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Post by bigoljetairliner on Apr 28, 2023 17:43:47 GMT -6
Manitoba Moose (37-25-6-4) vs Milwaukee Admirals (41-24-5-2)
For the second straight season, the Manitoba Moose find themselves matched against the Milwaukee Admirals in the first round of the playoffs. The Admirals spent most of the season fighting the Texas Stars for first place in the AHL Central Division, but ended up having to settle for 2nd while the Moose wound up in the 3rd spot. Last season, it was Manitoba that held the home advantage in the best of 5 series but that didn't stop Milwaukee from taking the series in a tightly fought affair. The Jets AHL affiliate will try to return the favour this season and will hope to use the opening two games in Manitoba to get a lead in the series before they head to Milwaukee for the final three games. Let's take a look at how the two teams have performed this season: Powerplay: Manitoba 22.7% Milwaukee 24.6% Penalty Killing: Manitoba 82.2% Milwaukee 84.3% Leading Scorer: Manitoba (A. Limoges 54 pts) Milwaukee (C. Schneider 51 pts) Goals For: Manitoba (227) Milwaukee (238) Goals Against: Manitoba (226) Milwaukee (211) Here's how the players signed by the Winnipeg Jets did this year with Manitoba: Player Games Goals Assists Points +/- Pts/GM
Limoges 63 20 34 54 5 0.86 Harkins 44 25 25 50 11 1.14 Gawanke 68 20 25 45 -6 0.66 Malott 71 23 21 44 -3 0.62 Chisholm 59 5 38 43 -13 0.73 Heinola 48 4 33 37 20 0.77 Toninato 50 19 16 35 8 0.70 Reichel 61 9 15 24 -7 0.39 Torgersson 69 11 9 20 -9 0.29 Bongiovanni 56 13 5 18 -17 0.32 Lundmark 64 3 14 17 2 0.27 Nikkanen 66 5 11 16 -4 0.24 Sautner 68 2 10 12 3 0.18 Bauer 47 2 5 7 -1 0.15 Player Games W L OT GA GAA SAVE %
Holm 35 18 11 4 87 2.67 .911 Salminen 39 18 13 6 115 3.06 .896 The Manitoba Moose have received some reinforcements for the playoffs, with forwards Parker Ford ( 4 pts in 8 games) and Danny Zhilkin joining the team, along with defenseman Dmitri Kuzmin. The Winnipeg Jets recently re-assigned goalies Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen back to the Moose, but it doesn't appear that they will make it in time to be in the lineup tonight ( note: Holm is backing up Evan Cormier: 2 games/2.56 GAA/.925 save %). The only other current Jet who is eligible to play in the AHL playoffs, is Axel Jonsson-Fjallby but so far he hasn't been sent down. Unfortunately, two of the more impactful possible additions are still unavailable to Manitoba with Chaz Lucius recovering from an injury and Brad Lambert still playing in the WHL playoffs ( 16 pts in 6 games, good for 8th in WHL post-season scoring). During the regular season, the Moose had four players that reached the 20 goal mark ( Harkins - 25, Malott - 23, Limoges - 20, & Gawanke - 20), which is the first time Manitoba has acheived that feat. Leon Gawanke's 20 goals set a Moose franchise record for the most goals by a defenseman in a regular season. Despite being ranked lower in the standings, the Manitoba Moose did well against the Admirals, posting a 4-2-1-1 ( W/L/OTL/SOL) record. However, the Milwaukee Admirals play a heavy game that is built for playoff officiating and will ensure the Moose have their hands full. The Admirals are led by AHL veterans Cole Schneider & Tommy Novak, but also rely on players provided by their NHL team ( Nashville Predators). At forward, these include former Winnipeg Jet Zach Sanford, John Leonard, Luke Evangelista, Egor Afanasyev, & Michael McCarron, plus former 1st rounders Phil Tomasino & Joakim Kemell. On defense, Milwaukee mainly relies on AHL veterans like Jordan Gross and low level Predator prospects. The Admirals also have a good starting goaltender in Yaroslav Askarov ( 2.69 GAA/.911 save %) with similar stats to the Moose's normal starter Arvid Holm. The Manitoba Moose have had an up and down season just like the Winnipeg Jets, but the Moose were able to keep their bad streaks to shorter spans than the Jets. When playing at their best, they rely on a combination of strong forechecking, responsible defensive play, and strong special teams to win games. They occasionally fall short when the offense dries up ( bottom 6 doesn't score a whole lot) or they get into penalty trouble ( 87 more PIMs than Milwaukee). The two teams match up well, with the Admirals holding a slight advantage at the forward position, while the Moose have a small lead in the defensive core. Since the teams' goaltending is probably a draw, my expectation is that the series will have no blowout victories and will take five games to determine a winner. Keys for the Moose:
- Get consistent offense from the top 6/powerplay
- Play the defensive system and don't push for offense
- Stay out of the penalty box and don't allow the Admirals to draw them into after whistle penalties during scrums
- Get good goaltending. Will need Cormier to step up in the opening game before the reins are handed over to Holm
Game 1 starts at 7 pm CST tonight and game 2 goes on Sunday at 2 PM CST. After that, the series shifts to Milwaukee for game 3 on May 3rd ( remaining games on May 5th & 6th, if needed). GO MOOSE GO!!
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Post by bigoljetairliner on Apr 28, 2023 17:59:00 GMT -6
Game 1 Moose Line Up: * Players signed to contracts w/ Manitoba
Malott Toninato Harkins Torgersson Maier* Limoges Jones* Meireles* Ford Polei* Nikkanen Bongiovanni
Chisholm Gawanke Heinola Stewart* Sautner Lundmark
Cormier Holm
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Post by bigoljetairliner on Apr 29, 2023 10:14:27 GMT -6
GAME 1 RECAP:
The game got off to a bad start early for the Moose when a 3 on 3 turned into a 4 on 3 when a forward didn't cover a pinching defenseman. A drop pass into the mid-slot found Del Gaizo, who quickly rifled it over Evan Cormier's glove and into the top corner. Things continued to go badly when Wyatt Bongiovanni caught an Admiral with a high-stick 6 minutes into the 1st period. The Moose PK did a good job for most of the short-handed situation, but Milwaukee was able to get set up with 45 seconds remaining. Some nice passing ended when Sanford jumped into the mid-slot and connected on a 1-timer before the Moose d-man could adjust. The puck rang off the crossbar and into the net to give the Admirals a 2-0 lead just 7:24 into the period (shots at that point were 6-6). Less than a minute later, a lost battle along the defensive side boards resulted in a mini-breakaway that Cormier stopped with his left pad...unfortunately Chisholm couldn't clear the front of the net before the shooter was able to bang in the rebound. After that, Coach Morrison inserted Holm into the net (though none of the goals against Cormier could be considered weak) and Manitoba started to push for a goal. Limoges rang the post on one shift, then Toninato drove around the defenseman and forced the Admirals' tender to make a pad save, 4th line had a good cycle shift that ended up netting the Moose their first PP. The man advantage didn't result in a goal, though Manitoba continued to push and Heinola hit another post with 6 minutes to play in the 1st. In the end, Askarov was able to keep all pucks out of his net and the period ended with the Admirals up 3-0.
The 2nd period stared out promising when Toninato sent a pass from his blueline to Harkins at the opponent's blueline, sending him in on a breakaway. Harks made no mistake as he opened up the goalie's 5-hole and slipped in the puck to give Manitoba hope (3-1). The face-off at center resulted in a line brawl that Milwaukee clearly started and performed the majority of the dirty deeds during it, but it resulted in 4 on 4 play. Unfortunately, Parker Ford was caught a bit out of position and ended up getting called for a trip, making it a short 4 on 3 for Milwaukee. This is when the AHL refs started to really prove that they are as bad as their NHL counterparts, as they called Holm for a tripping penalty when he poked a rebound away from the front of his net (terrible call as Holm got the puck, then an Admiral appeared to purposely stepped on his stick & fell). Milwaukee took advantage of the ref's assistance and scored on the 5 on 3 PP, then added 2 more goals in the next 4 minutes of play (6 to 1 Admirals). Manitoba got it's 2nd goal of the game with 45 seconds left in the 2nd period when Torgersson somehow used a defenseman to screen his shot (from center ice) and Askarov couldn't find the puck in time to make the save.
The 3rd period was pretty much all Moose (shots 18-6), but no one was able to beat the Milwaukee tender for a third time. FINAL SCORE: MILWAUKEE 6 MANITOBA 2
Toninato ended up with the shot lead for Manitoba with 5, while Harkins, Limoges, & Maier sent 4 pucks at Askarov. One of the few bright spots in the game for the Moose was the pairing of Heinola & Stewart. While neither defenseman ended up with a point, they each had 2 shots on net (Heinola a post too) and Stewart led the team in plus/minus (+2). If the Jets sign any players on a Manitoba Moose contract in the off-season, it just might be Dean Stewart, a product of Portage la Prairie, who you might say plays like a right-handed Capobianco.
The Manitoba Moose will try to even the series up on Sunday.
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Post by bigoljetairliner on Apr 30, 2023 12:40:53 GMT -6
Game 2 Moose Line Up: *Players signed to contracts w/ Manitoba
Malott Toninato Harkins Torgersson Maier* Limoges Jones* Meireles* Ford Polei* Nikkanen Bongiovanni
Chisholm Gawanke Heinola Oligny* Sautner Lundmark
Salminen Holm
Only two lineup changes, with goalie Oskari Salminen starting over Evan Cormier and veteran Jimmy Oligny coming in for defenseman Dean Stewart.
***The Milwaukee Admirals have 11 players that saw NHL action this year for a total of 248 games (72 pts), plus one start for Askarov (.911 save %). While the Manitoba Moose have 4 players who saw NHL time this season, with Harkins leading the way with 22 games (5 pts), Heinola with 10 games (1 pt), Toninato saw 5 games (1 pt), while Reichel got into 2 games (1 pt) for a total of 39 NHL games (8 pts). Unfortunately Reichel is done for the season with an injury.***
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Post by bigoljetairliner on Apr 30, 2023 16:09:56 GMT -6
GAME 2 RECAP: (worth the read)
The Manitoba Moose entered Sunday's match against the Milwaukee Admirals in a 1-0 series hole and facing a team with a lot of NHL experience (see above post). Coach Morrison opted to go with Oskari Salminen in net, a bit surprising since he hasn't played since being called up by the Winnipeg Jets on April 17th. The Admirals went back with Yaroslav Askarov, the 11th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
The opening period didn't result in a lot of shots on net, but the Admirals definitely controlled the flow of play. Salminen made some nice saves to keep it scoreless until Nicolas Jones stripped the puck from a defenseman along the left boards, skated quickly towards the net and made a nice move to the backhand, shelving the puck to give the Moose a 1-0 lead with just over 3 minutes left in the 1st. Shots at the end of the 1st were 7 to 5 for Milwaukee. SCORE: Manitoba 1 Milwaukee 0
Milwaukee came out flying to start the 2nd period, at one point outshooting Manitoba 10-4 (17-9 for the entire game to that point). Parker Ford has turned his short tryout with the Moose into a full time spot with his high revving motor & value on the PK, but for the 2nd straight game the youngster took an unnecessary hooking penalty in the neutral zone to give the Admirals their first PP of the game. Milwaukee's PP went 2 for 3 in the opening game and once again they (Sherwood) struck quickly on a slightly screened shot from above the face-off circle (one that Salminen would probably want back) to tie the game 6 minutes into the second. Momentum switched when Manitoba got a powerplay and peppered the goal with shots, however Askarov was outstanding and kept it out of his net. Regardless, the Moose controlled play for the final 8 minutes of play and started to create scoring chances & rebounds (outshooting the Admirals 12 to 1 to finish the period). Shots at the end of the 2nd were 21 to 18 for Manitoba. SCORE: Manitoba 1 Milwaukee 1
Both squads traded scoring opportunities in the first 4 minutes of the third period, with Maier & Gawanke testing the Admirals' goalie and Sherwood being stoned on two opportunities against Salminen. Great stick and gap by Chisholm broke up a potential odd man rush and sent Bongiovanni the other way with the puck. Unfortunately, he took a big hit along the boards when he tried to curl up inside the o-zone and slowly made his way to the bench (didn't go to dressing room). Bad defensive pass by Limoges was intercepted in the low slot and Salminen pushed out towards the shooter, taking the puck off the left shoulder & sending it out of play. Lundmark loses the puck about 6 ft to the right of Salminen, allowing a Milwaukee player to step across the crease and tuck the puck towards the far side....but Oskari almost did the splits to get a pad out to deny the prime scoring chance. Shots were 28-24 for Milwaukee at the midpoint of the 3rd period. Malott and Jones throw big hits for Manitoba as they try to regain or even out the flow of play. Great cycle shift by the 3rd line with 8.5 minutes to play, netting a couple shots on Askarov. The Moose had a great shift, started with a rush by Chisholm and some o-zone time, but a poor decision to pinch by Gawanke to keep the puck in led to a 2 on 1. A well executed tic-tac-toe passing sequence by the Admirals' forwards didn't give Salminen much of a chance, as Milwaukee took a 2-1 lead with 6:57 to play in the 3rd. Manitoba pushed for the equalizer including a rush by Heinola that led to multiple chances and a couple huge saves by Askarov (Maier/Torgersson). The coaching staff pulled Salminen with 2:20 to play and they controlled play for the next minute & a half in the Milwaukee zone. After the Admirals iced the puck, keeping their tired players on the ice, Maier won a huge face-off and after some passes, the Moose veteran tied the game up 2-2 on a rebound with 53 seconds left in the 3rd (Chisholm & Meireles w/ assists). Shots at the end of the 3rd were even at 32. SCORE: Manitoba 2 Milwaukee 2
The Manitoba Moose made some early mistakes in overtime on their attempts to clear the defensive zone, ending with them being stuck in their own end for the first minute. However, they couldn't put the rubber on the Moose's net and eventually Torgersson and Heinola combined to get the puck into the Admirals zone. The following shift by Manitoba's top line saw the first chances in OT for the home team, as Harkins skated behind the net and wrapped the puck into the crease where Toninato was battling for space. He was able to get his stick on it, but a defender blocked the puck. The line kept the pressure on in the Admirals' zone, with Chisholm quickly getting the puck back in after it was briefly sent to the neutral zone. Manitoba established puck control in the offensive zone and the puck worked it's way back to the left point. Chisholm sent a shot through some traffic in front that Askarov was able to get a pad on it, but wasn't able to control the rebound. Jones drove for the puck in the low slot, but was driven off by a defender, which left the puck still available for Harkins. He pounced on it and swiftly sniped the puck by a diving Askarov to give Manitoba a big overtime victory. Shots at the end of the game were 34-32 for Manitoba. FINAL SCORE: Manitoba 3 Milwaukee 2 (OT)
MOOSE'S THREE STARS: 1. Jansen Harkins: OT winner, 4 shots, big hit. Very good game. 2. Oskari Salminen: 30 of 32 shots saved, .938 save %, 2.00 GAA, some really big saves at opportune times. 3. Three way tie between Heinola (3 shots, +1, led a big charge up the ice), Chisholm (2 assists, 2 shots, +1, led a charge up the ice), and Bongiovanni (5 shots, grinding play, toughness coming back from big hit)
Manitoba needs to find a way to improve their special teams if they hope for any chance in this series. The Moose PP has gone 0 for 7 in the two games, while the Admirals man-advantage has scored 3 times on 6 attempts. They did get today's game tying goal with a 6 on 5 advantage, which was absolutely clutch. How exciting it is to watch a team fight until the end, even if they might be outmatched talent-wise.
Series is all tied up at 1 and heading to Milwaukee for the final 3 (?) games.
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Post by 2b9 on Apr 30, 2023 17:08:28 GMT -6
Man BOJA, you certainly put a lot of effort into this/all of your posts, KUDOS to youš.
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Post by 2b9 on Apr 30, 2023 17:12:57 GMT -6
Gosh, this site is so goofy, not sure why my 1 post showed up 2xās.
Geez manš¤£š¤Ŗ!
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Post by Ric O. on Apr 30, 2023 19:27:20 GMT -6
Not sure why or if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Just seems to happen to you occasionally? Well better than having your post show up 0x I guess!
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Post by 2b9 on Apr 30, 2023 20:01:16 GMT -6
Not sure why or if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Just seems to happen to you occasionally? Well better than having your post show up 0x I guess! Hey Ric O. If itās happening to me, itās happening to others, itās not the first time that this has happened to me here, also, at times when I am responding to someone elseās post, Iām in the middle of responding to them, and, then all of a sudden, this site all of a sudden decides to refresh its self, then my entire response is wiped out, I then have to start over again to respond/reply. This site seems to have some connectivity issues. And, just so that you know, I happen to know that on or in around April 3rd, there was connectivity issues here, Iām from another site with others here from that other site that are now also posting here now(our other site at some point in time will be defunct), Iāve been informed by one poster from our other site that posts here along with myself that there were some issues of connectivity here in around the time that I previously mentioned, apparently there were issues for possibly a number of posters here from our site that were trying to post here and couldnāt because of connectivity issues. P.S.: Ric O. Iām not knocking this site, Iām just being honest based on my experiences here on this site so far. Please understand, Iām not knocking the site, if I didnāt like it here, I wouldnāt be posting here. Iām posting here regularly, so obviously I like it hereššš!
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Post by 2b9 on Apr 30, 2023 20:49:02 GMT -6
Not sure why or if anyone else is experiencing the same thing. Just seems to happen to you occasionally? Well better than having your post show up 0x I guess! Hey Ric O. If itās happening to me, itās happening to others, itās not the first time that this has happened to me here, also, at times when I am responding to someone elseās post, Iām in the middle of responding to them, and, then all of a sudden, this site all of a sudden decides to refresh its self, then my entire response is wiped out, I then have to start over again to respond/reply. This site seems to have some connectivity issues, this happens on a regular basis from day 1 of my self posting here to today, itās a regular occurrence, a lot of times when it happens, I donāt bother to start over. And, just so that you know, I happen to know that on or in around April 3rd, there was connectivity issues here, Iām from another site with others here from that other site that are now also posting here now(our other site at some point in time will be defunct), Iāve been informed by one poster from our other site that posts here along with myself that there were some issues of connectivity here in around the time that I previously mentioned, apparently there were issues for possibly a number of posters here from our site that were trying to post here and couldnāt because of connectivity issues. P.S.: Ric O. Iām not knocking this site, Iām just being honest based on my experiences here on this site so far. Please understand, Iām not knocking the site, if I didnāt like it here, I wouldnāt be posting here. Iām posting here regularly, so obviously I like it hereššš! P. S. Ok Ric O. I did not want to have my post with changes reposted here again as a second post, however, here it is as a second post, all I did was edit, why is it showing up as a second post? All I did was edit.
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Post by Ric O. on Apr 30, 2023 21:38:01 GMT -6
Oh yeah, no worries 2b9, I get it. If you're having problems it's good to know about it...want everyone to have a good experience here.
I rarely use my Iphone for posting and I just never have the problems you're having, so I'm wondering if it's related to mobile somehow. Not that you're the only one using mobile, it's common way to use the site I'm sure and I would not have expected problems with it. For others who are having similar problems, would be good to know...and if it's on computer or mobile.
As for around April 3 problem you mention, that sounds about right as a day that I also had trouble connecting and I know some in the forum were mentioning connection problems too on the day I'm thinking of. It does happen occasionally (quite rare though) that the site does temporarily appear to lock out. Not sure if for maintenance or protection from threat or what and I don't know the cause that day except that it was temporary and I had no trouble the day before or the day after. Hopefully it was temporary problem only for you and others too.
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Post by 2b9 on May 1, 2023 7:23:51 GMT -6
Oh yeah, no worries 2b9, I get it. If you're having problems it's good to know about it...want everyone to have a good experience here. I rarely use my Iphone for posting and I just never have the problems you're having, so I'm wondering if it's related to mobile somehow. Not that you're the only one using mobile, it's common way to use the site I'm sure and I would not have expected problems with it. For others who are having similar problems, would be good to know...and if it's on computer or mobile. As for around April 3 problem you mention, that sounds about right as a day that I also had trouble connecting and I know some in the forum were mentioning connection problems too on the day I'm thinking of. It does happen occasionally (quite rare though) that the site does temporarily appear to lock out. Not sure if for maintenance or protection from threat or what and I don't know the cause that day except that it was temporary and I had no trouble the day before or the day after. Hopefully it was temporary problem only for you and others too. Itās all good, nothing is perfect, Iām not going to worry about it. I do use an I phone, I use it for everything, never had problems elsewhere. Again, Iām not going to worry about it, itās all goodš.
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Post by bigoljetairliner on May 3, 2023 10:54:59 GMT -6
Manitoba Moose @ Milwaukee Admirals - GAME 3 PREVIEW
Coach Morrison and the Moose traveled south on Monday and practiced on Tuesday to prepare for the third game of the best of 5 series on Wednesday, May 3rd. The AHL Central Division clash is knotted at 1 after the teams split the opening two games in Winnipeg, giving the Admirals a chance to win 2 out of 3 home games to clinch their second straight playoff win over the Moose.
Manitoba have played okay on the road this season, amassing a 18-12-5-1 record during the regular season, while Milwaukee put up a 18-14-3-1 record while playing on their home ice (UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena). However, this season the Admirals have won 3 out of 4 games against the Moose in Milwaukee (5-2 L, 5-1 W, 3-1 W, & 5-4 OT W), so the Jets' AHL team will have to play well to get the two wins they need to advance.
Jansen Harkins leads Manitoba in goal scoring with goals in back-to-back games and is tied for the playoff point lead with Declan Chisholm & Dominic Toninato (2 pts). Both teams have had goaltenders playing well, with Oskari Salminen having a 2-00 GAA & .938 save % in his only game and Yaroslav Askarov displaying a 2.47 GAA & .930 save % through two matches.
Puck drop is at 7 pm CST tonight, with games 4 & 5 scheduled for Friday and Saturday night. Will post the Moose lineups once they are known, approximately 30 minutes before the game starts.
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Post by bigoljetairliner on May 3, 2023 17:51:36 GMT -6
Game 3 Moose Line Up: *Players signed to contracts w/ Manitoba
Malott Toninato Harkins Torgersson Maier* Limoges Jones* Meireles* Ford Polei* Nikkanen Bongiovanni
Chisholm Gawanke Sautner Heinola Oligny* Stewart* Salminen Holm
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Post by bigoljetairliner on May 3, 2023 21:04:10 GMT -6
GAME 3 RECAP:
After the anthems were sung, the Manitoba Moose coaching staff opted to start their 2nd line against the Milwaukee Admirals top line. The teams felt each other out for three quick shifts to open the game, but the first offensive chance resulted when Chisholm had kept a good gap as the Admirals were starting a breakout from their end. He stepped up and created a turnover along the left boards at center ice and Maier was there to ensure a change of possession. He quickly noticed that Milwaukee was in the middle of a change and found Limoges sneaking into open space by the opponents' blueline. With the pass, Limoges found himself behind everyone and Askarov aggressively came out to challenge, allowing the Moose player to be patient and basically just skate by the goalie and backhand the biscuit into the empty net. 1 - 0 Manitoba with just under 3 minutes played in the first. Chisholm led another rush shortly after and was pulled down, giving the Moose their 1st PP. Despite good possession, they couldn't find a way to score with the man-advantage (PP 0 for 7 on the series). Just prior the midway point of the 1st, Manitoba gave Milwaukee their first PP chance and while they peppered Salminen with shots (5), they couldn't solve the big Finn. Shots 8 to 4 for the Admirals with 9 minutes to play. A minute later, a bodycheck by Heinola in the defensive zone was called boarding, sending Milwaukee's 3 for 7 PP back on the ice. This time, Manitoba killed it off much easier and didn't allow a shot. After Harkins was denied on a great chance, Milwaukee roared back the other way and started an offensive cycle. A weak wrist shot from the right point was deftly deflected by Evangelista to tie the game up 1-1 with 3:54 to play. The opening frame ended with no further scoring chances and the Admirals holding a 10-6 lead in shots. SCORE: Manitoba 1 Milwaukee 1
The second period opened up with both squads playing tentative and much of the play in the neutral zone. The teams both had a powerplay chance in the opening 10 minutes and Milwaukee managed all the shots on each (2 on PP/2 on PK). However, in between Nikkanen won a battle along the boards behind the net and found a streaking Parker in the slot, but his shot couldn't beat the goalie's pad. Manitoba started to gain momentum as the game neared the midway point of the 2nd and spent a couple of minutes pressing. During this offensive zone time, Malott received a pass in the high slot, sending a shot through traffic in front of the net. The shot resulted in the puck popping out just beyond the blue paint & Mallot was able to find his own rebound in the scramble, shoveling it by Askarov (Harkins/Heinola assists). The Moose took a 2-1 lead 10:03 to play and the shots being tied at 14-14. Not a whole lot happened in the second half of the period, until the final 3 minutes. Manitoba started with a great shift by the 4th line, spending their entire time on the ice putting on pressure and creating scoring chances for Nikkanen & Bongiovanni. The Moose's top line followed it up with another o-zone shift, but Malott ended up taking a roughing penalty during a battle to the right of the net. Manitoba was able to kill off the opening 1:07 of the Milwaukee PP without giving up any scoring chances and that is how the period ended. Shots were equal at 16-16 after two periods. SCORE: Manitoba 2 Milwaukee 1
The final frame began with the Admirals on a short powerplay and trailing by one, but the Moose were able to kill off the penalty without allowing a shot against, thanks to Salminen clearing a dump in and a nice block by Stewart. The teams traded low grade chances during 2 minutes of 4 on 4 time, after a scrum resulted in players heading to the box. A quick break after a neutral zone mix up led to a Milwaukee 2 on 1, that Salminen made a huge save on. However, Manitoba couldn't clear and eventually a shot from the right face-off circle went through a screen and beat a stickless Salminen. Kemell, Nashville's 17th overall pick in 2022 picked up an assist in his first AHL playoff game. Game is tied up at 2-2 with 13:50 to play in the third. The Moose started to get physical when Heinola blew up Evangelista with a hip check and Toninato stood up Jankowski at the blueline. Shots were favouring Milwaukee at the midway point, 21 to 20. Manitoba almost took the lead at the 8 minute mark when Heinola set up Malott for a 1 timer from the point that sent a loud ringing throughout the arena when it hit the crossbar & deflected out of play. Neither team managed much offense until the Moose started to push with 4.5 minutes to play and they had a solid 2 minute stretch of offensive pressure, including two hard shots from Gawanke. The 4th line created a glorious chance with a minute to play when a Nikkanen shot from the left wing resulted in a big rebound to the low slot. Polei was streaking in, but the puck hopped over his stick. They weren't done as the 1st line continued the pressure and Toninato hit iron on a quality look from in tight. The horn blew before the game could be decided and Manitoba led in the shot count 27-25 after three periods. SCORE: Manitoba 2 Milwaukee 2
Prior to the last game, it was 9 years ago that the Manitoba Moose played in an overtime playoff game and now they are doing it again just 4 days after they ended that long drought. It was the Moose that got the first scoring chance in OT when Nikkanen was sprung on a 2 on 1. He opted for the shot and his quick snapshot couldn't beat Askarov's blocker. Not long after, the Admirals' best d-man took a high-sticking penalty, sending Manitoba's 0 for 8 powerplay on the ice. They lived up to those stats early in the man-advantage, but eventually were able to get a couple rushes late in the PP. On the second, Meireles flew up the right wing, slamming on the breaks at the top of face off circle and dropping the puck to Harkins as he entered the zone. Harkins drew an Admiral player to the right of the ice before sending a pass to a wide open Bongiovanni at the left point. He skated into the top of the face-off circle before rifling a wrist shot to the top corner and by a screened Askarov. Manitoba outshoots Milwaukee 3-1 in OT for a total of 30-26. FINAL SCORE: Manitoba 3 Milwaukee 2 (OT)
MY MOOSE'S THREE STARS: 1. Wyatt Bongiovanni: OT winner baby!! 2. Leon Gawanke: Held off the scoresheet, but led the team with 5 shots. 3. Ville Heinola & Henri Nikkanen: Two more players who didn't pick up points, but Nikkanen might have played his best game in the AHL (4 shots) and Heinola was leading rushes and playing physical (Evangelista never returned to game after the hip check).
The Manitoba Moose steal the opening game on the road to take a 2 to 1 lead in the series and have a chance to finish things on Friday night. Winning back-to-back games in overtime, the Moose have shown that they just keep getting better as games go on. Another solid game for Salminen, stopping 24 of 26 (.923 save %). Great time for the Moose's first PP goal of the series!!!
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