Recap: Cleveland 2 at Moose 1 SO

Cleveland Monsters (11-11-1-1) at Manitoba Moose (11-9-1-2)

Saturday, December 10, 2016 – MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB

Goal Summary

Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (11-9-1-2) and Cleveland Monsters (11-11-1-1) hit the ice just 16 hours after Friday night’s game.  The first period saw the Moose pile up some early chances and shots, but Joonas Korpisalo kept them off the board.  Ondrej Pavelec did his part in the Manitoba net, blanking the Monsters in the frame.  His toughest test came on a Markus Hannikainen shorthanded breakaway, but Pavelec turned aside the attempt.  With the goaltenders standing their ground, the Moose and Monsters went to the second frame tied 0-0.

The Moose broke the ice early in the second, courtesy of a powerplay carried over from the first.  Chase De Leo slipped a pass across the ice to Kyle Connor who finished the play, on his backhand, over Korpisalo.  Manitoba thought they had added to the lead 6:02 into the period when Quinton Howden found the back of the net.  However, the goal was called back and the Moose were assessed a slashing penalty on the play.  Pavelec continued to look sharp in the second, helping the home-side through the penalty and making 11 stops in the period.  Manitoba carried the 1-0 edge to the intermission.

The Moose nearly added to their lead ahead of the four minute mark of the frame when Connor just missed netting his second of the night on a scramble in front.  Later in the shift, the Monsters broke into the Manitoba end on a three-on-one and Hannikainen made the Moose pay, tying the game 1-1.  Both teams’ powerplay units got plenty of work late in the game.  Manitoba was unable to find a go ahead marker on any of its three chances, including one in overtime.  Cleveland was also turned away on a late man-advantage that carried into the extra frame.  The Moose outshot the Monsters, 4-2, in the extra frame, but the contest required a shootout.  Connor scored on his attempt for the Moose, but on the other side, Sonny Milano and Aaron Palushaj were also successful to give Cleveland the 2-1 win.

Quick Hits

• Kyle Connor scored the first goal of his AHL career and has points in two straight games (1G, 1A).
• The Moose have recorded a point in all five of Ondrej Pavelec’s starts at MTS Centre (4-0-0-1).
• Moose fans tossed 2,905 teddy bears to the ice in support of the Christmas Cheer Board during the Teddy Bear Toss presented by Red River Co-op, a new Moose record.
• Game attendance was announced at 6,318.

Quotable
Head Coach Pascal Vincent – "100 percent better, we were on the puck. First period was as good as I've seen us play all year.  We were doing the right things.  We were probably our most physical game in the first period. We were finishing our checks, we were creating, forcing turnovers. That’s a pretty good team. Those guys have won in the past, they know how to win and we've played a good game. It's a one nothing game, then mishandled the puck in the third, and the puck was in our net. But overall lots of good things tonight."

Forward Kyle Connor – “We played better as a team today than we did yesterday. Started off real strong, and in the second period kind of took it off the gas, but we were in the game the whole way."

Linked Up
Game Summary: http://mbmoo.se/2hb9OaG
Highlights and Post-Game Coverage: https://moosehockey.com/moosetv/

What’s Next?
The Moose roll out on a five game road swing leading up to the holiday break.  The trip opens with a pair of games in Charlotte.  The first against the Checkers goes Tuesday, Dec. 13 in a 6 p.m. CT matchup.  Tune in to the action on TSN 1290 and moosehockey.com/listen live beginning 15 minutes before puck drop.