Moose drop Game 1 of Calder Cup Finals

Published on May 30, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


The Manitoba Moose dropped Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals in a 5-4 overtime decision to the Hershey Bears on Saturday night in front of a packed house of 15,003 fans - the largest Game 1 crowd in AHL playoff history. Michael Grabner notched two goals while Mark Cullen and Maxime Fortunus notched singles. Goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 30 of 35 shots in his 17th consecutive appearance. The Moose and Bears will face-off for Game 2 on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre.

Go-to goaltenders Cory Schneider and Michal Neuvirth manned opposite ends of the ice as the Moose and Bears embarked on Game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals.

Manitoba's powerplay unit made their debut 34 seconds into the game when Chris Bourque was penalized for slashing. Unable to register a shot during the two-minutes, the home team went zero-for-one on the man-advantage.

Bourque was charged with a second offence at 5:44, this time for tripping. With 32 seconds left in his penalty, teammate Kyle Wilson went to keep him company in the box with a slashing call of his own. With nine seconds left on the five-on-three, Jason Krog slid the puck over to Mark Cullen who wired it into the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Moose wouldn't enjoy their lead for long; however, as Bears sniper Alexandre Giroux fired the puck through Schneider's legs on a short handed surge.

Shaun Heshka's slashing call at 10:53 gave Hershey their first powerplay, but stellar penalty killing ensured the Bears wouldn't capitalize on their opening man-advantage.

At 13:18, the Moose reclaimed the lead. Michael Grabner flew down the left side of the ice, danced around the Bears defense, and backhanded the puck over Neuvirth for a 2-1 tally.

Mid-way through the second period, Grabner proved he was unstoppable. With a pass from Dusty Collins, the right-winger drove to the net on a breakaway and notched his second of the night, 3-1.

The Bears inched closer a mere 2:34 into the final frame. With a crowd in front of Schneider's crease, Oskar Osala tipped the puck top shelf, 3-2.

With Mark Fistric in the sin bin for cross-checking, the Bears tied the game at three. Unassisted from the point, Alexandre Giroux scored his second of the night with a slapper from the point at 11:01.

With four minutes left to play Oskar Osala wrapped the puck around the net and nipped it between Schneider's left pad and the goal post to claim the lead, 4-3.

With two Bears in the penalty box, the Moose played the final two-minutes on a five-on-three. With 1:16 left, Maxime Fortunus fired the puck straight into the mesh to tie the game at four and force overtime.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 30, 2009


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