By Jen Sharpe
www.moosehockey.com
It was Fan Appreciation Night at the MTS Centre Friday night, and the Manitoba Moose showed their appreciation by edging the Toronto Marlies 2-1 in an exciting divisional showdown. Mike Brown scored the shorthanded game-winner with only 1:40 left to play, while goalie Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots for his 19th win of the season and second-star honours.
>> Click to view photos of tonight's game.
>> Click here to see official scorer's sheet
First Period
Only 26 seconds into the game, Marlies forward Alex Foster took a holding penalty, but the Moose were unable to beat Scott Clemmensen on their four man-advantage shots. Manitoba managed one more shot before Toronto tested Cory Schneider with their first two attempts, the second of which (courtesy of Jaime Sifers) made it past the goalie to give the Marlies a 1-0 lead.
Two more Toronto penalties gave the Moose two chances to pot a powerplay equalizer. Though the first penalty lasted a full two minutes, persistent plugging by Maxime Fortunus cut the second infraction short. The goal, Fortunus' seventh of the year, tied the game 1-1 heading into the second period.
Second Period
The Marlies out-shot the Moose 3-1 in the first five minutes of the second. Consecutive penalties to Mike Brown and Daniel Rahimi didn't help matters for the Moose, but Schneider and his penalty killers stepped up and finished the five-on-three without surrendering a go-ahead goal.
Although Toronto was unable to take the lead on the powerplays, the club fired 14 shots to Manitoba's seven to even the shot-count heading into the final frame.
Third Period
Four minutes into the third, Greg Classen's hooking penalty put Manitoba back on the penalty kill. But the Marlies had trouble keeping the puck in the offensive zone and the Moose managed two shorthanded surges.
At the period's midway point, Toronto's Chris Harrington tipped the powerplay tables by taking a boarding penalty. But the Moose followed the Marlies' lead and dropped to 1-for-4 on the man-advantage.
With 2:30 left in regulation, an interference penalty to Alexandre Bolduc gave the Marlies a fourth and final powerplay. But a minute into the man-advantage, Jannik Hansen and Mike Brown intercepted the puck and carried it back towards Clemmensen. Hansen fed Brown at the top of the crease, and #13 slipped it around the goalie's left skate to score his first shorthanded goal of the season and and give the Moose their first lead of the game.
Brown's shorty would prove to be the game-winner as the Moose staved off a final six-skater Marlies push to beat the North Division leaders 2-1.
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Moose vs. Toronto Marlies Highlights - stream
| SCORING |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Toronto |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Manitoba |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Apr 4, 2008 - MTS Centre FIRST PERIOD:1. Toronto, J. Sifers (2) (J. Harrison, J. Mitchell) 8:56 2. Manitoba, M. Fortunus (7) (M. Grabner, B. Moran) 16:56 PP Penalties - A. Foster Tor (holding) 0:26, A. Wozniewski Tor (hooking) 10:58, S. Clemmensen Tor (delay of game) 16:19 SECOND PERIOD:No Scoring Penalties - M. Brown Mtb (interference) 7:01, D. Rahimi Mtb (tripping) 7:36 THIRD PERIOD:3. Manitoba, M. Brown (9) (J. Hansen) 18:20 SH Penalties - G. Classen Mtb (hooking) 4:00, C. Harrington Tor (boarding) 9:57, A. Bolduc Mtb (interference) 17:30
| SHOTS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
T |
| Toronto |
7 |
14 |
9 |
30 |
| Manitoba |
14 |
7 |
9 |
30 |
POWER PLAYS:Toronto Marlies 0-4. Manitoba Moose 1-4. GOALTENDERS:Toronto Marlies Clemmensen 23-14-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 58:44 SV: 28 GA: 2 [L] Manitoba Moose Schneider 21-12-2 Start: 1st 0:00 Min: 60:00 SV: 29 GA: 1 [W]
Attendance:
8,800
- MTB - Michael Grabner
- MTB - Cory Schneider
- TOR - John Mitchell
- The Moose host their final regular season game tomorrow night vs. the Marlies. The club then concludes their regular season with three road games, starting next Friday night in Grand Rapids.
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Updated: Apr. 4, 2008 at 10:32 PM CDT
