WINNIPEG, MB – For the second night in a row, the Manitoba Moose got caught in another lopsided game of power plays and penalty kills. This time, the Moose didn’t survive.
In a 2-1 win in Chicago on Saturday night, the Moose went one-for-two on the power-play while the Wolves went one-for-six. In a 4-3 loss on in Des Moines on Sunday afternoon, the Moose went one-for-four on the power play while the Iowa Wild wet two-for-eight. That’s right, the home side had eight power play opportunities.
And, not surprisingly, Cal O’Reilly’s winning goal was scored on the power play.
The Moose led 1-0 after the first period on Mike Sgarbossa’s 14th goal of the season, but Iowa outscored Winnipeg 3-2 in the second. Jan Kostalek scored his second of the season for Manitoba while Michael Spacek scored his 12th as the two teams went into the second intermission deadlocked at 3-3.
But at 8:27 of the third, on their eighth power play of the day, O’Reilly’s 12th of the year was the winner as the Moose fell to 36-17-4-4 on the season.
It was the third meeting in nine days between the two teams. The Wild outshot the Moose 28-27, 13-4 in the first period when Iowa had four power plays to Manitoba’s zero. Eric Comrie made 24 saves but suffered the loss. He’s now 17-11-3-2 on the season
The Moose play again on Wednesday night when they face the Texas Stars at 7:15 p.m. CDT in Austin, Tex.
THE NOTEBOOK: In the second period, Iowa goaltender Niklas Svedberg got into an altercation with Moose captain Patrice Cormier and was handed a five-minute major for high-sticking and a match penalty. It resulted in Iowa’s first in-game goalie change this season… Manitoba’s Sami Niku has points in five straight games with six points (2G, 4A) during that span… Attendance was announced at 6,109.
Scott Taylor, Manitoba Post
Photos by James Carey Lauder