Sports stats



Crunch edge Moose 3-2

December 29, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


SYRACUSE, NY. -- An early two-goal deficit proved to be too much for the Moose to overcome Saturday night, as the club dropped a 3-2 decision to the Crunch in Syracuse. Jimmy Sharrow and Michael Grabner scored goals for Manitoba, while three Syracuse players posted multi-point nights, including Zenon Konopka who tallied a goal and an assist.

An early roughing penalty to Zack FitzGerald offered Syracuse the game's first man-advantage, and Moose penalty killers were faced with the task of stopping one of the top powerplay units in the AHL. The Crunch quickly took advantage of the man-advantage, with Tom Sestito snapping up Derick Brassard's initial shot and redirecting the puck past Drew MacIntyre to score the game's opening goal at 2:34.

The Moose drew their first penalty shortly after the goal, but Syracuse's special teams continued to dominate the play. Rushing the Moose zone on a shorthanded two-on-one, Derek MacKenzie and Adam Pineault teamed up on MacIntyre, with Pineault netting the game's second goal to put the Crunch up 2-0 at the four-minute mark.

Through the remainder of the period, Syracuse fired two shots for every Manitoba attempt and headed to the first intermission up 18-8 in shots and with a two goal lead.

Near the seven-minute mark of the second, a heavy hit thrown by FitzGerald triggered a bloody scrap between the Moose defenceman and Derek Dorsett at center ice. As fists flew and both players started to fade, FitzGerald activated his left arm and sent Dorsett to the ice. In addition to receiving five each for fighting, Dorsett was dealt an instigating minor and 10-minute misconduct.

Although that five-on-four came and went without a goal, a handful of penalties to both sides resulted in short powerplays and stretches of four-on-four play. During one such stretch, Sharrow stationed himself at the blue-line and drilled his third of the season past Kowalski to score Manitoba's first goal of the game.

Less than 30 seconds after the goal, Milan Gajic served a two-minute bench minor and the Crunch benefited from their second powerplay of the game. Like in the first period, Syracuse's special teams connected on the man-advantage, with Konopka beating MacIntyre to renew the home team's two-goal lead.

Manitoba and Syracuse closed in on the 30-shot mark through the first five minutes of the third, but MacIntyre and Kowalski kept the puck from crossing either goal line. As the period progressed, the Moose received their sixth and seventh powerplays, and the Crunch countered with their fourth and fifth of the game. With Dan Smith and Danny Groulx sitting pretty in the penalty boxes, Grabner broke into the home zone, cut across Kowalski's crease, and backhanded the puck into the mesh to put the Moose back within one.

Unfortunately for Manitoba, momentum from the late goal and an extra attacker didn't translate into an equalizer, and the Moose dropped a 3-2 decision to the Crunch Saturday night.



American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central