Moose-Monsters: Manitoba Mangles Lake Erie

The Monsters returned to home ice Tuesday evening at Quicken Loans Arena in fifth place in their division.  They played a second place Manitoba Moose squad, who’d owned them five out of six games this year.  Tonight the Moose would make it six of seven, stomping the Monsters 7-2.  After the game coach Joe Sacco said there was really nothing positive to take out of the contest.  He was right.

The Monsters opened the game in grand fashion, scoring on the power play just three minutes and four seconds in, after Manitoba’s Kevin Estrada went off the ice for a high stick. 

Two penalties and three minutes later, the Moose sported a five-on-three advantage. 

Wyatt Smith went off for the Monsters for hooking, and Jeff Jillson the same roughly a minute later.  The penalty unit of the Monsters did an excellent job the killing off both advantages and preserving the 1-0 lead.  Wyatt Smith went to the box a second time with a little over five and a half minutes left in the first.  Once again a hooking call; the penalty kill was up to the task.  That pretty much ended anything positive you could say about the Monsters play on this day.

With one minute remaining, all the Monsters wanted to do was make it out of the first with the lead.  They blew it with 48 seconds left on a trickler that slowly leaked into the goal from Jannik Hanson.  Brad Moran registered the assist on the goal that shouldn’t have been a goal.    The Moose out shot the Monsters 20-5 in the first.  While it sounded lopsided, most of the shots were from way out or were not very good chances.

The second period WAS lopsided; the ice slanting entirely Manitoba’s way.  The Moose scored three in total second period domination.  While the Monsters out shot the Moose for the period, they were still trailing 31-18 in the pucks-on-goal department.  The first goal for the Moose came less one minute in.  Mark Derlago scored, with an assist to Brad Moran.  Three minutes later, Pierre-Cedric Labrie scored with assists to Gred Rallo and Michael Grabner.  Finally twelve plus minutes into the period, making it 4-1, was Mark Derlago assisted by Brad Moran yet again. Lake Erie mustered up a couple of rushes, but they were stonewalled by Moose Goalie Drew MacIntyre, who had a great outing.

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