The Manitoba Moose fell 5-4 in overtime to the AHL’s number-one team, the Calgary Wranglers. While it’s an overtime loss on the scoresheet, it’s probably one of the best don’t give up efforts by the Moose.
Manitoba got off to a hot start, posting six unanswered shots on goal, but Calgary didn’t let this phase them as they scored on their third shot.
William Stromgren scored top shelf from the top of the circle on a beautiful wrist shot that beat Kaapo Kahkonen.
Less than four minutes later, Martin Frk picked up his own rebound to make it 2-0 Calgary. Calgary’s 2-0 didn’t last long as Axel Jonsson-Fjallby answered back just 62 seconds later to make it a 2-1 game after skating with his head up the left wing and ripping a snap-shot past Calgary’s goaltender.
Both teams traded penalties, but Manitoba couldn’t kill off the late-game penalty against Tyrel Bauer.
Dryden Hunt showed his sneaky thinking and puck patience as he put the Wranglers up 3-1 late in the first period.
The second period saw the Moose swap Kaapo Kahkonen out for Thomas Milic.
In the early going of the second frame, Dylan Anhorn found himself with an open shooting lane but fired the puck just wide of the net. The Moose recovered the puck and eventually found Parker Ford who rifled back a great shot to make it a 3-2 game.
The Wranglers pushed back yet again as they found themselves on an odd-man rush with time and space. David Silye buried the puck past Milic to put the Wranglers up 4-2 and restore the two-goal lead.
The third period started quiet, but the Moose showed no signs of quitting in the offensive and defensive zones. The Moose spent a good chunk of the first 10 minutes of the third period in their zone fighting off a relentless Calgary attack, but they didn’t budge.
As momentum started to tilt in their favour, the Moose found themselves in the Wranglers zone. Brad Lambert stripped a Wrangler defender of the puck and passed it up to Chaz Lucius who buried the puck to bring Manitoba within one goal.
The Moose pulled Thomas Milic with 1:37 left to play, and it was a great decision as Mason Shaw scored the tying goal. Shaw was in the right place at the right time, extending his point streak to four games on his backdoor tap-in goal.
With a little more belief in their game, the Moose had taken the AHL’s top team to overtime. However, the party was spoiled as Martin Frk scored his second goal and third point of the game to push the Wranglers to a 5-4 overtime victory.
Frk has scored 11 points (6G, 5A) in five games against the Manitoba Moose this season.
Both teams are set for game two of the weekend series in Calgary on Sunday, January 5th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm CST.
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