Moose Recap: Manitoba 3 at Milwaukee 2 OT
By: Anthony Fusco | Published: May 3rd 2023
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Quick Hits
- Wyatt Bongiovanni notched the overtime-winning goal for Manitoba
- Oskari Salminen made 24 saves in the Moose overtime victory
- The Moose have won back-to-back playoff contests in overtime
Game Story
The Manitoba Moose (2-1) battled with the Milwaukee Admirals (1-2) on Wednesday evening at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for Game 3 of the Central Division Semifinals.
Manitoba opened the scoring at the 2:49 mark of the contest. Cole Maier knocked into a Milwaukee skater and opened up space before flipping the puck to Alex Limoges. The winger found himself alone and quickly deked past a challenging Yaroslav Askarov and score with a soft backhand. Milwaukee tied the contest with 3:54 to go in the frame. Kiefer Sherwood fired a shot from the point that was tipped off the ice into the top corner off the stick of Luke Evangelista. The horn sounded to end the first period with the two sides tied 1-1. Oskari Salminen posted nine stops, while Askarov ended with six of his own.
Manitoba pulled ahead just prior to the halfway point of the contest. Declan Chisholm put the disc on net, and in the ensuring scramble, Jeff Malott lifted it over Askarov and into the back of the net. The tally was the lone goal of the middle stanza. Both sides had a single chance on the power play, but netminders were up to task. Manitoba outshot Milwaukee by a count of 9-6 in the period and took a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of play.
Milwaukee tied the contest at the 6:10 mark of the final frame. After a Salminen save, the Admirals kept the pressure on, and Kevin Gravel was able to hit the back of the net with a shot from the high slot. Despite late bursts of Moose pressure and two shots going off the post, Manitoba was unable to find the go-ahead marker as time expired. The game required overtime for the second straight contest to decide the fate of Game 3.
In the extra frame, the Moose netted the winner 4:53 into the period. Manitoba was given a chance on the power play. Jansen Harkins moved the puck across the seam to Wyatt Bongiovanni, who fired a shot top corner to win the game. The goal was also Manitoba’s first power play marker of the series. Salminen ended with the road victory and 24 total stops, while Askarov was hit with the loss and made 27 saves of his own.
Quotable
Moose Forward Wyatt Bongiovanni (Click for full interview)
“Our game plan throughout the whole night was to just keep coming at them with speed. In playing north with the puck, we thought they weren’t handling us down low in the zone too well. In order for us to succeed tonight it took an effort that needed us to play forward and to continue steeping on the gas and playing the way we were in the first and second."
Statbook
- Cole Maier has two points (1G, 1A) in his past two contests
- Declan Chisholm has three assists in his past two games
- Wyatt Bongiovanni notched the overtime-winning goal for his first AHL playoff marker
- Jansen Harkins has three points (2G, 1A) his past three games
- Greg Meireles has posted assists in consecutive games
What's Next?
The Moose head into Game 4 of the best-of-five series with a 2-1 lead. Manitoba and Milwaukee face off Friday, May 5 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
You can catch the game on 680 CJOB, CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. CT.
