Manitoba Moose (2) at Cleveland Monsters (3)

Attendance: 11,625

Starters

Monsters

Moose

Goal Recap

Markus Hannikainen put the Monsters on the board first after launching a rocket past Eric Comrie almost 12 minutes into the game.

The Moose tied things up with 20 seconds left in the first after Patrice Cormier and company consistently attacked the crease. Joonas Korpisalo basically went 3-on-1with the Moose. He tried his hardest to shut down every shot attempt but the Moose were not going to give up until the whistle blew or they had a goal.

Four minutes into the second period, Cormier netted his second goal of the night after beating Korpisalo’s right side.

After a series of beautiful passes between Oliver Bjorkstrand, T.J. Tyna, and Dillon Heatherington, the Monsters were able to tie the game with nine minutes left to play. Heatherington potted the equalizer with a beautiful top-shelf backhander.

60 Minutes plus overtime wasn’t enough to settle this game. The Monsters were headed to their eighth shootout of the season.

Joonas Korpisalo entered the shootout cool as a cucumber. He knew what it took to get the job done.

“There’s no extra pressure. I just kind of go out there and try and do my best. Today I did. It’s pretty cool that I did.” – Joonas Korpisalo

Sonny Milano (CLE) – Milano raced down the middle of the ice, veered right, and tried to beat Comrie’s left side. – No Goal

Kyle Connor (MB) – Connor went coast to coast before firing the shot between Korpisalo’s five hole  – Goal

Markus Hannikainen (CLE) – Hannikainen tried to flip a backhander over Comrie’s left pad. – No Goal

Jack Roslovic (MB) – Roslovic confidently skated towards the net before firing a shot right into Korpisalo’s glove – No Goal

Oliver Bjorkstrand (CLE) – Bjorkstrand got a little fancy with his stick work on the way down the ice. A few feet from the goal, he fired the puck and it dinged off the right post into the net behind Comrie. – Goal

Chase De Leo (MB) – De Leo rushed the net at top speed but was unable to get past Korpisalo. – No Goal

Daniel Zaar – Zaar skated wide left, veered back, and fired off a shot. – Goal

Brendan Lemieux – Lemieux barrelled towards the net before firing off a shot that Korpisalo scooped up – No Goal

“I decided before I was going for a shot. I’m glad it went in.” – Daniel Zaar

But Wait! There’s More

Quick Thoughts

• In the beginning of the first period, the Monsters spent a lot of time in their zone. By the end of the night, they made Eric Comrie work for every save he made.
• Anton Forsberg isn’t the only tough goalie on the team. During the third period, Brendan Lemieux gave Korpisalo a snow shower and immediately was whacked with the goalie stick.
• Some of the guys are still having a problem figuring out when to shoot, when to pass, and whether to go top shelf or not.
• Coach Madden and his cohorts have been tirelessly preaching patience to the players. The past few weeks we saw Oliver Bjorkstrand, Markus Hannikainen, Oleg Yevenko,  Dean Kukan, and Daniel Zaar take on the challenge. In last night’s  third period, we saw everyone heed the call. Patience is truly keeping the Monsters in the hunt for the playoffs.   /

“We talk about it all the time. We talked going into the third period, be patient. Our legs werent there. We said be patient, let them make the mistakes. If we go to overtime or a shootout, that’s fine.” – John Madden

• Not only did the team use patience but they worked through the exhaustion they were feeling after playing three games in four days. This grit and determination will help them in the playoffs. /

“ Coming off the roadtrip, the guys  were pretty gassed. It wasn’t a pretty win but overall we stayed in  the battle.” – John Madden

3 Stars

1^st – Daniel Zaar (1g, 0a)

2^nd – Joonas Korpisalo (39 saves, 41 shots faced, TOI: 64:57)

3^rd – Dillon Heatherington (1g, 0a)

Milestones

Dillon Heatherington’s second period goal was his first of the season. He now sits one away from having five pro/AHL goals.

T.J. Tynan played in his 200^th AHL game while Dean Kukan played in his 75^th.

What’s Next

The Monsters and Moose play each other in an afternoon tilt on Sunday, February 11, 2017.  The game starts at 3pm EST and there will be an autograph session afer the game.