By Travis Kondratuk
www.moosehockey.com
The Marlies avoided losing every game to the Moose this season with a 4-2 victory over the homeside at the MTS Centre. Manitoba finished the regular season with a 45-23-7-5 record good for 102 points, their second best season in franchise history. The Moose won their first ever North Division Crown and now wait to see if their 102 points will hold up for the Conference title. Manitoba is also waiting to see who their opponent will be in the North Division Semi-Final as the Grand Rapids Griffins and Peoria Rivermen are battling for the final spot.
>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
Dov Grumet-Morris starts in goal for the Moose today, while Todd Ford starts between the pipes for the Marlies.
Daniel Rahimi is seeing his first game action with the Moose and Tyler Bouck makes his long awaited return from a shoulder injury as well.
The Toronto Marlies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as John Mitchell leaned into a wicked snap shot from the face-off circle that whistled over the blocker shoulder of Dov Grumet-Morris. The goal came at 2:29 of the first period with Phil Oreskovic drawing the lone assist.
Tyson Nash took the first penalty of the game, a hooking call at 13:30 of the period. Manitoba moved the puck around well and Lee Goren just missed putting the Moose back on level terms as he fired the puck just over the crossbar from the top of the crease as he tried to lift the puck over Todd Ford who was taking away the bottom of the net. That was the best chance the Moose would get with the man-advantage as the Marlies killed off the remainder.
Manitoba got their second chance with the extra attacker when Phil Oreskovic was called for boarding at 15:58. Manitoba had a couple of great chances as they rang a couple of shots off the post but they were unable to hit the back of the net.
The Marlies took a 2-0 lead when Brett Englehardt was left all alone in the crease to redirect a Steffan Kronwall pass past a helpless Dov Grumet-Morris. The goal came at 18:28 of the first period with Kronwall and Colin Murphy drawing the assists.
Colin Murphy took the third penalty of the game for the Marlies as he was called for tripping at 19:02.
Manitoba find themselves in a 2-0 hole after the first period. Despite having the only three powerplays of the game the Moose trail 8-5 in shots.
Second Period
The Moose took their first penalty of the game when Alex Edler took a slashing penalty at 4:34. Manitoba did a good job killing off the penalty, as they have done all season long, barely allowing the Marlies to gain the zone.
Jeff Corey took the fourth penalty for the Marlies when he was called for hauling down Prestin Ryan behind the Moose net. Lee Goren just missed getting the home side on the board once again as he was thwarted on a quick wraparound attempt by Todd Ford.
Michel Leveille picked off a pass at the Moose blueline and broke in all alone on Dov Grumet-Morris. Leveille faked backhand then went to his forehand, outwaited the Moose goaltender and lifted a shot into the roof of the net to put the Marlies up 3-0. The unassisted marker came at 11:07 of the period.
Brad Moran just missed scoring his career high 26th goal of the season when he was set up at the right post by Lee Goren. Moran tried to go five-hole on Ford but the Marlies goalie slammed the door, keeping the Moose off the board.
The Moose finally got on the scoresheet when Mike Brown outraced Jay Harrison to a loose puck and fired a low shot just inside the post for his third goal of the season, trimming the Marlies lead to 3-1. Michael Grabner earned his first point as a Moose collecting one of the assists on the goal, Colby Genoway drew the other.
Tyson Nash was called for holding at 17:29 to give the Moose their fifth powerplay chance of the game. They had some good pressure in the Marlies zone but then Jesse Schultz was called for boarding as he crashed into a Marlies player on the forecheck. The penalty came with 0:39 seconds left on the Moose man-advantage.
Manitoba took over the lead in shots 16-15 but they still trail 3-1 after two periods. The fact that the team has failed to capitalize on the man-advantage has been the difference so far.
Third Period
Prestin Ryan took a holding penalty at 6:31, but roughing would have been more accurate call as he was practically begging Marlies antagonist Tyson Nash to drop the gloves with him. The Marlies came close to a couple of times but Grumet-Morris made a few nice saves to keep the Moose within striking distance.
Michael Grabner scored his first goal for the Moose with just 0:07.5 left, but it was too-little-too-late. Manitoba suffered their first loss to the Marlies this season and their first loss in regulation ever to Toronto.
Manitoba finished the regular season first in the North Division with a 45-23-7-5 record, good for 102 points. They will now have to wait to see if their two-point lead over Omaha will hold up for the Western Conference title.
It is still undetermined who the Moose will face in the first round of the playoffs as both the Grand Rapids Griffins and Peoria Rivermen are still alive for the final spot.
Moose scratches: Brandon Reid, Mike Keane, J.J. Hunter, Yannick Tremblay,
Shaun Heshka
Marlies scratches: Chris Harrington, Brad Brown, Erik Westrum, Marc Moro, Brent Aubin, Jeremy Williams, Ben Ondrus, Karel Pilar, Owen Fussey, Brad Leeb, Jean-Francoise Racine
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Highlights - Moose vs. Griffins - stream
| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Toronto |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| Manitoba |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Apr 14, 2007 - MTS Centre FIRST PERIOD:1. Toronto, J. Mitchell (15) (P. Oreskovic) 2:29 2. Toronto, B. Engelhardt (24) (S. Kronwall, C. Murphy) 18:28 Penalties - T. Nash Tor (hooking) 13:30, P. Oreskovic Tor (boarding) 15:58, C. Murphy Tor (tripping) 19:02 SECOND PERIOD:3. Toronto, M. Leveille (1) 11:07 4. Manitoba, M. Brown (3) (M. Grabner, C. Genoway) 14:53 Penalties - A. Edler Mtb (slashing) 4:34, J. Corey Tor (holding) 7:14, T. Nash Tor (holding) 17:29, J. Schultz Mtb (boarding) 18:50 THIRD PERIOD:5. Toronto, A. Suglobov (3) (T. Nash) 13:56 6. Manitoba, M. Grabner (1) (N. McIver) 19:52 Penalties - P. Ryan Mtb (holding) 6:31, R. Earl Tor (hooking) 9:17
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Toronto |
8 |
7 |
5 |
20 |
| Manitoba |
5 |
11 |
15 |
31 |
POWER PLAYS:Toronto Marlies 0-3. Manitoba Moose 0-6. GOALTENDERS:Toronto Marlies Ford 2-1-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 29 GA: 2 [W] Manitoba Moose Grumet-Morris 4-7-5 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 16 GA: 4 [L]
Attendance:
9985
- TOR - #34 Todd Ford
- TOR - #79 John Mitchell
- MTB - #13 Mike Brown
- The Moose now start to prepare for their opening game of the playoffs versus the Grand Rapids Griffins starting Thursday, April 19th or the Peoria Rivermen starting Wednesday, April 18th. Thanks to their North Division title the Moose will open the first round in front of the hometown crowd at the MTS Centre, Game One starts at 7:30PM.
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Updated: Apr. 14, 2007 at 5:40 PM CDT
