Game Story

The Manitoba Moose kept their season alive with a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals at Canada Life Centre on Friday night. Game 3 of the Central Division First Round series is on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. Tickets are available at moosehockey.com/tickets.

The sides split quality chances in the opening 20 minutes, with the Moose holding a slim 11-9 edge on the shot clock. Milwaukee came closest to scoring the opener as Joakim Kemell ripped a shot off both goal posts early in the period. Manitoba had a few good chances from in tight, but Matthew Murray was up to the task, as the teams headed into their respective locker rooms deadlocked at 0-0.

The intensity only picked up in the second, and the offences found a little bit of traction. Ryan Ufko stuck with the puck on a shorthanded breakaway and fought it past Domenic DiVincentiis to make it 1-0 Milwaukee. Parker Ford scored his second goal in as many playoff games just over two minutes later, finishing into an empty net past a downed Murray to knot the game at 1-1. The Moose had several good chances in the remaining 16 minutes of the period, but Murray made 11 stops, as the home side extended their lead on the shot clock to 23-14 through 40 minutes.

Manitoba outshot Milwaukee 12-6 in the third, pushing their edge to 25-20 in the contest. The antlered ones’ penalty kill starred in the final stanza, turning aside three Milwaukee power play chances. With overtime looking like a certainty, the Moose got a late power play with under two minutes left to play. Brayden Yager fired a shot from the point, and David Gustafsson deflected it past Murray, giving the home side a late 2-1 lead. The Moose killed the final 43 seconds and tied the series at 1-1 with a 2-1 victory.

Quotable

Moose forward David Gustafsson (click for full interview)
“Scoring playoff goals, that’s the thing you dream of. At a time like that, it was awesome.”

Statbook

• Isaak Phillips led all skaters with four shots on goal
• Elias Salomonsson recorded his first point with the Moose since Feb. 16
• Brayden Yager’s assist was his first career Calder Cup Playoffs point
• Parker Ford has scored on 33.3 percent of his shots in the post-season
• The Moose have killed off all five Milwaukee power plays in the series