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Moose one victory away from series win after OT triumph

The Manitoba Moose are poised to advance in the American Hockey League playoffs.

Wyatt Bongiovanni ripped the winning goal 4:53 into overtime with the Moose on the power play for a 3-2 victory over the host Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday night.

Manitoba, the affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, leads the best-of-five opening round series 2-1 and has two chances to end it in Milwaukee. The Admirals host Game 4 on Friday at 7 p.m., with a fifth game (if necessary) to be staged Saturday night.

Bongiovanni’s timely tally was Manitoba’s first goal in 10 tries with the man advantage in the series. Jordan Gross had been called for high-sticking at 3:16.

Well-rested Moose shelled by Admirals

Perhaps it was some unshakable rust acquired after a couple of weeks off, or a pair of netminders being thrust into a tough spot, but the Manitoba Moose didn’t have enough to begin the most critical time of the year.

The Moose were stunned 6-2 by the Milwaukee Admirals in Game 1 of the American Hockey League’s Central Division semifinal at Canada Life Centre on Friday.

While players of the Winnipeg Jets’ AHL affiliate club made their intentions clear of avenging a 3-2 series defeat to the Admirals in last season’s Central Division semifinal, the same results haunted the team on this night.

Moose goaltender Evan Cormier made his first playoff start as a professional on somewhat short notice, as regulars Oskari Salminen and Arvid Holm flew to Las Vegas on an emergency basis to practise with the Winnipeg Jets ahead of their Game 5 tilt in the NHL playoffs on Thursday.

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It wasn’t that long ago the Manitoba Moose looked to be in the driver’s seat, in the thick of an AHL standings battle, just a point or two removed from first place in the Central Division.

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For the better part of Saturday’s home-opener, the Manitoba Moose looked primed to start their season on a high note.

Moose season over after loss

In the end, the Manitoba Moose simply ran out of chances. And time. And a playoff run that began with visions of a potential Calder Cup didn’t last beyond the first round.

A 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals in Sunday’s deciding Game 5 at Canada Life Centre was a bitter pill to swallow.

“I feel like we had such a good thing going. A really good group, good players. These last two games I felt like we found our real game and played a game that would potentially be able to win a championship. And then just threw it all away today,” a sombre David Gustafsson said in the post-game press conference.

Indeed, the Moose dug themselves a huge hole in the best-of-five, dropping both games in Milwaukee (3-2, 2-1) despite soundly outplaying the opponent. That set up needing to win three straight do-or-die games on home ice. They nearly did it, rallying from a 2-0 first-period deficit in Game 3 to win 5-2, then routing Milwaukee 7-3 in Game 4.

Moose trample Admirals 7-3 to push series to Game 5

Players on the Winnipeg Jets top affiliate have created T-shirts for the playoffs bearing the slogan “Caution: Moose Crossing.” And the visiting Milwaukee Admirals certainly had a deer-in-headlights look on Friday night as they were run off the road by a surging Manitoba squad that has now seized momentum in their first-round series.

A dominant 7-3 victory by the Moose in front of 4,980 fans at Canada Life Centre is the second straight do-or-die triumph on home ice and sets up a Sunday afternoon, winner-take-all Game 5 at the downtown rink.

“Playoffs. That’s what this is all about,” said defenceman Ville Heinola, the brightest blue-line prospect in the organization who had the game-winning goal and two assists. Not to be outdone was forward Morgan Barron, who made a terrific first impression with the Jets after coming over from the New York Rangers in the Andrew Copp trade, with a goal and two assists. Four other players had multi-point games.

“The lineup’s so deep. On any given night we can have guys anywhere in the lineup produce,” said Barron. “I feel like when we get rolling out there, we’re rolling all four lines and sustaining offensive zone time.”

Glass prefers lengthy AHL playoff run

Forgive Cody Glass if this current trip back to his hometown wasn’t exactly high on his bucket list. It’s nothing personal.

It’s just that the 23-year-old Winnipegger would prefer to still be skating in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, as he was earlier this week until they were ousted from the playoffs by the mighty Colorado Avalanche.

“We had a couple of those games (against Colorado) in our hands and let them slip away. The Avalanche are a really good team,” Glass told the Free Press of getting swept out of the first-round by the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, which included dressing for the last two. “So, it sucks. A bad feeling.”

Now back on the farm with the Milwaukee Admirals, his hopes for a short and sweet stay were stifled by the Manitoba Moose keeping their season alive on Wednesday night with a 5-2 win. Glass certainly did his part, opening the scoring just 21 seconds into the game, but the desperate home team rallied for victory,

Moose storm back for 5-2 win over Admirals

Turns out a desperate Manitoba Moose team is also a dangerous one. And the hockey club will live to see at least another game after rallying to beat the Milwaukee Admirals 5-2 on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The top affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets began the night in a big hole, down 2-0 in the best-of-five series. And the task got even more daunting when the visitors opened the scoring just 21 seconds in, then added another before the first period was complete.

“I think some unfortunate bounces led to us being down to start that game. We were a little tight in the first. I think when we came in to re-group in the intermission, the focus was just on relaxing, knowing there’s a lot of hockey left and this game’s not over,” said forward Jeff Malott.

Indeed. Rather than go quietly into the night and allow a strong overall season to end with a whimper, the Moose stormed back with three straight tallies in the middle frame, then added two more for good measure in the third to skate away with the biggest victory of the year in front of 4,832 satisfied customers.

Moose down, but defiantly not out

Down but certainly not out. That’s the motto the Manitoba Moose have adopted as they face the daunting task of needing to win not one, not two, but three consecutive elimination games to keep their season alive.

A pair of tough-luck weekend losses in Milwaukee — despite significantly outplaying and outshooting their opponent — have the American Hockey League team down 2-0 in the best-of-five series.

“Not a single guy in our room doesn’t think we can’t win three in a row against these guys,” defenceman Leon Gawanke said, following Monday’s practice at Canada Life Centre. “The mindset in our room is that we’re still pretty confident and can turn this around.”

The Moose, who finished second in the Central Division, will get their first crack Wednesday when they host the third-place Admirals. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, would follow on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively, at the downtown rink.