By Travis Kondratuk
www.moosehockey.com
The Manitoba Moose had three special teams goals, two shorthanded and one on the powerplay, and added an empty netter from Jason Jaffray to tie the North Division Semi-Final at two games apiece. Drew MacIntyre bounced back from Game 3 stopping 32 shots for the win. The victory ensures the Moose will return home for Game 6 at the MTS Centre on Sunday, April 29th at 7:30pm.
>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
The Griffins starting lineup remains unchanged for Game 4 as #23 Matt Ellis, #8 Ben Simon, and #9 Kip Miller start at forward, while #4 Dan Smith and #28 Derek Meech get the start once again on defence. #33 Jimmy Howard is the go-to goalie for the Griffins once again.
The energy line of #18 J.J. Hunter, #13 Mike Brown, and former Griffin #26 Brendan Brooks start once again for the Moose, while #6 Prestin Ryan, and #27 Maxime Fortunus start on defence. #1 Drew MacIntyre gets the call once again in goal for Manitoba.
Brandon Reid is being inserted into the Moose line-up for the first time this post-season as he tries to jump-start an anemic Manitoba powerplay. Daniel Rahimi will also get his first taste of the AHL playoffs as he replaces Alex Edler who has been recalled by the Canucks.
Lee Goren took an early holding penalty just 0:53 in, to give the Griffins an early chance with the man-advantage. Manitoba's penalty-kill started strong, not allowing the Griffins a sniff in the Moose zone.
Dan Smith took the first penalty for Grand Rapids at 4:43 for interference. Manitoba's powerplay looked much sharper as they generated a few good chances with the extra attacker but they could not beat Jimmy Howard.
Ryan Oulahen took another penalty for the Griffins just moments after the minor to Smith had expired. Jason Jaffray came close to opening the scoring for the Moose but Howard came up big for the Griffins once again. Brad Moran had the puck deep in the corner when he spun and fired it towards the goal where Jaffray re-directed it on goal. Howard made the initial stop and then Jaffray jammed away at the rebound three or four times before the play was finally blown down with Howard smothering the puck in the crease. The powerplay woes for Manitoba continue in this series as they are now 0-for-2 in the game, although they have come close to scoring on both early opportunities.
Shaun Heshka took a holding penalty with just over 5:00 to go in the period as he hauled down Darryl Bootland by the jersey.
The Moose would strike on the penalty kill as Mike Keane opened the scoring for Manitoba. Keane and J.J. Hunter broke in shorthanded on a 2-on-1 against Derek Meech. Once Hunter crossed the blueline he fed a pass across to Keane who settled the puck and wristed a shot through the wickets of Jimmy Howard as the puck just trickled into the net. The opening goal came at 15:43 and was a bit of payback for the shorthanded game-winner the Moose surrendered in Game 3.
The period would come to an end with Manitoba holding a 1-0 lead, even though the Griffins outshot the Moose 9-7 through 20:00.
Second Period
Derek Meech was sent to the box just 0:42 into period two as he was called for hooking.
Once again the Moose looked good on the powerplay as Jason Jaffray just missed, firing the puck over the crossbar from in close. Manitoba had good control in the Griffins zone but they still could not find the back of the net.
Jimmy Howard made a fantastic save to keep the Griffins within a goal as he stopped J.J. Hunter on the door step and then sprawled across the goal line to stop Alexandre Bolduc on the rebound.
Daniel Rahimi took his first penalty of the post season as he was called for roughing at 5:12. The Moose killed off the penalty leaving both teams 0-for-3 with the man-advantage on the night.
Jason Jaffray created another great scoring chance as he blazed through the Griffins defence at the Grand Rapids blueline and broke in on a partial breakaway. Jaffray was carrying a ton of speed and failed to get good wood on his shot as Jimmy Howard stopped him once again.
Griffins' winger Jeff Campbell took a hooking penalty at 17:31 to give the Moose their fourth chance on the powerplay. Manitoba added another chapter to their close-but-no-cigar powerplay diary, as they came close with the man-advantage once again but could not find the back of the net.
Period two ended the same way period one did, with the Moose leading 1-0 thanks to Captain Keane's shorthanded marker in the first.
Third Period
Brad Moran took an early hooking penalty in the final period putting the Griffins back on the powerplay.
However, Manitoba would extend their lead as Prestin Ryan went end-to-end shorthanded and beat Griffins defenceman Jakub Kindl, then went to his backhand and finished off the rush by beating Jimmy Howard for the second shorthanded marker of the game for the Moose. The unassisted shorty puts the Moose up 2-0 at 2:34 of the third. Manitoba has now scored more shorthanded goals (2) than powerplay goals (1) in the series.
Manitoba killed off the remainder of the man-advantage leaving the Griffins scoreless with the man-advantage on the night.
Brad Norton took a boarding penalty at 4:47 to give the Manitoba their fifth powerplay opportunity of the game. Manitoba failed to capitalize once again with the extra attcker leaving them O-fer for the game.
J.J. Hunter took a hooking penalty at 7:57 of period three to give the Griffins another shot at a powerplay goal. Manitoba clamped down once again killing the penalty and leaving Grand Rapids scorless in the game.
The Griffins finally got on the board, cutting the Moose lead to one when Brad Norton found Tony Voce at the left post. Voce backhanded a shot, the 27th of the game for the Griffins, under the arm of Drew MacIntyre to make the score 2-1 at 10:22.
Then Jon Insana gave the Moose another shot with the man-advantage as he was called for holding at 12:26. The Moose would finally make them pay as Maxime Fortunus snuck in from the point and tucked home a Colby Genoway pass to put Manitoba back on top by two. Brandon Reid drew the second assist on the powerplay marker.
With Jimmy Howard on the bench for the extra attacker Jason Jaffray took a pass from J.J. Hunter and scored into the open net for his first goal of the series. The goal put the Moose up 4-1 with 1:02 left in regulation putting the nail in the coffin.
Manitoba held on for the win, evening the North Division Semi-Final at two games apiece.
Moose scratches: Wade Flaherty, Julien Ellis, Alex Edler, Nathan McIver, Marc Chouinard, Michael Grabner, Jannik Hansen, Nathan Smith, Tyler Bouck, Patrick Coulombe
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| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
| Grand Rapids |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Apr 25, 2007 - Van Andel Arena FIRST PERIOD:1. Manitoba, M. Keane (1) (J. Hunter) 15:43 SH Penalties - L. Goren Mtb (holding) 0:53, D. Smith Gra (interference) 4:43, R. Oulahen Gra (slashing) 7:11, S. Heshka Mtb (holding) 14:37 SECOND PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - D. Meech Gra (hooking) 0:42, D. Rahimi Mtb (roughing) 5:12, M. Fortunus Mtb (hooking) 11:22, J. Campbell Gra (hooking) 17:31 THIRD PERIOD:2. Manitoba, P. Ryan (1) 2:34 SH 3. Grand Rapids, T. Voce (1) (B. Norton) 10:22 4. Manitoba, M. Fortunus (1) (C. Genoway, B. Reid) 12:44 PP 5. Manitoba, J. Jaffray (1) (J. Hunter, M. Keane) 18:58 EN Penalties - B. Moran Mtb (hooking) 1:37, B. Norton Gra (boarding) 4:47, J. Hunter Mtb (hooking) 7:57, J. Insana Gra (holding) 12:26, S. Heshka Mtb (roughing) 19:39, B. Simon Gra (roughing) 19:39
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
7 |
11 |
10 |
28 |
| Grand Rapids |
9 |
9 |
15 |
33 |
POWER PLAYS:Manitoba Moose 1-6. Grand Rapids Griffins 0-6. GOALTENDERS:Manitoba Moose MacIntyre 4-6-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 32 GA: 1 [W] Grand Rapids Griffins Howard 3-4-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:44 SV: 24 GA: 3 [L]
Attendance:
3153
- MTB - #6 Prestin Ryan
- MTB - #1 Drew MacIntyre
- GRA - #13 Tony Voce
- Game 5 of the North Division Semi-Final goes in Grand Rapids on Friday, April 27th at 6:00PM CDT. The game will be broadcast live on MTS TV from Grand Rapids.
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Updated: Apr. 25, 2007 at 8:25 PM CDT
