Recap: Tucson 4 at Moose 5 OT

Tucson Roadrunners (26-30-8-0) at Manitoba Moose (27-36-5-5)

Friday, April 7, 2017 – MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB

Goal Summary

Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (27-36-5-5) took on the Tucson Roadrunners (26-30-7-0) at MTS Centre on Friday night.  The Moose didn’t waste any time putting up a couple on the board.  Chase De Leo opened the scoring 3:57 into the contest, following up his blocked shot and showing patience to tuck the first goal of the night into the Tucson net.  Just 50 seconds later, Elgin Pearce opened up Dan DeSalvo on a two-on-one and DeSalvo beat Adin Hill to put the Moose in front by two.  The Roadrunners raced back into the game starting at 7:40 when Jamie McBain’s booming shot found the goal on the power play.  Chris Mueller tied the contest with 6:09 left in the first, breaking in and finding an opening for his 16th of the season.  The Moose caught a break with five minutes remaining in the period when Kevin Czuczman’s point shot redirected in off a defender for a power play marker and a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.

After a nearly six minute stretch of play with no stoppages in the second period, Dan DeSalvo struck again.  JC Lipon freed the puck from the corner and slid it to DeSalvo who took his time before sniping at 8:43 of the frame.  The goal resulted in Tucson swapping netminders with Marek Langhamer coming into the game.  Not to be outdone by DeSalvo, Chris Mueller got his second of the game for Tucson four minutes later by jamming the puck over the Moose goal line to put the score at 4-3 after two periods of play.

Manitoba held onto its 4-3 lead until the late stages of the third.  The Moose got into penalty trouble after an interference penalty and back-to-back delay of game calls put the team down two men for an extended penalty kill.  With the extra space, Tucson worked the puck to Joe Whitney on the back door to tie the game, shooting into a mostly open net with 1:41 left.  The Moose needed overtime to decide the game for the second outing in a row.  In the extra frame, Dan DeSalvo nearly potted the hat-trick, but his shot rang off the post.  With the Moose pressing, Brenden Kichton went for a skate with the puck in the offensive zone before unleashing a backhand that hit the post behind Hill, before bouncing back into the net off the goaltender, for the 5-4 overtime winner.

Quick Hits

• Brenden Kichton’s game-winner was his first goal of the season.
• Michael Spacek and Elgin Pearce each registered their first AHL assist and point.
• Dan DeSalvo notched his fourth multi-goal game of the season.
• Jansen Harkins picked up his first assist of the season.
• Game attendance was announced at 5,271.

Quotable
Defenceman Brenden Kichton on his first of the year – “I think I was up to 90 shots on the year without a goal.  Obviously it feels good, it feels good to get the win. It’s just timely that the monkey's off the back.”

Forward Jansen Harkins on his first game with the Moose this season – “Yeah a little more familiarity this year.  I think my mindset is pretty much the same, it's just one game at a time.  It's just a couple of games so I just try and focus and do as much as I can.  Just enjoy it as much as I can as well.  I think just kind of play my game and not try and do too much.  I want to make an impact."

Linked Up
Game Summary: http://mbmoo.se/2oRXfT3  
Highlights and Post-Game Coverage: https://moosehockey.com/moosetv/
Photo Gallery: http://mbmoo.se/2o7A5Iq