smith Mtb (holding the stick) 14:04, B. Simon Syr (interference) 14:04, J. Ellis Mtb (fighting) 18:12, A. Picard Syr (fighting) 18:12, G. Platt Syr (high-sticking) 18:12 THIRD PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - T. Kloucek Syr (boarding) 0:42, A. Picard Syr (boarding) 4:15, A. Edler Mtb (tripping) 16:58 OT PERIOD:1. Syracuse, J. Pushor (1) (A. Picard) 2:18 Penalties - No Penalties
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
OT |
T |
| Manitoba |
12 |
14 |
5 |
1 |
32 |
| Syracuse |
8 |
8 |
14 |
1 |
31 |
POWER PLAYS:Manitoba Moose 0-7. Syracuse Crunch 0-4. GOALTENDERS:Manitoba Moose Ellis 1-7-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 62:12 SV: 30 GA: 1 [L] Syracuse Crunch Popperle 25-19-4 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 62:18 SV: 32 GA: 0 [W]
Attendance:
5561
- SYR- #1 Tomas Popperle
- SYR- #25 Jamie Pushor
- MTB- #34 Julien Ellis
- The Moose now head to Hamilton to conclude their three-game road trip and finish off their season series with the Bulldogs. The Moose hold a record of 4-1-0-2 against the Bulldogs and are 1-1-0-1 at Copps Coliseum so far this season.
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Updated: Jan. 26, 2007 at 9:11 PM CST
