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Kesler scores OT winner as Moose sink Admirals

November 28, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


Ryan Kesler scored late in the third and again with 1.6 seconds left in overtime to lead the Manitoba Moose to a 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Admirals Saturday night.

Jordin Tootoo mixed things up early in the Moose zone, as he received a minor for high sticking two minutes into the game.

However, the best chance of the powerplay came off the stick of Simon Gamache. Gamache broke into the Moose zone on a rush but Auld got a toe on it.

Five minutes into the first, the Moose started to press. Jason King had a great chance on a two-on-none but Milwaukee netminder Brian Finley made the save. King was upended as he tried to recover the puck, putting the Moose on their second powerplay but the league's top penalty killing unit stopped them again.

The majority of the game play in the first was spent with the Moose cycling the puck in the Admirals end. Peter Sarno in particular had a shift where he had the puck on a string as he circled the Ads zone but Finley covered all the angles and kept control of his rebounds to prevent any serious threats.

Auld had to come up big late in the opening frame as he came across the crease and stopped a one-timer from Scottie Upshall to keep the game scoreless.

With about a minute to go in the first, Jordin Tootoo went flying into his own bench after attempting to check a Moose player but missing.

Auld made another big stop off an Andrew Hutchinson point shot with 40 seconds to go in the first as he reached his glove out and caught the puck through traffic.

After one period, the game was scoreless with Milwaukee outshooting the Moose 8-1 in the latter half of the opening frame, 12-8 overall.

Midway through the second, Finley made a pair of brilliant saves off Jimmy Roy. He made the initial save off a Johnathan Aitken point shot and then blocked the two subsequent backhand rebounds from Roy.

Tempers boiled over at the end of the second when Dan Hamhuis and Josh Green each got into a skirmish. Wyatt Smith received the extra minor for Milwaukee on the play but the powerplay was shortlived as one second later, Johnathan Aitken was ticketed for slashing.

After two periods, the shot count was 19-17 for the Admirals with the game still scoreless.

Auld was sharp early in the third, making several big stops to keep his team in the game.

However, just past the midway point, Scottie Upshall was sprung on a breakaway by Hutchinson. Upshall broke into the Moose zone alone and backhanded it through Auld's legs from the top of the crease.

Auld did stop Upshall several minutes later on a high backhander.

The Moose pressed for the equalizer late in the game but were unable to convert until Ryan Kesler banged home a Josh Green rebound with 12 seconds left in the third.

In overtime Kesler made himself the hero, scoring the winner on a breakaway. He ripped it past Finley blocker side to send the Moose home with two points. The goal was set up on a nice pass from Bieksa as he left the puck for Kesler at the blueline before the Moose sophomore charged in and fired the shot with 1.6 seconds remaining on the clock.

NOTES: Before the game, the Moose honoured Nolan Baumgartner for playing his 500th professional game. General Manager Craig Heisinger presented him with a framed jersey from the date of his 500th game, November 4th... Auld received his first start since missing four games with a concussion... Jordin Tootoo left the game with a hip injury after tumbling into his own bench on a missed check... Joe DiPenta was out of the lineup once again due to injury.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2004


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