Checkers sneak by Moose in 2-1 win

After blasting the Checkers in last night’s 7-2 win, the Moose looked to win their 6th game in the last 8. Not only did they score a season high 7 goals, but they did it without either of their leading scorers getting a point. (Petan and De Leo). After a very solid outing from Eric Comrie last night, Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal.

Key Plays of the Game

Scoring Summary

1st Period

The first period was quiet, with Scott Kosmachuk and Patrice Cormier creating nice scoring chances on individual efforts, but to no avail. The Checkers also missed a potential tap-in on the PP, but the shooter fanned on the puck.

Shots were 11-11 after the first period, with possession and scoring chances fairly even

2nd Period

The Moose were all over the Checkers in the last 5 minutes of the period, but weren’t able to beat Daniel Altshuller; shots were 8-6 in favour of the Moose

3rd Period

The period started out with a big tussle between 6’3 Austen Brassard and Keegan Lowe – son of former Oilers’ GM, Kevin Lowe. Brassard own it handily.

6 minutes into the period, Hellebuyck got beat with a slapper from the left circle, but it rang off the bar.

On the powerplay, 2011 first-round pick Ryan Murphy spotted Derek Ryan at the side of  the net, and banked the puck off his skate and past Hellebuyck. The play was reviewed for a kicking motion, but the goal stood. 1-0 Checkers.

On the powerplay, Josh Morrissey moved the puck across to Austen Brassard, who walked in and made a beautiful feed to J.C Lipon who was camped out front; Lipon tipped it past Altshuller to tie the score at 1.

On a Checkers’ powerplay, Checkers’ captain Derek Ryan was sniffing around the net again; he took a rebound off a point shot, took a few swings at it, and eventually got a backhander top shelf to put the Checkers up 2-1 with 6 minutes to play.

With 2 minutes to play, and the Moose down by 1, Austen Brassard got the puck and snapped a wrister from the faceoff dot which caught iron; then, with seconds left, a crazy scramble in front almost led to the Moose tying it up, but a massive save by Altshuller with 4 seconds left thwarted the come back effort.

Today’s Best Moose

Austen Brassard – After scoring 2 goals and an assist yesterday, Brassard continues to impress, making a nice pass to tie the game up in the third. He also nearly tied the game with 2 minutes to play, but put it off the post. After scoring 17 points in his first 43 games, Brassard now has 10 points in the past 12.

Scott Kosmachuk – He created a lot of great chances in the first period, using some slick moves, smooth passes, and a lot of desire to get the puck to the net. He has played very well in the past few months, particularly since he was united on a line with Nic Petan. After scoring 5 goals in his first 35 games, he now has 7 his last 20.

Chase De Leo – He was flying out there today, drawing a penalty with great hustle, and also created a few good scoring chances while short-handed. De Leo has been the Moose’s most consistent player this season, and is the one of two players to record a hat trick this year (Cormier also has 1).

Injuries

Jan Kostalek missed his 5th straight game with a hip injury; Julian Melchiori missed his second game with the flu

Audio

Connor Hellebuyck

J.C. Lipon

Coach McCambridge