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Moose Shutout Monsters, 2-0

April 22, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manitoba Moose News Release


It was do-or-die time for the Manitoba Moose (2-3) in a must-win Game 5 against the Lake Erie Monsters (3-2) on Good Friday in front of 7,355 fans at MTS Centre. This was the most critical game of the season for the Manitoba squad, and they certainly showed up. Eddie Lack was stellar in his 26 save shutout performance, and with goals by Sergei Shirokov and Jason Jaffray, the Moose were able to force Game 6 of the best-of-seven series.

In a startling turn of events Lake Erie netminder Jason Bacashihua got his first start since a 6-4 Monsters win in Game 1. John Grahame was given the night off after turning aside 75 Manitoba shots in the past two games. Rookie goaltender and 2010-11 Moose MVP Eddie Lack started between the pipes for Manitoba.

The Moose came out flying to start the game, outshooting the Monsters 6-1 in the first five minutes of the game. The first penalty of the game was called at 4:28 in the first as Jordan Schroeder received a pass and came into the Monsters' zone with his signature speed, but was tripped up by Julien Brouillete, sending the Moose to the man-advantage. The Moose managed a single shot, as the Monsters PK continued to stymie Manitoba's chances.

The Monsters managed to manufacture a 2-on-1, streaking into the Moose zone. In his first start since Game 1, Eddie Lack stretch across the crease, making a spectacular glove save, stopping cold the Lake Erie chance.

The Moose were able to outwork and outskate the Monsters for most of the first period, but each team's goaltenders stood tall, keeping the game scoreless after one. The Moose had a huge lead on the shot clock, outshooting the Monsters 18-6.

End-to-end action opened the second period as the Moose and Monsters traded chances. The two teams resisted, backstopped by some incredible play by both Eddie Lack and Jason Bacashihua.

Moose forward Jason Jaffray took an errant shot in the face late in the second period, paid the price for the sake of the team, and kept the puck in play managing a number of quality chances along with line mates Sergei Shirokov and Marco Rosa.

Jaffray returned for the next shift out, a power play, as Monsters forward Matthew Ford was charged with hooking at 14:14 in the middle frame. The Moose managed a single shot on net with the man-advantage, having three others blocked by the Lake Erie penalty killers.

With just over a minute left in the second period, Jason Jaffray was booked for slashing, putting the Moose down a man to end the second period. The period ended with the Moose up 23-14 in shots, but no score for either team.

The third period opened with Jaffray still serving time for his slashing penalty at the end of the second. Lake Erie managed a single shot on Eddie Lack in the remaining 56 seconds of their powerplay, but the Moose were able to kill off the penalty.

At 6:35 in the third period, Sergei Shirokov knocked the first goal past Jason Bacashihua. Jason Jaffray was able to get a pass from the corner to the shifty Russian standing in front of the crease, good for Shirokov's third of the postseason.

Near the halfway mark of the third period, local boy Kevin Clark passed the puck to a streaking Jordan Schroeder, who took the disc into the Monsters' zone and sent a beautiful pass to Bill Sweatt, who was flying through the slot. Bacashihua made an incredible stop off the Sweatt redirect, keeping Lake Erie within a goal.

With just over two minutes left Monsters head coach David Quinn pulled netminder Jason Bacashihua to give Lake Erie the 6-on-5 man-advantage. Eddie Lack made a number of incredible saves, stoning the Monsters on every opportunity.

With 9.7 seconds left in the third, Jason Jaffray lobbed the puck down the ice, it slid the length and into the empty cage, confirming the 2-0 win in Game 5.

The Moose now behind 3-2 in the series, head back to Cleveland to take on the Monsters for another must-win situation as Game 6 goes Sunday, April 24th at 3:00 PM; Brian Munz will have all the action on CJOB 68.

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