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Updated: Apr. 27, 2007 at 9:54 PM CDT

Griffins take Game 5, 4-3 in OT

By Travis Kondratuk
www.moosehockey.com

Tony Voce banked the puck off the leg of Drew MacIntyre at 4:20 of overtime to give the Griffins a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Moose. MacIntyre played very well making 43 saves, but it was not enough as the Griffins now take a 3-2 series lead heading back to Winnipeg for Game 6 on Sunday at the MTS Centre.

>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.

>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet

First Period

Scott Parse took a hooking penalty just 0:47 seconds into the game to give the Moose the first powerplay of the game. The Moose couldn't score on their man-advantage as the Moose mixed up their lines a little bit.

The Moose took a 1-0 first period lead when Dustin Wood fired a shot from the left wing boards that beat Jimmy Howard but rattled off the post. Howard looked around but did not see where the puck went immediately as the hard rebound came way out to Colby Genoway at the left hand boards. Genoway snapped a quick shot on goal and Howard never quite recovered as the puck found its way through. The opening goal came at 6:05 of period one.

The Griffins responded when Jan Mursak and Tony Voce broke in on the Moose goal. The two players worked a text book 2-on-1 as Mursak fed a cross-crease pass to Voce at the right post where he made no mistake, slapping the pass into the back of the net. MacIntyre made a valiant effort to go post-to-post but couldn't get there in time. The game-tying goal came at 12:19 of the first period with Ryan Oulahen drawing the second assist.

Brad Norton took an interference penalty at the 16:29 mark of the period to give the Moose their second powerplay chance of the night. Just 0:08 into the man-advantage Jason Jaffray and Jimmy Howard got into a slashing contest. Both players were given penalties on the play. Manitoba's powerplay continued but they could only get a few long shots on Jimmy Howard that he stopped easily.

As the period neared an end J.J. Hunter at the left hand boards fed the puck cross-ice to Mike Keane as he crossed the Griffins blueline. Keane broke in on a partial break at the left post but was taken down before he could get a good shot off. Jonathan Ericsson was given a tripping penalty to put the Moose back on the powerplay with 0:50 left in period one.

The Moose couldn't capitalize before the period expired as the remainder of the penalty would carry over to period two.

Second Period

Manitoba made full use of the remaining powerplay to start the period as Moran started a passing play and then finished off the rebound to put the Moose back in front. Moran made a cross-ice pass to Prestin Ryan who wristed a shot on goal that hit Howard high in the neck, the rebound fell to Goren at the top of the crease where he took a whack at it but Howard sprawled to make that save. That left the Griffins netminder down-and-out allowing Brad Moran to swoop in and deposit the puck into the upper half of the net. The goal came just as the penalty to Ericsson expired at 1:11 of the period.

A few whistles later a scrum developed as tempers started to flare. Unfortunately for the Moose, Maxime Fortunus was given the extra roughing penalty on the play, giving the Griffins their first powerplay chance of the game.

Manitoba had the best chance on the penalty as Brendan Brooks and J.J. Hunter broke in 2-on-1 shorthanded. Brooks carried the puck down the right wing boards and fired the puck on goal as Hunter was crashing the net. Howard couldn't handle the original shot and Hunter took three or four whacks at it before he was tackled from behind by Jon Insana. Their was no penalty called on the play, but the Moose were able to kill off the remainder of the Griffins powerplay.

Alexandre Bolduc was called for holding at 5:47 to give the Griffins their second straight man-advantage. The Griffins had some good pressure in the Moose zone and cranked a shot off the cross bar that saw the rebound fall to the far right boards. Jon Insana tied the score for the Griffins as he picked up the puck and wristed it through a screen, finding the back of the net. MacIntyre looked like he didn't see the puck at all as he barely waved at it. The goal came just seconds after the penalty to Bolduc expired. Tony Voce and Matt Hussey assisted on the Griffins goal.

Colby Genoway was sprung on a clear cut breakaway but was hooked from behind by Dan Smith before he could get the shot off. Referee Brian Pochmara did not call a penalty shot on the play, but he did give Smith a 2:00 hooking minor.

The Moose failed to capitalize on the powerplay once again as they still have only two powerplay markers in the series.

Jimmy Howard drew a penalty as he did a fine acting job in his crease. With some traffic in his crease Howard flopped to the ice like he had been shot, and referee Brian Pochmara ate it up as he sent former Griffin Brendan Brooks to the box for goalie intereference at 14:24 of the period.

Manitoba was able to kill off the penalty and the remainder of the period came to an end without any more scoring.

The teams remain tied at two goals apiece after two periods, leaving everything to be had in the final period.

Third Period

Drew MacIntyre and Jimmy Howard both looked sharp early in the third period as they were forced to make several good saves as the two teams came out skating hard in the third.

Scott Parse took his second minor of the game, this time for tripping as the Moose would get their fifth chance on the powerplay. The Griffins looked good on the penalty-kill as they had the best chance shorthanded. MacIntyre was there to bail out his mates but once again the Moose failed to capitalize with the extra attacker.

J.J. Hunter took a high-sticking penalty at 6:19 of the period to give the Griffins their fourth man-advantage. The Moose did a good job of killing off the penalty as they have all season.

Darryl Bootland was kicked out of the game at the midway point of the period for a brutal tomahawk chop on Jason Jaffray at the face-off circle in the Griffins zone. Bootland got 5:00 and a game misconduct for slashing as Jaffray struggled to get back to his skates.

Manitoba started slowly on their man-advantage as they gave up a shorthanded 2-on-1 to the Griffins but MacIntyre came up big once again to keep the score tied. The Moose would then get a two-man advantage when Eric Himelfarb was called for high-sticking to give the Moose a full 2:00 5-on-3.

Jason Jaffray would get the last laugh on Bootland as he finished off a nice passing play for his second goal of the playoffs. Lee Goren in behind the Griffins goal fed a nice pass to the slot where Jaffray had set up shop. Jaffray took his time and roofed his shot into the top corner over the glove of Jimmy Howard. Goren and Brad Moran drew the assists on the powerplay goal at 12:48. The goal came before the penalty to Himelfarb expired leaving Manitoba on the powerplay.

Lee Goren tried to extend the Moose lead as he dangled through the Griffins crease with the puck. Once again Jimmy Howard did a nice job of selling the contact to the referee as Goren was given a penalty for goaltender interference. Manitoba was once again able to kill off the Griffins advantage, holding on to their one-goal lead.

The Griffins pulled the goalie late in the game for the extra attacker and Lee Goren just missed putting the game away as he hit the outside of the net with the goal open.

Unfortunately that would come back to bite the Moose as Eric Himelfarb would score with just 0:49 left in the game to tie it for Grand Rapids. Matt Ellis and Kip Miller assisted on the goal as the Griffins battled back for the third time in the game.

The Moose and Griffins will go to overtime for the second time in this series. Drew MacIntyre has been the big story for Manitoba as the Griffins have doubled the Moose 44-22 in shots after regulation.

Overtime

Tony Voce banked the puck in from behind the icing line off the leg of Drew MacIntyre at the left post for the game-winning goal at 4:20 of overtime. Jan Musak put the initial shot on goal that MacIntyre stopped but the puck bounced to the left of the goal where Voce picked it up and squeaked the game-winner past the Moose goaltender for the 4-3 OT victory.

The Griffins now take a 3-2 series lead back to Manitoba for Game 6. The Moose will now have to win their two home games at the MTS Centre in order to advance to the North Division final.

Moose scratches: Wade Flaherty, Alex Edler, Nathan McIver, Marc Chouinard, Michael Grabner, Jannik Hansen, Nathan Smith, Tyler Bouck, Patrick Coulombe

Game Summary

SCORING	1	2	3	OT	T
Manitoba	1	1	1	0	3
Grand Rapids	1	1	1	1	4

Apr 27, 2007 - Van Andel Arena

FIRST PERIOD:

1. Manitoba, C. Genoway (1) (D. Wood) 6:05
2. Grand Rapids, T. Voce (2) (J. Mursak, R. Oulahen) 12:19

Penalties - S. Parse Gra (hooking) 0:47, B. Norton Gra (interference) 16:29, J. Jaffray Mtb (slashing) 16:37, J. Howard Gra (slashing) 16:37, J. Ericsson Gra (tripping) 19:10

SECOND PERIOD:

3. Manitoba, B. Moran (2) (L. Goren, P. Ryan) 1:11
4. Grand Rapids, J. Insana (1) (T. Voce, M. Hussey) 7:51

Penalties - M. Brown Mtb (roughing) 3:12, M. Fortunus Mtb (roughing) 3:12, D. Bootland Gra (roughing) 3:12, A. Bolduc Mtb (holding) 5:47, D. Smith Gra (hooking) 10:52, B. Brooks Mtb (goaltender interference) 14:24

THIRD PERIOD:

5. Manitoba, J. Jaffray (2) (L. Goren, B. Moran) 12:48 PP
6. Grand Rapids, E. Himelfarb (1) (K. Miller, M. Ellis) 19:11

Penalties - S. Parse Gra (tripping) 3:06, J. Hunter Mtb (high-sticking) 6:19, D. Bootland Gra (major - slashing, game misconduct - slashing 61.5) 9:58, E. Himelfarb Gra (high-sticking) 12:29, L. Goren Mtb (goaltender interference) 14:18

OT PERIOD:

7. Grand Rapids, T. Voce (3) (J. Mursak, R. Oulahen) 4:20

Penalties - No Penalties

SHOTS	1	2	3	OT	T
Manitoba	8	7	7	1	23
Grand Rapids	9	14	21	3	47

POWER PLAYS:

Manitoba Moose 1-7. Grand Rapids Griffins 0-5.

GOALTENDERS:

Manitoba Moose
MacIntyre 4-6-0
Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 64:20 SV: 43 GA: 4 [L]

Grand Rapids Griffins
Howard 3-4-0
Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 63:16 SV: 20 GA: 3 [W]

Attendance:
3598

Three Stars

Three Stars

GRA - #13 Tony Voce
MTB - #20 Bard Moran
GRA - #19 Eric Himelfarb

What's Next

Game 6 of the North Division Semi-Final heads back to Manitoba on Sunday, April 29th at 7:30PM CDT at the MTS Centre.

Moose Image Gallery

Photos by Mark Newman, Grand Rapids Griffins. Click on one of the thumbnails below to view a larger version above.

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