By Travis Kondratuk
www.moosehockey.com
Wade Flaherty earned his first playoff win of the season as he came on in relief of Drew MacIntyre to start the second period. The Moose battled back from a 2-1 deficit at the time to win 3-2 and get themselves back in the North Division Final series. The Moose now trail 1-2 in the series and will need one more win in Hamilton to bring the series back to Winnipeg for Game 6 on Monday. Games 4 and 5 are set for the weekend, 6:00PM CDT on Saturday, and then an afternoon affair on Sunday at 2:00PM. Both games will be available on MTS TV and Shaw Cable.
>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
Carey Price gets the start again in goal for the Bulldogs tonight, while Drew MacIntyre continues to start for the Moose between the pipes.
Wade Flaherty is in the lineup for the first time since suffering a knee injury several weeks ago and he will serve as the backup to Drew MacIntyre tonight.
Yannick Tremblay committed the first foul of the game as he was called for interference at 3:52. The Moose did a solid job on the PK limiting the Bulldog chances. Mike Brown squished Bulldog forward Corey Locke in the Moose corner, as he stumbled to the bench for the home side.
Former Moose Danny Groulx opened the scoring in Hamilton tonight for the home side as he wristed a shot from the point through a crowd that beat Drew MacIntyre. Kyle Chipchura and Ajay Baines assisted on the first goal of the game at 6:38. Manitoba has now surrendered the opening goal of the game in all three North Division Final matchups to the Bulldogs.
Zack Stortini stuck out his leg on Mason Raymond and was sent to the box for tripping, giving Manitoba their first powerplay of the game.
Manitoba took full advantage as Brad Moran scored his fourth goal of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the Moose at 11:18 of the first period to tie the game 1-1. Yannick Tremblay blasted a point shot that was blocked by a defender but the puck fell right at the feet of Brad Moran at the right face-off circle where he blasted a slapper over the shoulder of Carey Price. Maxime Fortunus drew the second assist on the powerplay marker for the Moose.
Hamilton re-took the lead when Corey Locke, at the right side of the net, redirected a nice touch pass from Matt D'Agostini through the five-hole of Drew MacIntyre. Mathieu Biron also assisted on the goal at 16:33 of period one that put the Dogs back in front 2-1.
Corey Locke had another chance just as time ran out on the period when he fired a snapshot that Drew MacIntyre steered to the corner.
Manitoba lead the Bulldogs 11-8 in shots through 20:00 but trailed by a goal heading to the second.
Second Period
Wade Flaherty came on to start the second period for the Moose, as Coach Scott Arniel decided to get his veteran goaltender back in the fold.
Brandon Reid fed a nice cross-ice pass to hit Mason Raymond in stride on the left wing boards. The speedy youngster broke in on Carey Price but was stopped by the left pad of the Dogs netminder. However, the rebound came out to the slot where Mike Keane fired the puck through the legs of Price to put the Moose back on level terms. The game-tying goal came at 3:18 of the period with Raymond and Reid assisting.
Francis Lemieux took a tripping penalty at 3:52 to put the Moose back on the powerplay.
Manitoba wasted little time capitalizing on the advantage as Yannick Tremblay blasted a point shot through a screen that beat Carey Price to give the Moose the lead for the first time in the game. The goal came just 0:06 into the powerplay with Fortunus and Moran drawing the assists. The Moose are 2-for-2 with the man-advantage on the night.
Andrew Archer attacked Brad Moran behind the Hamilton goal, where Lee Goren and Jason Jaffray jumped in to support their centreman. Moran was assessed the only penalty from the altercation as he was called for slashing at 6:23.
The Moose killed off the Bulldogs' powerplay and then just as the penalty expired Jonathan Ferland hammered Nathan Smith along the boards from behind and was sent to the box for boarding.
The Bulldogs were able to keep the Moose from scoring with the man-advantage for the first time on the night, and broke out on a 3-on-1 as the penalty to Ferland expired.
Prestin Ryan did a good job of back-checking to thwart the opportunity but Wade Flaherty stumbled on the play and knocked the Moose net off in the process. Referee Brian Pochmara felt that Flaherty intentionally knocked the goal loose and gave the Moose netminder a delay of game penalty on the play.
Then Flaherty showed that he had no ill effects from his injury as he made an unbelievable pad save to keep his team in front. Corey Locke was set up at the right post on a nice cross-crease pass, where Flaherty slid post-to-post to make the right pad save, robbing Locke of a sure goal.
Flaherty wasn't done there, as the Bulldogs came right back on the next shift with more pressure. Maxim Lapierre had a chance at the right side of the Moose net but Flaherty came out to the edge of his crease to stone the Bulldogs forward and then sprawled out on the ice to stop the rebound as well. Two Hamilton forwards continued to dig at the puck when Flaherty had it covered which caused a huge scrum behind the Moose net. Brian Pochmara took several minutes to sort out the penalties but in the end the Moose ended up with a 4:00 powerplay as Maxim Lapierre was given two minor penalties for slashing and unsportsmanlike conduct. Luc Bourdon and Andre Benoit also received coincidental minors for roughing on the play.
Manitoba could not score with the man-advantage as time ran out on the second period. The Moose will carry over 0:19 of powerplay time into the third period.
Manitoba takes a 3-2 lead into the final frame leading 23-18 in shots as well.
Third Period
The Moose failed to capitalize with the leftover time from their 4:00 powerplay advantage leaving the Moose 2-for-5 on the game.
Lee Goren took a hooking penalty at 2:29 to give the Bulldogs their fourth chance with the man-advantage. Mike Brown drew a penalty as he was tripped up trying to cut to the Bulldogs net shorthanded. Andre Benoit was called for tripping to cut the powerplay short for the Bulldogs.
With just under 5:00 to play in the game Brian Pochmara signalled a delayed penalty coming against Nathan Smith, but the Moose failed to touch the puck for several seconds as the Bulldogs poured on the pressure with Carey Price on the bench for the extra attacker. The Moose finally touched the puck and Smith was sent to the box for hooking at 15:22.
The Moose did a splendid job of killing the penalty off as they barely allowed the Bulldogs to enter the zone.
The Bulldogs pulled Carey Price late in the third to try and press for the game-tying goal, but Jason Jaffray and Lee Goren hemmed Hamilton in their own zone with a fantastic forecheck to kill off the remaining time and seal the victory for the visiting Moose.
Manitoba have now gotten themselves back in the series as they trail 1-2 but still have some work to do to get the series back to Winnipeg for Game 6.
Moose scratches: Dov Grunet-Morris, Julien Ellis, Daniel Rahimi, Nathan McIver, Marc Chouinard, Jesse Schultz, Brendan Brooks, Patrick Coulombe, Shaun Heshka, Alexandre Bolduc
|
| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
| Hamilton |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
May 8, 2007 - Copps Coliseum FIRST PERIOD:1. Hamilton, D. Groulx (2) (K. Chipchura, A. Baines) 6:38 2. Manitoba, B. Moran (4) (Y. Tremblay, M. Fortunus) 11:18 PP 3. Hamilton, C. Locke (6) (M. D'Agostini, M. Biron) 16:33 Penalties - Y. Tremblay Mtb (interference) 3:52, Z. Stortini Ham (tripping) 10:44 SECOND PERIOD:4. Manitoba, M. Keane (2) (M. Raymond, B. Reid) 3:18 5. Manitoba, Y. Tremblay (3) (M. Fortunus, B. Moran) 3:59 PP Penalties - F. Lemieux Ham (tripping) 3:52, B. Moran Mtb (slashing) 6:23, J. Ferland Ham (boarding) 8:33, W. Flaherty Mtb (delay of game) 10:46, L. Bourdon Mtb (roughing) 16:19, A. Benoit Ham (roughing) 16:19, M. Lapierre Ham (slashing, unsportsmanlike conduct) 16:19 THIRD PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - L. Goren Mtb (holding) 2:29, A. Benoit Ham (tripping) 3:14, N. Smith Mtb (hooking) 15:22
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
11 |
12 |
5 |
28 |
| Hamilton |
8 |
10 |
9 |
27 |
POWER PLAYS:Manitoba Moose 2-6. Hamilton Bulldogs 0-5. GOALTENDERS:Manitoba Moose MacIntyre 4-6-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 20:00 SV: 6 GA: 2 Flaherty 2-1-0 Start: 2nd 0:00 Min: 40:00 SV: 19 GA: 0 [W] Hamilton Bulldogs Price 15-6-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:56 SV: 25 GA: 3 [L]
Attendance:
2177
- MTB - #38 Yannick Tremblay
- HAM - #84 Corey Locke
- MTB - #33 Wade Falherty
- The Moose are in Hamilton for Games 4 and 5 of the North Division Final on Saturday and Sunday.
- If necessary the Moose will return home for Game 6 on Monday, May 14th - 7:30pm at the MTS Centre.
|
Updated: May. 8, 2007 at 9:25 PM CDT
