By Jen Sharpe
www.moosehockey.com
An early two-goal deficit proved to be too much for the Moose to overcome Saturday night, as the club dropped a 3-2 decision to the Crunch in Syracuse. Jimmy Sharrow and Michael Grabner scored goals for Manitoba, while three Syracuse players posted multi-point nights, including Zenon Konopka who tallied a goal and an assist.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
An early roughing penalty to Zack FitzGerald offered Syracuse the game's first man-advantage, and Moose penalty killers were faced with the task of stopping one of the top powerplay units in the AHL. The Crunch quickly took advantage of the man-advantage, with Tom Sestito snapping up Derick Brassard's initial shot and redirecting the puck past Drew MacIntyre to score the game's opening goal at 2:34.
The Moose drew their first penalty shortly after the goal, but Syracuse's special teams continued to dominate the play. Rushing the Moose zone on a shorthanded two-on-one, Derek MacKenzie and Adam Pineault teamed up on MacIntyre, with Pineault netting the game's second goal to put the Crunch up 2-0 at the four-minute mark.
Through the remainder of the period, Syracuse fired two shots for every Manitoba attempt and headed to the first intermission up 18-8 in shots and with a two goal lead.
Second Period
Three minutes of back-and-forth even-strength play concluded with an interference penalty to Crunch forward Jon Mirasty, and the Moose benefited from their second powerplay of the game. An exciting scoring chance by Rick Rypien nearly got the Moose on the scoreboard, but Craig Kowalski kept the puck out of the net and Manitoba went 0-for-2 on the powerplay.
Near the seven-minute mark, a heavy hit thrown by Zack FitzGerald triggered a bloody scrap between the Moose defenceman and Derek Dorsett at center ice. As fists flew and both players started to fade, FitzGerald activated his left arm and sent Dorsett to the ice. In addition to receiving five each for fighting, Dorsett was dealt an instigating minor and 10-minute misconduct.
Although that five-on-four came and went without a goal, a handful of penalties to both sides resulted in short powerplays and stretches of four-on-four play. During one such stretch, Jimmy Sharrow stationed himself at the blue-line and drilled his third of the season past Kowalski to score Manitoba's first goal of the game.
Less than 30 seconds after the goal, Milan Gajic served a two-minute bench minor and the Crunch benefited from their second powerplay of the game. Like in the first period, Syracuse's special teams connected on the man-advantage, with Zenon Konopka beating MacIntyre to renew the home team's two-goal lead.
After 40 minutes of play, the Crunch were up 3-1 and leading 26 shots to 22.
Third Period
Manitoba and Syracuse closed in on the 30-shot mark through the first five minutes of the third, but MacIntyre and Kowalski kept the puck from crossing either goal line. After a scramble near the Crunch crease, Pierre-Cedric Labrie earned a goaltender interference penalty and Syracuse attempted to make it a perfect 3-for-3 on the powerplay.
A few acrobatic saves by MacIntyre kept the Moose within two, and as the penalty died down, Labrie sped out of the penalty box and descended on Kowalski with Mike Keane. A sturdy post kept Manitoba from narrowing the gap, and though the club matched Syracuse with 29 shots, they continued to lag 3-1.
As the period progressed, the Moose received their sixth and seventh powerplays, and the Crunch countered with their fourth and fifth of the game. With Dan Smith and Danny Groulx sitting pretty in the penalty boxes, Michael Grabner broke into the home zone, cut across Kowalski's crease, and backhanded the puck into the mesh to put the Moose back within one.
Unfortunately for Manitoba, momentum from the late goal and an extra attacker didn't translate into an equalizer, and the Moose dropped a 3-2 decision to the Crunch Saturday night.
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| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Syracuse |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
Dec 29, 2007 - Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter FIRST PERIOD:1. Syracuse, T. Sestito (3) (D. Brassard, Z. Konopka) 2:34 PP 2. Syracuse, A. Pineault (6) (D. MacKenzie) 4:00 SH Penalties - Z. FitzGerald Mtb (roughing) 1:36, J. Mirasty Syr (roughing) 3:35 SECOND PERIOD:3. Manitoba, J. Sharrow (3) (G. Classen, D. Groulx) 15:32 4. Syracuse, Z. Konopka (9) (D. Brassard, D. MacKenzie) 17:28 PP Penalties - J. Mirasty Syr (interference) 3:08, Z. FitzGerald Mtb (fighting) 7:27, D. Dorsett Syr (instigating, fighting, misconduct - instigating 47.10) 7:27, T. Sestito Syr (interference) 13:28, M. Melanson Mtb (hooking) 13:54, D. Brassard Syr (hooking) 15:45, Served by M. Gajic Mtb (bench minor - too many men) 16:00 THIRD PERIOD:5. Manitoba, M. Grabner (9) (R. Rypien, M. Fortunus) 17:42 Penalties - P. Labrie Mtb (goaltender interference) 6:20, D. Campbell Syr (roughing) 10:05, N. McIver Mtb (cross-checking) 13:17, D. Smith Syr (hooking) 16:37, D. Groulx Mtb (tripping) 17:06
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Manitoba |
8 |
14 |
9 |
31 |
| Syracuse |
18 |
8 |
9 |
35 |
POWER PLAYS:Manitoba Moose 0-7. Syracuse Crunch 2-5. GOALTENDERS:Manitoba Moose MacIntyre 25-18-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:22 SV: 32 GA: 3 [L] Syracuse Crunch Kowalski 2-1-0 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 59:58 SV: 29 GA: 2 [W]
Attendance:
5,612
- SYR - Craig Kowalski
- SYR - Tom Sestito
- SYR - Dan Smith
- The Moose return to Winnipeg to play the Monsters on New Year's Eve. The upper bowl will be open, so don't miss the chance to celebrate the New Year with Winnipeg's greatest hockey fans!
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Updated: Dec. 29, 2007 at 9:10 PM CST
