By Jen Sharpe
www.moosehockey.com
For the first time in eight games, the Manitoba Moose scored the opening goal Friday night en-route to beating the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins 4-2 at the MTS Centre. Defencemen Danny Groulx and Jimmy Sharrow earned a goal and an assist each, while Drew MacIntyre earned the win and first star honours by stopping 34 of 36 shots.
>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
Fired up from falling to the Moose Thursday night, the Griffins dominated the first five minutes of the game, occupying the Moose zone, keeping pressure on goalie Drew MacIntyre, and eventually drawing the first penalty of the game -- an interference minor to Mike Brown.
But the man-advantage did nothing for the Griffins offence, and for the first time in eight games, the Moose netted the opening goal just over four minutes in. Greg Classen's beauty of a breakaway goal was Manitoba's first shorthanded goal of the season and quickest goal of the year.
Two Grand Rapids penalties near the period's midway point put Manitoba up two men and, within 20 seconds, up 2-0, thanks to Danny Groulx's rocket from the point. Like the first Moose marker, this second goal was memorable as it marked the club's first powerplay goal in four games.
Special teams continued to dominate the scoreboard, with the Griffins stepping to the forefront. Only 40 seconds after the Moose stretched their lead to two, Griffins penalty-killers cut it down to one, with Mark Cullen snapping a shortie past MacIntyre at 11:34.
Looking for the equalizer, Grand Rapids posted the first even-strength goal of the game with just over four-minutes left on the clock. Credited with his first of the season, Kyle Quincey's cross-crease pass ricocheted off the skate of a Moose defender and into the home net, tying the game at two after 20 minutes of play.
Second Period
Up 9-8 in shots after the first period, the Moose kept Jimmy Howard hopping in the early minutes of the second, firing six shots on the acrobatic netminder but managing no further goals.
By the end of the middle frame, the Moose led the shot department 22-17 but remained neck-and-neck with the Griffins at 2-2.
Third Period
Two Moose penalties and a single Griffins infraction marked the first half of the third, but steady stops courtesy of MacIntyre and Howard kept the score set at two.
As both teams struggled to cross the goal-line, scuffles of various shapes and sizes erupted after almost every whistle, ensuring the penalty boxes received plenty of action as the game progressed.
With the Griffins suffering from an extra holding penalty, Jimmy Sharrow proved fully recovered from an injury earlier in the game, beating Howard on a one-timer only six seconds into the powerplay. With the goal, Manitoba assumed a 3-2 lead with six minutes left in the game.
In the aftermath of the goal and during four-on-four play, Jason Jaffray maneuvered through the Moose zone, the neutral zone, and into the Griffins zone before outsmarting the Griffins' last line of defence to give the Moose a 4-2 lead.
Though Grand Rapids assumed the shot-lead in the final minutes of the game, MacIntyre and the rest of the Moose held on to their two-goal lead and earned their second win in as many nights over the visiting Griffins.
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Highlights - Moose vs. Graffins - stream
| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Grand Rapids |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| Manitoba |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
Nov 16, 2007 - MTS Centre FIRST PERIOD:1. Manitoba, G. Classen (3) (S. May) 4:09 SH 2. Manitoba, D. Groulx (1) (C. Genoway, J. Sharrow) 10:54 PP 3. Grand Rapids, M. Cullen (5) (J. Insana, C. Corazzini) 11:34 SH 4. Grand Rapids, K. Quincey (1) 15:24 Penalties - M. Brown Mtb (interference) 3:51, M. Ritola Gra (holding the stick) 9:52, B. Ference Gra (slashing) 10:35, T. Galvin Gra (interference) 12:16, M. Hartigan Gra (roughing) 17:22, M. Brown Mtb (roughing, roughing) 17:22 SECOND PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - M. Grabner Mtb (hooking) 5:22, T. Galvin Gra (slashing) 7:36, J. Simek Mtb (holding) 10:19, J. Sharrow Mtb (holding) 17:20 THIRD PERIOD:5. Manitoba, J. Sharrow (2) (B. Moran) 14:01 PP 6. Manitoba, J. Jaffray (4) (S. Heshka, D. Groulx) 15:10 Penalties - B. Ference Gra (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:18, N. McIver Mtb (unsportsmanlike conduct) 5:18, G. Classen Mtb (hooking) 8:27, D. Groulx Mtb (holding) 11:18, K. Quincey Gra (roughing) 13:29, M. Brown Mtb (roughing) 13:29, J. Ericsson Gra (holding) 13:55, N. McIver Mtb (hooking) 15:34
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Grand Rapids |
8 |
9 |
19 |
36 |
| Manitoba |
9 |
13 |
12 |
34 |
POWER PLAYS:Grand Rapids Griffins 0-8. Manitoba Moose 2-5. GOALTENDERS:Grand Rapids Griffins Howard 21-28-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:31 SV: 30 GA: 4 [L] Manitoba Moose MacIntyre 25-18-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:48 SV: 34 GA: 2 [W]
Attendance:
8,383
- MTB - Drew MacIntyre
- MTB - Danny Groulx
- MTB - Jimmy Sharrow
- Manitoba kicks off a seven-game road trip Sunday afternoon in Lake Erie, facing the newest North Division team -- the Monsters -- for the first time ever.
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Updated: Nov. 16, 2007 at 10:29 PM CST
