By Carter Brooks
Photo courtesy of the Toronto Marlies
The Manitoba Moose lost their home opener 3-2 to the Toronto Marlies Friday evening from Bell MTS Place.
Although a tough blow, the Moose will look to bounce right back Saturday afternoon in game two of the back-to-back with their fellow Canadian American Hockey League rival. Puck drop on the second home game of Manitoba’s 2019-20 schedule is set for 2:00 PM. An online feed of the game is available to watch on AHLTV.
Friday’s contest saw the majority of scoring coming early, as three of the game’s five goals occurred in the opening frame. After falling behind 2-1 through 20 minutes, the Moose exchanged goals with the Marlies, but were unable to knot the game back up before the final buzzer.
Andrei Chibisov scored his first AHL goal midway through the opening frame off of a setup from Jimmy Oligny. After watching Toronto pull ahead 2-1, Logan Shaw found the twine while shorthanded just 2:11 into the second period. The Marlies broke the tie once and for all early into the third period, as Tyler Gaudet beat Mikhail Berdin just 1:44 into the final frame, scoring the game’s final goal.
Berdin stopped 20 of 23 shots against, while Toronto’s Kasimir Kaskisuo also turned aside 20 of Manitoba’s 22 shots. Both teams were shut out on the power play, with the Moose scoring while down a man. The game also featured a spirited fight between Winnipegger Adam Brooks and Skyler McKenzie. Both teams will look to regroup and get back at it Saturday afternoon.
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