Manitoba Moose

MANITOBA SPLITS FINAL HOME SERIES AGAINST TORONTO

By Christina Caligiuri

The Manitoba Moose dropped a 2-1 decision to the Toronto Marlies on Saturday night to split their last series against the club at MTS Centre this season. Michael Grabner continued his goal-streak with Manitoba’s only marker while Cory Schneider made 38 of 40 saves in his 16th loss this campaign.

The first penalty of the game was awarded to defenseman Brennan Evans for tripping at 5:57. The Moose were able to bring their shot total to seven on the man-advantage, but Marlies goaltender James Reimer, a Winnipeg product, ensured the puck stayed out of the net.

Manitoba embarked on their second powerplay when Jay Rosehill was charged for goaltender interference at 15:36. Despite registering three shots on net, the Moose failed to connect and went zero-for-two on the PP.

The Marlies opened the scoring 7:45 into the second period. After Cory Schneider made the save on Kyle Calder’s initial blast, center-man Justin Hodgman squeaked the puck into the open back door for a 1-0 lead.

At 17:05 Tom Galvin was forced to serve a tripping minor, but Manitoba’s penalty killers held strong and denied Toronto a powerplay goal. After 40 minutes of play, the Marlies lead the game 1-0 and owned the shot clock 33-22.

The Moose and Marlies exchanged penalties in the early have of the third period, but neither club could score on their respective man-advantage.

At 4:17, Manitoba broke onto the scoreboard. Michael Grabner raced past two defenceman, escaped on a breakaway and beat Reimer through his five-hole to knot the game at one.

The Marlies stole back at the lead at 11:13 when Kyle Calder backhanded the puck over Schneider for a 2-1 tally.

With five minutes remaining the Marlies were leading in shots 40-30 but the Moose were battling hard to tie the game. Time expired, however, and the Moose dropped a 2-1 decision to the visiting Marlies for a weekend split.