The Moose are sitting at the bottom of the Central Division and while they have games in hand on the next two teams above them in the standings their current pattern of win one, lose one won’t allow them to gain any ground. With 25 games left on the schedule coming into the game they played against the Marlies today in Toronto they need to start making some hay in order to give themselves a modicum of a chance at the fifth and final spot which currently is held by the IceHogs who have a 12 point edge (although they’ve played three more games than Manitoba).
Lineup news:
The only lineup change that was listed when the team put out their roster was Tyrel Bauer replacing Dylan Anhorn on the backend. It was to be the fifth straight start for Winnipeg prospect Domenic DiVincentiis in net. However just before puck drop the Moose announced that Jets prospect Fabian Wagner was replacing Ryan Chyzowski on the 4th line so perhaps he was banged up.
Lines & D pairs:
Shaw– Toninato –Golder
Suess – King – Empey
AJF – JAD – Lambert
Liwiski – Zhilkin – Wagner
Sautner – Salomonsson
Phillips – Coghlan
Lundmark – Bauer
DiVincentiis
Notable:
In one of the funniest disallowed goals I can recall seeing the Marlies tried some sleight of hand just as time expired to “score” on the Moose but the refs immediately called it no goal.
Both goalies were strong throughout the game and I suspect the Moose are sick of seeing the pride of Thunder Bay Matt Murray in net. He shut Manitoba out both games he faced them back in Winnipeg and through 40 minutes had stopped all 12 shots he faced. At the other end Domenic DiVincentiis had stopped all 20 shots that Toronto had directed his way in the first couple of periods.
Early in the 3rd Domenic DiVincentiis takes some contact from his teammate Brad Lambert after Alex Nylander hits him just inside the crease. With some time and space Nylander thereafter tipped home a point shot to make it 1-0 for Toronto.
Finally after 8+ periods of shutout hockey the Moose finally got to Matt Murray when Dylan Coghlan blasted home his eighth goal of the season (in just 18 games). He would be on pace to score over 30 goals in a full season.
Manitoba was the stronger team in the final frame with a shot edge of 13-5 but since both teams scored once it meant the game would need overtime. Mikko Kokkonen was called for hooking with 32 seconds left in the game which power play carried over into overtime.
Just as the power play expired and the Marlies returned to full strength Moose captain Dominic Toninato picked up the OT winner after he put home a nice pass from Brad Lambert. It was his 10th goal of the season and it was Lambert’s team leading 20th assist.
Multi-point game:
None.
Highlights:
Up next:
Tomorrow is a practice day for the Moose. They’ll hit the ice at 1 PM at Coca Cola Coliseum in Toronto.
