Moose Recap: Manitoba 3 vs. Milwaukee 2 OT
By: Anthony Fusco | Published: April 30th 2023
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Quick Hits
- Jansen Harkins notched the overtime-winning goal for Manitoba
- Oskari Salminen made 30 saves in the Moose overtime victory
- Three different Admirals skaters recorded two points in the loss
Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (1-1) rematched with the Milwaukee Admirals (1-1) on Sunday afternoon at Canada Life Centre for Game 2 of the Central Division Semifinals.
Manitoba opened the scoring with under five to go in the first period. Nicholas Jones attacked off the wall on an odd-man rush. The winger closed the gap and lifted a slick backhand into the top corner and past the shoulder of Yaroslav Askarov. The tally was the lone goal of the opening frame. Milwaukee ended the period ahead in shots 7-5, but Oskari Salminen was up to task for the Moose and corralled each puck sent his way.
Milwaukee tied the contest at the 5:48 mark of the second frame. With the Admirals on the power play, Kiefer Sherwood grabbed the puck and fired a dart past Salminen from the top of the dot. Despite a series of late penalties by both sides, neither the Moose or Admirals could find the back of the net any further in the frame. The Moose outshot the Admirals 16-11 in the middle stanza and took a 1-1 tie into the intermission.
Milwaukee pushed ahead in the third period with a goal from Luke Evangelista. The forward converted off the odd-man rush and found twine past Salminen. With time ticking down, and the Moose down a goal, the decision was made to call Salminen to the bench in favour of the extra attacker. Greg Meireles won the faceoff for the Moose and Declan Chisholm put the disc on net. The rebound found its way to Cole Maier, who hit the twine from a sharp angle for the equalizer. Time expired shortly after, with the two sides needing overtime to decide Game 2.
Manitoba netted the winner 1:32 into the overtime period. Chisholm sent the puck on net through traffic. The rebound landed flush in the crease, which allowed Jansen Harkins to pounce and send it past the sprawling pads of Askarov for his second goal in as many games. Salminen ended with the victory and 30 total stops, while Askarov was hit with the loss and made 31 saves of his own.
Quotable
Moose Forward Cole Maier (Click for full interview)
“Yeah, I think it was a tighter one. It certainly didn’t feel like there was a ton of room out there, especially in front of both nets. It was a tough game to play in. It sort of came down to keeping it simple for us and we were fortunate to find some way there to finish it for us."
Statbook
- Jansen Harkins notched his first career Calder Cup Playoffs overtime winning goal
- Oskari Salminen registered his first AHL playoff win in his post-season debut
- Dominic Toninato recorded assists in consecutive games
- Declan Chisholm tallied his fourth career multi-point AHL playoff contest
- Greg Meireles posted an assist for his first AHL playoff point
What's Next?
The Moose and Admirals head to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday, May 3. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.
